The French

Revolution

©, Student
Inc.
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 The Old Regime (Ancien Regime)
• Old Regime – socio-political system which existed in
most of Europe during the 18th century
• Countries weredeulby
r absolutism – the
monarch had absolute control over the
government
•Classesd eof
and
g epeople
lunprivileged
i v i –r p
–Unprivileged people – paid taxes
treated
dna badly
– Privileged people – did not pay taxes and treated
well
 Society under the Old Regime
•In France, people w
eredivided into three estates
– First Estate
•High-ranking members ofChurch
eh t
• Privileged class
– Second Estate
• Nobility
• Privileged class
– Third Estate
• Everyone else – from sin
tnasaepthe countryside to wealthy bourgeoisie
merchants in the cities
• Unprivileged class
 The ThreeEstates
Estate Population Privileges Exemptions Burdens
First • Circa
000,031 •​Collected
ehthe
tit • Paid
s eno
xa t • Moral obligation(rather than legal
•​Censorship of
ehpress
t • SubjectoChurch
t law obligation) to assist the poor and
•​High-ranking • Controlnoiof
tacude rather than civil law needy
clergy • Kept recordsf obirths, deaths, • Support
yhand
c rthe
aOld
nom Regime
marriages, etc.
• Catholic faith held honored
position of being the state religion
(practiced by monarch and
nobility)
• Owned 20% ofehland
t

Second • Circa
000,011 • Collectedsin
exat the form of feudal • Paid
s eno
xa t • Support
yhand
c rthe
aOld
nom Regime
dues
•​Nobles • Monopolized
y rand
a t state
i l imappointments
• Owned 20% ofehlandt

Third •000Circa
, 000 , 52 •​None •​None • Paid all taxes
• Tithe (Church)xat
:artisan,ecity
si,s•gobeiur​Esveryworkers,
olnee mecrhans,tpeasants, • Octrot (tax on godsbrought into
etc., along with cities)
many parish • Corvée (forced road work)
priests • Capitation (poll tax)
• Vingtiéme (income tax)
• Gabelle (salt tax)
• Taille (land tax)
• Feudal dues for use of local
manor’s winepress, oven, etc.
What does this contemporary political cartoon say about conditions in
France under the Old Regime?
Government underthe Old Regime: The
Divine Right of Kings
•Monarch ruled by divine right
–God put the world
no iint om
–God put some peoplenpositions
i of power
–Power is given by God
–No one can questiondoG
– No one can question
e nput
o emoins power by God
– Questioning the mhcoynra was blasphemy because it
meant questioning God
 What the King Did
Appointed ehIntendants,
t Appointed
ehpeople
t who
y ttyrants”
the
t ep“ ohw
governed would collect his taxes e cby
Controlled
i atppsoinutingjjudges
France’s 30 districts and carry out his laws

Couldnoanyone
sim
rpi at any time
for any reason (blank Levied altaxes and
Controlled
e hmilitary
t warrants of arrest were decided how to spend
called lettres de cachet) the money

rsegnMade
oardiinrsgaiand
w
ced peace
Made all laws
 Economic
sunder
noi t idnC
o the Old Regime

