Causes of the

FRENCH REVOLUTION
LOUIS XVI
King Louis XVI became the French monarch in 1774 at
age 19. He was an absolute monarch, meaning there were
no restrictions to his power. He believed in divine right. He
thought God gave him the power to be king.
DEBT
King Louis XVI inherited a lot of debt from his
predecessors. This increased when he supported the
American colonists in their fight for independence from
the British. The French and British were rivals, so Louis did not want
the British to win the Revolutionary War in America. When King Louis
XVI realized how in debt France was, he was desperate to make up
the money. Eventually, France became bankrupt from wars, the
royals spending too much money on luxuries, and a corrupt tax
system. King Louis XVI tried to get the First and Second Estates to
pay taxes. They had not been doing this, and refused to start.
ESTATES SYSTEM
18th century France was divided into three
estates.

FIRST ESTATE
The First Estate was the Clergy, made up of
church officials. This was a very small
percentage of France. It was only about 1%
of the population. The Clergy did not pay
taxes and lived in luxury. They held important
positions in France.
SECOND ESTATE
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The Second Estate was made up of the Nobility, also known as

Aristocrats. They made up about 2% of the population. They had
almost complete authority over the peasants and were not required
to complete military service. Most of the Nobility lived in luxury and
collected tolls from people to use the roads and markets in France.
THIRD ESTATE
The Third Estate was made up of the Bourgeoisie, wage earners, and
peasants. They made up the majority of the French population, about
97%. They were forced to complete military service and were not
allowed to hunt or fish on noble estates. They had to pay taxes to
their lord, the king, and the Church. They were also forced to use the
Lord’s mill, oven, and wine presses and pay a tax to use them.

BAD HARVESTS
From 1787 to 1789, France had terrible weather, heavy rains, hard
winters, and too hot summers. This led to three very bad harvests,
making life difficult for a country where many of its citizens
depended on agriculture and farming. Peasants and farmers ended up
with smaller incomes as a result of poor harvests. Food prices rose
sharply and farmers ended up losing their jobs. Many people starved,
but the nobility continued to live in luxury, as they had before.

ESTATES GENERAL
King Louis XVI assembled the Estates General in
May 1789, a group that had not met since 1614. The
King called the people outside of the Palace of
Versailles, near Paris. He had a body of troops,
which many saw as an attempt to frighten
representatives. 1,100 members, or deputies, from
all three Estates gathered. The King did not
present proposals for discussion, so people had
to come up with topics. This led to chaos. King
Louis XVI did not have control of the meeting.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
In June of 1789, deputies of the 3rd Estate became fed up with the
arguments and split off into their own group. They called themselves
the National Assembly. They represented about 96% of the population
and felt they were the “true” parliament. On June 20th, 1789 the
members of the National Assembly met at the Royal Tennis Court.
They pledged a promise called the Tennis Court Oath, agreeing not to
leave until the King agreed to meet their demands. The King gave way
and the deputies of the 1st and 2nd Estates joined the National
Assembly. All of the these events and circumstances led to the French
Revolution that changed France.
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Name ________________________________________________

Causes of the
FRENCH REVOLUTION
Use the passage to fill in the blanks.
The King of France, Louis XVI was an
King (1) __________________ monarch, meaning there were no
Louis restrictions on his power. King Louis XVI believed he had
XVI the (2) ____________ right to be king. He thought
(3)___________ had chosen him to be the King of France.
King Louis XVI inherited a lot of debt from his
predecessors, but increased it by helping
Debt (4) _______________________ colonists fight the
(5) _________________________ in the American Revolution.
France went into (6) ______________________ due to wars,
spending too much on luxuries, and a corrupt
(7) _________________________ system.
Tried to get 1st and 2nd Estates to pay taxes, but they
(8) ______________________________.

Clergy- (9) _____________________ officials.

1st Did not have to pay (10) ___________________,
Estate held important positions and lived in luxury.
About (11) ________ % of the population.

Nobility AKA (12) ____________________________

Exempt from most taxes. Almost complete
2nd authority over (13) __________________________.
Estate No required (14) ___________________ service.
Most lived in luxury. About (15) ______% population.

Bourgeoisie, Wage Earners, and

Peasants
3rd
Made up the majority of the population
Estate (16) _______ % Mandatory military service.
Paid taxes to lord, king, and (17) __________.
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 Bad Many French depended on agriculture (18) _____________
1787-1789: terrible weather, heavy (19) _______________,
Harvests hard winters, two hot summers
Led to (20) __________________ very bad harvests

Effects:
-Peasants and farmers had smaller (21) ______________
-Food prices rose sharply
-Farmers lost jobs
-Poor (22) _________________________
-Nobility and king continued to live in luxury

Estates King Louis XVI assembled the Estates General in May

1789.
General They had not met since (23) __________________________.
They met outside the Palace of
(24) _____________________________ (near Paris).
About 1,100 (25) _____________________________, or
members, gathered from all three estates.
The king had no (26) ________________ of what to
discuss; led to chaos
June 1789- Deputies of (27) _______
Estate grew tired of arguments and
split apart; declared themselves a
National Assembly.

They represented (28) _______% of the

population.

On June 20th, 1789, the members of the

National National Assembly met at the Royal
Assembly (29) ___________ Court.

Pledged the Tennis Court Oath, saying they

would not leave until the (30) ________________
met their demands.
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Name ________________________________________________
Causes of the
FRENCH REVOLUTION
Describe and
draw a symbol
for each
estate in the
1st
triangle
provided.

2nd

3rd

MATCHING: Match each term with its description.

1. ____ King Louis XVI A. King Louis helped Americans revolt against this nation

2. ____ America B. France’s 2nd Estate; Often known as the Aristocrats

3. ____ Great Britain C. Meeting of deputies from all Three Estates

4. ____ Clergy D. France helped colonists here gain independence

5. ____ Nobility E. The 3rd Estate broke off and created this

6. ____ Bourgeoisie F. France’s 1st Estate; church officials

7. ____ Harvest G. Members of the National Assembly refused to leave

8. ____ Estates General H. France had three bad ones in a row

9. ____ National Assembly I. Monarch of France

10. _____ Tennis Court

J. 3rd Estate in France who paid taxes; about 97%
Oath
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MULTIPLE CHOICE: Choose the best answer.

11. Which of the following people were NOT a member of the Third
Estate?
A. Bourgeoisie
B. Wage Earners
C. Clergy
D. Peasants

12. Which of the following did NOT cause France to be in a large

amount of debt prior to the French Revolution?
A. King Louis XVI inherited a lot of debt from his predecessors.
B. They had been involved in several wars.
C. The royals spent too much money on luxuries.
D. They had a fair tax system.

13. Which of the following BEST describes the 1789 meeting of the
Estates General?
A. King Louis XVI had a clear plan to gather all three Estates to
work out the debt problem in France.
B. King Louis XVI gathered people from all three Estates, but had
no clear plan how to run the meeting.
C. King Louis XVI held a meeting for the 1st Estate only, but
members from all Estates joined.
D. Members from the Third Estate gathered to protest the unfair
treatment by King Louis XVI.

14. How did the members of the nobility, or 2nd Estate, react when
France became bankrupt and people were starving?
A. They joined together to offer food to those who were hungry.
B. They made point to start paying taxes themselves.
C. They still ate well and refused to pay taxes.
D. They stole food from the peasants who lived on their land.

15. What was the goal of the Tennis Court Oath?

A. To overturn the rule of King Louis XVI.
B. To make all Estates start paying taxes.
C. To get the King to meet the demands of the Third Estate.
D. To force the Third Estate to pay more taxes.
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