Unit 10: The French

Revolution

“Liberté, Égalité,
Fraternité”
 Unit 10 Essential Questions

1.Analyze the causes and

effects of the French
Revolution.
The French Revolution Begins

■1700’s- France considered most

advanced country of Europe
■center of Enlightenment, French
culture imitated all over the world
■But as 1700’s drew to a close great
unrest brewing in France
A.Causes of the Revolution
■ By 1780’s- revolutionary mood in
France growing b/c of 4 main
factors
1. The Old Regime
■ Ancien Regime— “Old Regime” political & social
system in France based on 3 large social classes
called Estates
First Estate Second Estate Third Estate
■ Catholic ● Rich nobles ● 97% of pop
Clergy ● 2% of pop ● Bourgeoisie
■ 1% of pop ● paid very little (middle class)
■ paid 2% of taxes ● Peasants- 80%
income in ● Against ENL of 3rd Estate
taxes ● Paid 1/2 of
■ against ENL income in taxes
ideas ● Support ENL
 Le Peuple sous Les Mis "At the End
of the Day"

l’ancien Régime

The People Under

the Old Regime

1. What does the

cartoon mean?

2. Which Estate’s
Point of View
does it come
from?
2. Enlightenment Ideas & American Rev
■ ENL ideas spreading among 3rd estate
■ inspired by success of American Rev.
■ began quoting ideas of ENL- demanding equality,
liberty, & democracy
3. Bad Economy
■ debt from previous kings & helping American Rev.
■ bad weather caused crop failures= severe famine and
inflation
■ Deficit Spending- spending more than you have- by the
King- Louis XVI
4. Weak Leadership
■ A strong leader may have been able to solve these
problems
■ Louis XVI indecisive, allowed matters to get out of
control
■ Queen Marie Antoinette, added to problem- unpopular
b/c she was Austrian
■ spent $$$ on gowns, jewels, gambling- known as
“Madame Deficit”
 Warm-Up
- Explain the Ancien Regime in France
- List the 4 Causes of the French
Revolution
B. Road to Revolution
■ Louis’ solution to $$ problems? tax nobles…
■ May 5, 1789- Louis called meeting of Estates-General-
assembly of representative from all 3 Estates- to approve
new tax, met at Versailles
■ May 5, 1789- the Estates-General met at Versailles, (first time in 175
years)
■ tax doesn’t pass- 3rd estate outvoted by 1st/2nd
■ July 7th, 1789- 3rd Estate makes National Assembly-
new legislative body to pass laws/reforms (first real act of
rev)
■ National Assembly pledged to write a constitution for
France=Tennis Court Oath
■ July 14th, 1789- a mob angry over bread prices gathered
weapons & stormed the Bastille- a prison in Paris full of
gunpowder
■ The mob killed guards and marched around Paris with their
heads on pikes- this became symbolic act of the revolution
■ Bastille Day- celebrated as French national holiday
today
Watch clip on Bastille Day!

We're Not Gonna Take

It
■Wild rumors that nobles hiring outlaws to
terrorize peasants- began a wave of
senseless violence called the Great Fear
■Peasants ran wild!
■Oct 1789 thousands of women marched
to Versailles to demand changes (appx.
60,000)
■broke into Palace of Versailles killing
some guards, demanded Louis and Marie
Antoinette return to Paris
■Louis agreed and royal family left
Versailles
 STOP!! Summarize what you’ve learned!
1.Which Estate felt most oppressed by the Old
Regime in France? Explain why they might
have felt that way.

2.Which of the 4 causes we discussed do you

think was MOST responsible for leading to the
French Revolution? Why?
 Work with a partner to answer the following questions:

1. How would you define the word revolution?

2. How would you distinguish a revolution from a civil war,
an uprising, a coup d’etat, a rebellion/ revolt or a
protest/demonstration?
3. Are some of these terms synonymous? If so which ones?
4. What elements do revolutions and other kinds of conflict
have in common? What elements are different?
5. What examples from history illustrate your ideas?
6. Can the word revolution be used to mean different things?

Greatest Revolutions of History

II. Revolution Spreads in France
A. A Constitutional Government
■ By 1791- National Assembly adopted a constitution
stating that “men are born and remain free and equal”
■ Created a Constitutional Monarchy ???
■ Abolished Ancien Regime & Estates System
■ Granted universal male suffrage- ???