• France’s economybased
saw primarily on
agriculture
• Peasant farmers
e cbore
n aofrthe
F burden of taxation
• Poor harvests meant that peasants had trouble
paying their regular taxes
–Certainly couldto
drnot
ohave
f fa their taxes raised
•Bourgeoisie often
to
degagather
nam wealth
– But were upset that
yehtpaid taxes while nobles did not
 FranceBankrupt
sI
• The king (Louis XVI) lavished money on himself
and residences like Versailles
• Queen Marie Antoinetewas seen as a wasteful
spender
• Government found its funds depleted as a result
of wars
– Including the fundingthe
f o American Revolution
• Deficit spending – a governmentspending more
money than it takes in from tax revenues
• Privileged classes would not submit to being
taxed
 Philosophy ofFrench
eht Revolution: The
Enlightenment (Age of Reason)
• Scientistse cduring
had
na sdiscovered
s ithe
aneR laws that govern the natural
world
• Intellectuals – philosophes – began to ask if natural
laws might also apply to human beings
–Particularly
such
sno itoas
t uhuman
tgovernments
i t sn i
– Philosophes were secular in thinking – they used reason
and logic, rather than faith, religion, and
superstition, to answer important questions
– Used reason and logic to determine how governments
are formed
• Tried to figure out what,gic
al
lo
rational principles work to tie people
to their governments
–Questioned the divine
of
thgikings
r
 Long-
m
Causes
re-tand
t rohS
• Long-term causes
–Also known as underlying causes
–Causes which can stem back
ynyears
am
• Short-term causes
–Also known as immediate causes
– Causes which happen closeo tthe moment the change or action
happens
•Example: A person is erdiffrom his or her job.
– Long-term cause(s):noisThe
s often
r e p late to work and is generally
unproductive on the job.
– Short-term cause(s):noThe
fails
s r epto show up for work and does not
call the employer.
• Key: One typically does not happen without the other.
Events which bring important change (or action) need both
long-term and short-term causes.
 Long-term sC
eusof
a the French Revolution

ydsicluseds uEverything
o i ve r p
Also

• Absolutism ei•tcliSystem
msdtrade
which ritsetrn a cof r em
tcem l(•i lUnjust
i dRegime)
tO o-po i cos • Influencef oother
• Poor hsvaretswhich left peasant successful revolutions
farmers with little • England’s
) s9u8Revolution
o61i r- o88lG61 (
money for taxes •noAmerican
(1775-1783)
i t u l oveR
• InfluenceEfnolightenmentosplhies
 Short-termsof
esuC
athe French Revolution

Bankruptcy Great raF

e Estates-General
• Caused yb deficit • Worst
eninima f • Louis XVI dno
ah choice
spending memory but to call for a
r e •tgot,
s (Tur Financial
s i Necker,
n im deh• sHungry,
i rpeasants
edveorpm
aei fthat nobles meeting of the
Calonne) proposed at Estates- Estates- General to
changes General were find a solution to
• Butewere
seht rejected seeking greater the bankruptcy
• AssemblyfNotables privileges problem
o
voted down • Attacksno nobles •All
s e tthree
a t se
taxation for the occurred throughout • Had nott since
em
nobility in 1787 the country in 1614
1789 • Set in
noai tm
oseries of
events which
resulted in the
abolition of the
monarchy and a
completely new
socio- political
system for France
 Preparing for
e hEstates-General
t
•Winter of 1788-1789
–Members of the esateselected representatives

• Cahiers
– Traditional listsfgrievances
o written by the
people
–Nothing out
y r aof
n ithe
dro
•Asked for only moderatechanges
 Meeting ofeEstates-General:
ht
May 5, 1789
•Voting was conductedestate
yb
–Each estate had one evot
– First and Second esatEts could operate as a bloc to stop
the Third Estate from having its way
◊First Estate + ◊ SecondEstate - vs. - ◊ Third
Estate
• Representatives from the Third Estate demanded
that voting be by population
– This would give thedEstate
rT
ih a great advantage
• Deadlock resulted
 First
Estate =
1 Vote
or
130,000
Votes
 Tennis
Oath
t ruoC
The Third Estate declared
tof lbe
e sthe
t i National Assembly.

Louis XVI responded by olcknigthe Third Estate out of the meeting.

The Third Estate relocated to abyratennis

ne court where its members vowed to stay together
and create a written constitution for France.

