Phases of the French Revolution

Warm Up: December 5/6

In your journal: What problems in French society did our Estates General simulation expose? What difficulties in solving the problems were apparent? Explain.

Announcements: This week I will be checking notebooks for the government

unit. Make sure you have handouts and class work in your notebook.

Essay prompts are on the next slide. We will begin the writing process on Friday or Monday. If you have met the persuasive essay requirement and would like to attempt a cause/effect essay, please see Mr. Austin.

Bring Textbooks every day until winter break. Homework: Estates General Simulation Worksheet

Persuasive Essay Prompts

You are a French middle class citizen who supported and lived through the revolution. During that time you have been regularly corresponding with an American citizen who participated in the American Revolution. Napoleon has just been crowned emperor officially ending the revolution. Was the French Revolution worth it? Take a side and write to your American friend.

Evaluate this statement and write a persuasive paper in support of the statement or against it. “The French people were justified in overthrowing their monarch and forming a new government due to the unfair social systems in place, the lack of representation in government and the excesses of the monarch’s government system.”

Evaluate this statement and write a persuasive paper in support of the statement or against it. “Napoleon’s rise to power in France was a positive thing for the French people because it gave the country a strong ruler that championed reform.”

The French Revolution

The Revolution Begins

Phase 1 – The Moderate Phase (1789-1791)

Phase 2 – The Radical Phase (1792-1794)

Phase 3 – The End: The Directorate and Napoleon (1795-1815)

The Estates General

• Imagine the following:• You are a middle class shopkeeper who was

selected to be a delegate at the meeting of the Estates General

• You came to Versailles expecting to be able to make some meaningful changes in the French political and economic systems

• You and your fellow delegates from the Third Estate want all three estates to meet together and make decisions with each delegate having an equal vote. Since there were more Third Estate delegates, you will finally get a major say on laws and reforms>

• Instead, the nobility and the clergy insisted that the votes be held by order so that they could outvote the Third Estate despite having far less actual votes

The Question

What would you suggest for you and your fellow middle class delegates to do at this point?

What do you think they did?

The French Revolution: Part 01: April 1789-September 1791: Causes and Onset of the Rebellion

The Revolution Begins

Read about the three events that started the revolution (pp.654-655) and answer the questions below for each section of the text you read: The National Assembly▪ What action did the delegates to the Estates

General from the Third Estate take after the King ruled that votes would be taken “by Order”?▪ What did they pledge to do?▪ Who joined them?

The Revolution Begins (continued)

The Storming of the Bastille What rumors led to the storming of the

Bastille? What happened? What is the significance of the event?

The Great Fear What rumors fueled the “senseless

panic”? What action did French peasants take? What action did Parisian women take

and what were the results of their acts?

The Moderate Phase (1789-1791) Read pp. 656-657 stopping at the

subsection “Factions Split France”. Answer the following question: What actions did the National Assembly take

to reform France, its social structure, its relation with the Church and its political structure during this time period.

Then read over the handout, “Declaration of the Rights of Man” and think about how this document addressed the factors that led to the French Revolution.

Group Discussion

Compare your response to the reading question. Make sure each group member has a complete answer.

Then as a group review the handout. Discuss, develop and write down an answer to the following question: How did the Declaration address the

causes of the French Revolution that we discussed earlier in class?

The Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Background

The new government established by the National Assembly still faced some of the problems that had caused the revolution such as food shortages and government debt.

The question of how to handled these problems caused the newly created Legislative Assembly to split into three groups each of whom proposed different solutions: A Radical Group A Moderate Group A Conservative Group

The Radical Phase (1792-1794)

Question (answer to the best of your ability: What ideas concerning how the new

government should be run do you think each group proposed?

The Radicals? The Moderates? The Conservatives?

The Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Background

Answer: The Radicals (the left) wanted sweeping changes

such as getting rid of the king The Moderates (the center) wanted to make a few

minor changes The Conservatives (the right) were happy with the

idea of a limited monarchy and wanted to make no changes

Question: What sort of situation or events might cause the Radical point of view to gain support in the country and the government?

The Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Background

If you were a monarch or a noble in a European country in the 1790’s how would you view the French Revolution, its limitation of the power of the king and its focus on citizen equality? What might you be inclined to do?

If you were Louis XVI, having lost your traditional power, what might you hope that your other European monarchs might do for you?

The Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Background

Austria and Prussia attacked France with the goal of restoring Louis XVI to full power. It appeared that their actions were being encouraged by King Louis.

What effect do you think this might have had on the power struggle between the Radicals, Moderates and Conservatives in the French national Legislature?

The Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Background

The war with Prussia and Austria strengthened the Radicals and allowed them to take control.

An eventual leader of the radicals was Maximilien Robespierre. A quote from his writing is printed on p. 660 of your text.

Read it and answer the following question: What might you expect will happen in

France when Robespierre takes over the French government?

The Radical Phase (1792-1794)

We are going to watch a film which will detail the events of the Radical Phase of the Revolution.

The film will also touch on the beginning of the third phase of the Revolution.

As you watch the film you need to answer the questions that appear on the next slide for each factor (they are also written on a handout)

The QuestionsThe Legislative Assembly Takes Charge: October 1, 1791 1. What 3 problems did the Legislative Assembly face? Birth of the First Republic and the Execution of the King, April, 1792-January, 1793 2. Whom did the revolutionaries blame for the Prussian invasion?3. What did the revolutionaries do to those accused of being “enemies of the Revolution”?4. What was the “National Convention” and what action did it take?5. Why was the King executed?6. What effect did the execution of the king have? The Terror 7. What was done in the spring of 1793 to stop those opposed to the government?8. What organization began ruling France in the summer of 1793 and who headed it?9. Against whom was the Reign of Terror organized?10. What percentage of people tried by revolutionary tribunals during the Reign of Terror were found guilty and sentenced to death? The Directory and the Rise of Napoleon: October 1795 – November 1799 11. What replaced the Committee for Public Safety as the government of France?12. How did the revolution end?

The Film

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=645800A0-0B13-4161-91D4-D316C1AB628C&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

The End: Napoleon’s Rule

Read “Napoleon Rules France” on pp. 654-665 of your text and answer the following questions:

1. What was Napoleon’s first act as leader and what was the result?

2. What economic actions did he take?3. What political actions did he take?4. What educational actions did he take?5. What religious actions did he take?6. What legal actions did he take7. What political office did he take for himself in

1804?

The End: Napoleon’s Rule – Group Work

Compare your answers to the 7 questions about Napoleon’s rule. Make sure all group member’s answers are accurate and complete.

Then individually read the handout on Napoleon’s letters.

Finally as a group discuss and develop and have each group member write down an answer to the following question: In what ways did Napoleon’ s actions advance the

ideas and goals of the French Revolution and in what ways did they reverse or counter them?

(Looking at your handout Declaration of the Rights of Man” and your notes on the factors that led to the Revolution will help you do this task)