National Assembly → Legislative

Assembly
B. Factions Split France
■ Old problems of debt, food shortage still affected France
■ Legislative Assembly split into 3 factions- political
parties

1. Radicals (left), wanted extreme changes like abolishing

monarchy
2. Moderates (middle) wanted compromise
3. Conservatives (right) liked limited monarchy, wanted
few changes in gov’t
■Factions outside Legislative
Assembly also wanted
change

■Émigrés- nobles who

wanted to restore Old
Regime
■Sans-Culottes- “those
without knee breeches” also
wanted lots of change,
found a way to exert their
power in the streets of Paris
III. War and Execution
■ Other European countries fear rev
would spread to them
■ Austria & Prussia urged French to
restore Louis XVI as an absolute
monarch
■ April 1792- Legislative Assembly
declare war on Austria and Prussia
■ Sept 1792- under pressure from
radicals, Legislative Assembly put newly
formed constitution aside, dissolved
monarchy, and called for a new
legislature
■ National Convention was formed
■Adopted universal male suffrage- right to
vote
■and declared France a Republic
C. Revolution Turns Radical
● Jacobins- radical political group take over, make drastic
changes
○ Jean Paul Marat - a Jacobin newspaper editor called for death of all who
supported King

National Assembly → Legislative Assembly→ National Convention → what’s

C. Revolution Turns Radical
● Jacobins- radical political group take over, make drastic
changes
○ Abolish monarchy & make France a Republic under
the National Convention
○ Kill Louis and Marie
■ Jan. 21, 1793- Louis XVI executed by new
invention, guillotine (Marie Antoinette executed Oct. 1793)

Fun Facts:
● 1939- last public
guillotining in France
● 1977- last guillotining
in France
● Guillotine Scene…. Pt 2

National Assembly → Legislative Assembly→ National Convention → what’s

D. Reign of Terror
■ 1793- Maximilien Robespierre, Jacobin leader in
power- created Committee of Public Safety (like the FBI)
■ Reign of Terror b/c so many were killed in the name of
“protection” of France- About 40,000
■ 1794 National Convention executed Robespierre
■ 1795- New Directory rules France- hired Napoleon
Bonaparte as General of the French army
Gaga Video

National Assembly → Legislative Assembly→ National Convention →

 STOP!! Summarize what you’ve learned!
1.What kind of government did the French
Revolution finally form in France? How is this
different from the Absolute Monarchy of the
Old Regime?

2.Explain the perspective of each of the factions

of the French Revolution:
a.Radicals-
b.Moderates-
c.Conservatives-
Section Two: Napoleon
Forges an Empire
- Warm-Up: What’s been
Napoleon’s role in the French
Rev?
A. Early Success
■ 1769- Born on island of Corsica
■ military school at age 9, graduated at age 16
■ When revolution broke out, joined army of the new
gov’t
A. Hero of the Hour
■ 1795- Rebels threatened National
Convention- Napoleon protects them
■ hailed throughout Paris as the savior
of the French Republic
■ 1795- Directory appointed Napoleon to lead army
against Austria, Gained a lot of popularity w/ many
victories
B. Napoleon Rules France
■ 1799- took over France in a coup d’etat (coo-day-tah)-
illegal seizure of power
■ 1800- new constitution giving all power to Napoleon
■ 1804- Napoleon crowned himself emperor w/ support
of the French voters

Cathedral of Notre Dame

■Napoleon’s 1st priority was to rebuild
economy
■set up public schools called lycees
■signed a concordat w/ Pope Pius VII to
est. a new relationship b/w Church and
State where Church had no say in
national affairs
■Also created
Napoleonic Code-
uniform set of laws
1. Limited liberty,
promoted order &
authority over
individual rights
2. Took away rights of
women
3. Re-established
slavery in the
Caribbean
4. Freedom of speech
was tightened
B. Napoleon Crowned as Emperor
■ 1804- Napoleon decided to make
himself emperor w/ support of the
French voters
■ at Notre Dame in Paris, Napoleon
crowned himself & his wife,
Josephine (gesture showed that he was more
powerful than the church)