On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together as the
National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France.
Tennis Court Oath by Jacques Louis David
 The Tennis Court Oath
“The National gnthat
Assembly,
i r eitd has
i s nbeen
oc summoned to establish the
constitution of the kingdom, to effect the regeneration of the
public order, and to maintain the true principles of
monarchy; that nothing can prevent it from continuing its
deliberations in whatever place it may be forced to
establish itself; and, finally, that wheresoever its members
are assembled, there is the National Assembly;
“Decrees that all members of this Assembly shall immediately
take a solemn oath not to separate, and to reassemble
wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of
the kingdom is established and consolidated upon firm
foundations; and that, the said oath taken, all members and
each one ofyshall
them
l laudividnratify
i this steadfast resolution by
signature.”
 s nReview
o i t s euQ
3. Describe the
2. How does size, privileges,
1. What was the an absolute
Old Regime? exemptions,
monarchy and burdens of the
(absolutism) three estates.
operate?
6. What were
5. Describe the the underlying (long-
4. What is type of thinking
deficit term) causes of the
used by the French
spending? philosophes. Revolution?

7. What were 8. Explain the

the immediate (short- debate over voting 9. What was the
term) causes of the which occurred in Tennis Court
French the Estates- Oath?
Revolution? General.
Four Phases
of
)sdothe
i rePFrench
( Revolution

National A
m
esybl(1789-1791)

Legislative
(1791-1792)
y l bmes sA

Convention
)59-1
72971(

Directory
)99-1
75971(
yNational
l(1789-1791)
bme s sA

• Louis XVIdid not

actually want a
written conutositn
• When news of his
plan to use military
force against the
National Assembly
reached Paris on July
14, 1789, people
stormed the Bastille
 UprisningParis
i

People
seized
s iofr aP weapons Uprising
dhtaroeugrhposutFrance
from the Bastille
•July 14, 1789 •Nobles
d e k cwere
at ta
• Parisians
their
dez i nown
ag r ogovernment • Records
l dues
aduofe and
f owed taxes
which they called the were destroyed
Commune • Many nobles fled the
• Small groups– factions – country – became known
competed to control the as émigrés
city of Paris • Louis XVIforced
sw
a to fly the
new tricolor flag of France
 Goodbye,Versailes! !esllaV
sierA
u,di
• Parisian Commune dthat
eraef Louis XVI would have
foreign troops invade France to put down the
rebellion
– Louis XVI’s wife, M
eiarAntoinette, was the sister of
the Austrian emperor
• A group ofdewomen
Versailles
kc a t t a on October 5,
1789
– Forced royal familyo trelocate to Paris along with
National Assembly
– Royal family spent txenseveral years in the Tuileries
Palace as virtual prisoners
Tuileries
e(Paris,
calaP France)
 Changes underehNational
t Assembly

f guilds
A
hsm
ibolento and labor
unions fA
special
obintoilo pvrieliges f 1791 oniouttiC
tons

Manysleft
elbon France
Declaration of e the
Equality
r o law
f e (for
b men) and became
the Rights of known as
Man émigrés

Taxes
dbased
eivel on the
Reforms
n local
i gonvm
erent ability to pay
 Declaration of the Rights of Man

F
noreigediolm
efr o Freedom
fspecoh Freedom
f othe press

depoyrptneraG
riaughts ”!yt inretarf,ytilauqe,y“L
trebi Rightf othe
people to create
laws

Rightao tfair rtail

 Declaration of the Rights
of Woman
Women n some
did
i a g rights
during the French
Revolution, but these were
Journalist Olym ep de designed
Madame Jeanne
Gouges argued in her forseother
soprup
Rolandas dealso
vr es
Declaration of the
Rights of Woman that a leader insthe ’nemow than liberating women.
rights
and
, tnm
eewas
vm
o able to • Women could nh iteriproperty,
women are equal but only because doing so
heavily influence her
citizens
t i fengand
should
from eobvernmentalreforms weakened feudalism and
husband (a government reduced wealth among the
official). upper classes.
just asmen did. • Divorce became
, r ebuti s a eonly to
weaken the Church’s control
over marriage.
 End Privileges
of
laicepS
• Church lands divided,
, dwere
ez i e sand sold to peasants
• Civil Constitution of the Clergy derthat
iuqer Church
oficials be elected by the people, with salaries paid
by the government
– 2/3 of Church oficaisl fled the country rather than swear
allegiance to this
•All feudal dues and tithes were eradicated
• All specialegslvipof
r the First and Second Estates
were abolished
 Reforms Government
in
lacoL
• The 30 provinces
dntheir
a “petty tyrants”
(Intendants) were replaced with 83 new
departments
– Ruled by selected
ronr evog

