American and French

Revolutions

And

The Napoleonic Era

Britain’s Dominance

• Became United Kingdom of Great Britain (1707) when England & Scotland united

• To increase its power, Britain expanded its control in N. America, Africa, and Asia – including 13 colonies along N. American east coast

– Merchants in colonial ports (Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Charleston) did not want British government in their affairs

American Revolution

• To pay for costs of war & colonization,

Britain demanded more tax revenue

from English colonies

– Stamp Act, Tea Act, etc.

• First Continental Congress met in 1775

(Philadelphia) to discuss independence

from Britain

• Fighting erupted (Lexington &

Concord)

American Revolution

• 1776 – Declaration of Independence declared at

Second Continental Congress

– Americans enlisted help of foreign alliances (France, Spain,

Dutch Republic) to defeat Britain

• Americans victorious at Yorktown (1781) and gain

independence via Treaty of Paris (1783)

A New Nation is Born

• 13 colonies become states:

– States had little interest in having a

strong central government

– Formed a loose bond via Articles of

Confederation, proved inadequate

– State delegates met to revise Articles in

1787, instead a new system of

government is proposed (Federalism)

outlined in a “constitution” to serve as

Supreme Law of the Land

Three Separate Branches

• Legislative – make the law

– Two chambered Congress:

House & Senate

• Executive – enforce the law

– President & Cabinet,

Command Armed Forces

• Judicial – interpret the law

– Supreme Court, federal courts

Bill of Rights

• The promise of a bill of

rights crucial to U.S.

Constitution being ratified

– First 10 amendments to the

Constitution (1791) = U.S.

Bill of Rights

The French Revolution and

Napoleon

(1789-1815)

Main Ideas

• Social inequality & economic problems

contributed to the French Revolution

• Radical groups controlled the Revolution

• Revolution allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to take

control and dominate French & European history

from 1799-1815

Background to French Revolution

• France divided into three social classes (Estates)– First – clergy (exempt from paying taille)

– Second – nobility (exempt from taille)

– Third – commoners (98% of population)• Peasants, artisans, shopkeepers

• Bourgeoisie (middle class) – owned 25% of land

• Economic crisis resulted in 1/3 of population living in poverty

• Ideas of the Enlightenment encouraged oppressed to challenge the monarchy and old order

Reasons for Economic Crisis

• French government spent lavishly on

wars & court luxuries

• Queen Marie Antoinette (“Madame

Deficit”) especially known for her

extravagance

• To address economic crisis, King Louis

XVI forced to call a meeting of the

Estates-General (French Parliament),

which had not met since 1614.

Estates-General becomes

National Assembly

• Each Estate had representatives in the Estates-

General

– Third Estate wanted a constitutional government &

abolishment of tax exemptions for clergy & nobility

– However, each estate had only one vote – obviously First &

Second Estates overruled wishes of the Third Estate & King

Louis XVI upheld the voting tradition of one vote per Estate

Storming of the Bastille

• July 14, 1789 – angry Parisian mob of 8,000 men & women, looking for weapons, stormed the Bastille, a royal armory & prison• The Bastille was defended by

Marquis de Launay & small garrison of 114 men

• After 4 hrs. of fighting Marquis de Launay surrendered – the angry mob beat Launay to death, cut off his head & carried it aloft through streets of Paris

Revolution Spreads

• Local revolutions against

the old order spread

throughout France,

peasant rebellions were

particularly violent and

caused great panic (The

Great Fear)

Destruction of Old Order

• National Assembly first

adopted the Declaration of the

Rights of Man and Citizen

– Freedom & equal rights for all

– End to tax exemptions

– Citizens take part in making laws

• King Louis XVI stayed at

Versailles & refused to accept

the laws of the National

Assembly

Bread Shortage

• Paris reached a high level of tension & price of bread soared (50-80% of a peasant or urban worker’s income went toward bread)

• In October (1879) thousands of Parisian women armed with pitchforks marched to Versailles to confront Louis XVI

• As a result, the royal family was forced to meet the mob demands and the family was escorted back to Paris, where they essentially became prisoners

Roman Catholic Church

• The National Assembly took control of the Roman Catholic Church, seized its land and declared bishops & priests must be elected

• By 1791, the “old order” was officially destroyed

Revolution’s Radical Phase

• King Louis XVI looked to other European monarchs (Austria & Prussia) for help in crushing the revolt - family tried to escape Paris unsuccessfully

• The National Assembly, fearing intervention from Austria, declared war and France was soundly defeated

• The defeat, along with increasing economic troubles, allowed radical sans-culottes (Paris Commune) to take power & capture the royal family

Sans-culottes

• Led by minister of justice, Georges Danton, they sought revenge on King Louis XVI & his supporters (thousands arrested and killed)

• France’s new ruling body (National Convention) met in 1792 to decide the royal family’s fate– October 16, 1793 – Marie Antoinette

executed

– January 21, 1793 – King Louis XVI executed

– Both sent to the “guillotine” and beheaded

Committee of Public Safety

• Execution of King Louis VXI outraged other European monarchies who formed loose coalition to invade France