Coat of arms of Emperor

Napoleon I
Coronation of Josephine
III. Napoleon Creates an Empire
■ Napoleon not content ruling just
France; wanted to control rest of
Europe & reassert French power in
the Americas
■ Napoleon failed- instead he sold the
Louisiana Territory to Thomas
Jefferson for $15 million
 Haiti and Independence
■ During French Rev- wealthy French
colonies, like Haiti had also rebelled and
declared independence- Napoleon wants
them back- why? $$$$
■ Toussaint L'Ouverture led slave
rebellion in Haiti
■ Due to illness among troops and the
motivation of Haitians for freedom,
France was unsuccessful.
B. The Napoleonic Wars in Europe
● 1800’s- Napoleonic Wars- Napoleon conquered most of
Europe
○ 1805- Battle of Trafalgar, lost to England
○ Overthrew monarchs of Spain/Austria/Italy/Prussia
● only controlled his European Empire for 5 years from
1807-1812
● 1812- invaded Russia, lost 95% of his army
 Label the Map:
England (UK), Frace, Spain, Italy, Russia, Austria, Prussia
B. The Battle of Trafalgar
■ Napoleon focused on creating his
European Empire
■ lost only one major battle- 1805- Battle
of Trafalgar against Horatio Nelson
and the British navy
III: Napoleon’s Empire Collapses
 I. Napoleons Three Costly Mistakes
■ Napoleon’s own personality greatest
danger to empire
■ efforts to extend Empire and crush
Britain= Napoleon made 3 disastrous
mistakes
1. The Continental System
■ 1806- Napoleon set up blockade to prevent
trade w/ Great Britain
■ called Continental System (trying destroy
Britain’s trade economy)
■blockade failed, Britain was able to get
ships through
■Continental System ended up hurting the
French economy ☹ as ships and sailors are
expensive
2. The Peninsular War
■ 1808- Portugal ignoring Continental
System so he sent troops through Spain
to invade Portugal
■ outraged Spanish- attack French troops-
Napoleon lost 300,000 troops during
this Peninsular War against
Portugal/Spain
3. The Invasion of Russia
■ 1812- Russia ignored
Continental System
■ Napoleon invaded Russia
in June of 1812- just before
winter
■ Russians used scorched-
earth policy— retreated
burning grain fields and
slaughtering livestock to
leave nothing for enemy to
eat
■ Napoleon had to return to
France- it was Oct, winter
was upon them
■When Napoleon’s Grand Army finally
left Russia there were only 10,000 of
the original 420,000 men still alive
A. Napoleon’s Downfall
● efforts to extend Empire and crush Britain= Napoleon’s
downfall
1812- invaded Russia, lost 95% of his army
● 1814- Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden attack France
○ Napoleon defeated, exiled to island of Elba
● French restored monarchy w/ Louis XVIII (18th)- very unpopular
● 1815- Napoleon escaped returned to France, claimed throne
● Battle of Waterloo- Napoleon defeated for good by British and
Prussian forces
● defeat ended Napoleon’s last bid for power called the Hundred
Days
● British exiled Napoleon to Saint Helena (died in 1821)
 I. The Congress of Vienna
■1814-heads of European gov’ts wanted
to estb lasting peace/stability in Europe
■leaders of 5 “great powers” of Europe
(Russia, Prussia, Austria, England,
France) met in Vienna, Austria in
meetings called the Congress of
Vienna to discuss this goal
■most influential rep was foreign minister
from Austria, Klemens von Metternich
Klemens von Metternich
II. Metternich’s Plan for Europe
■ Metternich distrusted democratic
ideals of Enlightenment and
sought to return European politics
to a pre-rev state
■ Metternich had 3 goals for Europe:
1.Prevent future French aggression
2.restore a balance of power among
nations in Europe
3.restore Europe’s royal families to their
thrones
III. Political Changes Beyond Vienna
Leaders of Europe very nervous about more revolutions
Nations agreed to form the Concert of Europe to help
one another if a revolution broke out in their nation or to
intervene in other nations if a movement for independence
should emerge
IV. Legacy of French Rev and Congress of Vienna
■ French Rev and Congress of Vienna influence
European politics for next 100yrs
■ Congress of Vienna sought to undo changes- but
further ignited ppl’s commitment to democratic
gov’t
■ a new era had begun
C. A Second French Revolution
- 1848- monarchy overthrown, declared Second
Republic
- Civil war raged until a stable democracy was
established in 1871
Do You Hear the People Sing?

■ Engineering an Empire Napoleon- 30- e