• New courts, with judges elected by the

people, were established
 C
fon1791
sutioitno
• Democratic features
–France became a limited monarchy
•King became merely the
of
daehstate
–All laws were createdthe
yb Legislative Assembly
–Feudalism was abolished
• Undemocratic features
–Voting was slimited
r eyapxtoa t
–Offices were reservedproperty
rof owners
•This new government
known
emaceb as the
Legislative Assembly
 Legislative
(1791-1792)
y l bmes sA
•Royal family sought hpelfrom Austria
–In June, 1791, theyt were
htrying
gua c to escape to Austria
•Nobles who fled
lived
noi tuthe
loabroad
ver as
émigrés
– They hoped that,ngwith
ihelp,
e rof the Old Regime could be
restored in France
• Church officialsdeChurch
tw
na lands, rights, and
privileges restored
–Some devout Catholic
salso
tnasaepsupported the Church
• Political
gndifferent
i t neparties,
s einterests,
r pe r emerged
– Girondists
– Jacobins
 Opposition toeNew
ht Government
• European monarchsdthat
eraef revolution would spread to
their own countries
–France was invaded
and
na i rby
Prussian
t suA troops
•In the uproar, the C
m
om
enutook control of Paris
– Commune was led by Danton, a member of the
Jacobin political party
• Voters began electing representatives for a new
convention which would write a republican
constitution for France
– A republic is a governmentni which the people elect
representatives who will create laws and rule on
their behalf
– Meanwhile, thousands
s e were
lof
bon executed under the suspicion
that they were conspirators in the foreign invasion
 Convention
)2-1
79
5971 (
• On September 22,the ,2971 Convention met for the
first time
•Established the First French Republic
•Faced domesticoniand
tiops strife
– Girondists were moderatesrepresented
ohw the rich
middle class of the provinces
– Jacobins (led by Marat, Danton,Robespierre)
dna
represented workers
•Faced opposition fromabroad
– Austria, England,
Prussia,
,dnal H
lo Sardinia, and Spain formed
a Coalition invading France
 Abolishmentf othe Monarchy
•The Conventionhdesibthe
aol monarchy
– As long as theyroyal
l ilived,
ma f the monarchy could be
restored
–Put the royal couple notrial for treason
•Convictions were a ofergoneconclusion
–Louis XVI was guillotined noJanuary 21, 1793
– Marie Antoinette was guilotined on October 16, 1793
– Daughter Marie-Thérèse
dewwas o to
l lgo
a to Vienna in
1795
• She could not become quenbecause of Salic law, which did not
allow females to succeed to the throne
– Son Louis-Charles, a.k.a.
XVII
s i uoL (lived 1785- 1795)
was beaten and mistreated until he died in prison
The threememorable
t sm
o
Jacobins were Georges
Danton, Maximilien
Robespierre, and Jean-
Paul Marat.