• In response, the National Convention formed 12 member Committee of Public Safety first led by Georges Danton, then later by Maximilien Robespierre– Robespierre believed in Rousseau’s idea of

Social Contract, therefore anyone who did not “submit” to the general will (as he saw it) should be executed

Reign of Terror

• For roughly a year (1793-1794) the

Committee of Public Safety took

control

– 40,000 people executed as internal

enemies of the revolutionary republic –

guillotine symbolic of “terror”

– Reign of Terror eventually came to end

with Robespierre’s execution on July

28, 1794 –moderate leaders took over

The Guillotine

Execution of Louis XVI

Marie Antoinette

The Directory

• The Committee of Public Safety’s power was reduced, a new legislative body and five electors known as The Directory ruled France from 1795-1799– The Directory’s rule was marked by

corruption, radical opposition, & continued economic problems

– Situation perfect for a military overthrow of the government (coup d’ état)

The Revolution is

over. I am the

revolution.

- Napoleon

Bonaparte, 1799

The Age of Napoleon

• Napoleon born in 1769 in Corsica, attended military school, rose to rank of commander in French army– In 1799, led coup d’ état

against The Directory and became absolute ruler of France

– In 1802, declared himself “consul for life”

– In 1804, crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I

“Ambition is never

content, even on the

summit of

greatness.”

- NAPOLEON

BONAPARTE

Napoleon’s Reforms

1. Made peace with Roman

Catholic Church

2. Established consistent legal

system = Napoleonic Code,

which preserved most of the

Revolution’s reforms

3. Created a centralized

government (bureaucracy), &

implemented a new noble

class/aristocracy based on

merit instead of birthright

(meritocracy)

Napoleon’s Conquest

• From 1805-1807 Napoleon’s Grand Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies

– Nations defeated by Napoleon became allied states within his Grand Empire

• Napoleon’s grand prize was Great Britain – however, its sea power made it invulnerable to an army’s attack

• Trying to defeat Britain, Napoleon utilized “economic warfare” known as the Continental System = stop nations from trading with the British (unsuccessful & only sparked nationalism)

Napoleon’s Fall

• In June of 1812, Grand Army of 600,000 men invaded Russia because it refused to comply with Continental System

– Russian forces draw Napoleon’s army deep into the country (Moscow) French eventually forced to retreat

– The “Great Retreat” took place in harsh winter and only 40,000 of Napoleon’s men survived

• European foes capitalized and captured Paris in March, 1814

• Napoleon exiled to the island of Elba & France’s Bourbon monarchy restored in person of Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI

The Retreat

Napoleon’s Return & Defeat

• Napoleon returned from exile (The Hundred Days) to defeat Louis XVIII and reclaim power

• Napoleon, however, suffered his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo where a combined force of British & Prussian armies led by Duke of Wellington delivered a crushing defeat

• This time, Napoleon exiled to island of St. Helena never to return, he died in 1815 (53 yrs. old)

Napoleon’s Death

“France, the army, Josephine”

-Napoleon’s dying words

“I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order

out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of

birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished

feudalism and restored equality to all

regardless of religion and before the law. I

fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old

Regime because the alternative was the

destruction of all this. I purified the

Revolution.”

Time Line• May 05, 1789 - A meeting of the Estates-General was

called by Louis XVI in Versailles to discuss and approve a

new tax plan.

• the Third Estate proclaims itself "The National Assembly."

Tennis Court Oath

• July 7-13- Citizens’ militia formed; demonstrations and

speeches

• July 14, 1789- Fall of the Bastille

• August 04,1789 - The end of feudalism and serfdom in

France was announced by the National Assembly.

• August 27,1789 - The Declaration of the Rights of Man

was issued by The National Assembly.

Time Line• October 5,1789 - The women of Paris invaded Versailles.

Parisians, led by a large number of women, march upon

Versailles and force the royal family back to Paris, where

they take up residence at the Tuileries. Louis XVI is

considered by many a "Prisoner" in Paris. The Assembly, still

in Versailles, declares, in the spirit of constitutional

monarchy, its inseparability from the king.

• 1791 - The Constitution of 1791 was adopted.

• June 20,1791 - Louis XVI and his family were arrested

while trying to flee from France but were arrested.

• April 20, 1792 - France declared war on Austria.

• January 21, 1793 - Louis XVI sentenced to the guillotine.

Time Line• August 1793 - A National Draft was issued calling for all

able-bodied men to enlist in the army.

•September 1793 to July 1794 - The Reign of Terror court

sentenced 20,000 to 40,000 people to death.

• July 27, 1794 - The National Convention arrested

Robespierre.

• July 28, 1794 - Robespierre beheaded.

• 1795 - A new Constitution was adopted.

• 1799 - The fall of the Directory heralds the end of the

French Revolution.