Because of adebilitating
illness, Marat was
eventually forced to work
from home.
He
d(in
etanwas
ithe
ssassatub while taking a
medicinal bath) by
Charlotte Corday, a
Girondist sympathizer, in
July, 1793.
The Death of Marat
David
s iu-L
oseby
uqcaJ
Growing Coalition against the French
• Convention drafted
nm
into
hecnerF the army to defeat the foreign
Coalition
–These troops were led by General Carnot
– The people supported
yoperations
r a t i l im because they did not want the
country back under the Old Regime
•Rouget de Lisle wrote the “Marseillaise”
–Became the French nationalanthem
–Inspired troops as they
led
e r ewinto battle
•After two years
–Coalition was defeated
–France had gained, rather than lost, territory
 Reign of Terror:
September 5, 1793-July 27,
• 1794
Despite
, the
s emilitary
sConvention
s e c cu s continued to face
problems domestically
• Danton and his Jacobin
party
lacitilop came to dominate
French politics
• Committee of Public Safety
–Headed by Danton (andreRobespierre)
tal
– Those accused
nwere
os aeof
tried
r t by the Committee’s
Revolutionary Tribunal
–Approximately 15,000
died
e l poon
ep the guillotine
•Guillotine became known as the lano“N
iRazor”
ta
•Including innovative
slike
reknihtOlympe de Gouges and
Madame Jeanne Roland
Committee ofPublic Safety
 End ofof
nthe
gTerror
i eR
•Members of the Girondistparty
lacitilop tried to end the
Reign of Terror initiated by the nJoabci political party
– This opposition to the Commeti of Public Safety caused many
Girondists to be tried and executed for treason
• Eventually, even Georges Dan
on
t wanted to end the
executions
–This resulted in Danton
gtried
nieb and executed for treason
• Maximilien Robespierre became
of
redathe
e l Committee
of Public Safety
–He continued the executions
–Convention came
e rfor
rtoethe
blame
i p sReign
eboR of Terror
• Thermidorean Reaction
–July 27, 1794 – endedof nthe
g Terror
i eR
– Convention sent Robespriand other members of the Committee
of Public Safety to the guillotine
•Robespierre was guillotinednoJuly 28, 1794
 Constitutionthe
fo Year III of the
Republic (1795)

• With the foreign

vanquished
s redavni and the Reign of Terror
at an end, the Convention was finally able to
inaugurate its new constitution
• Constitution ofeYear
ht III of the Republic
(1795) created the Directory
 Government undrethe Directory

evituceE
x •5 directors
deby
tniopa the Legislature

•Lower house (500 members)proposed laws

erutalsigL
e •Upper house (250 members)voted on these laws
• 2/3 of the Legislature
d l uinitially
ow be filled by members of the
Convention

• Girondists (middle-class party) had defeated the

Jacobins (working- and peasant-class party)
cifi lQ
au • Girondists’ constitution
to vote), as well
stated that suffrage (the right
as the right to hold office, were
limited to property owners
 OtherngiReforms
tPra Passed
by the Convention

Dealtblow
l athe
n i fto feudalism by
abolishing primogeniture (the
system whereby the oldest evsystem
iDrew
s neheofup
laws
r pm
aoc
Adopted
c isystem
the
r t em son inherited all of his
father’s estate)

Ended yaverlsin France’scolonies Established a nationwide

t nEnded
emno s idebt
r pmi
system of public education
 )Directory
997-15971 (
The Directory suferedfrom corruption and poor
administration.

The people of Francew

epoorer
rg and more frustrated with
their government.

Despite, or perhaps because

these
, fo struggles, the French developed a
strong feeling of nationalism – they were proud of their country and
devoted to it.

National pride was fueled

y rsuccesses.
a t iby
l im

It would be a military elader– Napoleon Bonaparte, coming to power

through a coup d’état – who would end the ten-year period (1789-
1799) known as the French Revolution.
 s nReview
o i t s euQ
2. What
rights
namuh were established
1. What
building
s i r aP was in 3. How ddiOlympe de
stormed on July France by
eh t Gouges fight for
14, 1789? Declaration of the women’s rights?
Rights of Man?

4. Whateémigrés,
rw
e and 5. Name dndescribe
a the
why did French two political 6. What
the
s aw
revolutionaries view parties competed
t aht for power Committee of Public
in Safety?
them as a threat?
. e c n raevolutionraryF

9. Looking back at the

7. Desbcire the Reign of 8. Were he“texcesses”of the
first half of 1789,
Terror and explain how French could the French
it eventually came ? d e i Revolution
f i t su j
Revolution have been
to an.dne Why or whynot?
avoided? If
so, how?