Storming of the Bastille

http://thecaveonline.com/APEH/frrevdocuments.html#anchorbatille

Read the first hand account of the storming

Overthrow of the Bastille (#3) • winter and spring 1788-1789

– high bread prices cause shortages and famine

• July 11, 1789 – Louis XVI – dismisses finance minister Necker

• Rumors circulate in Paris that Louis XVI sent an army to disperse the National Assembly at Versailles

The Fall of the Bastille• Prepare a 30 sec to 1 min first-hand account of

the storming of the Bastile• Include the following:– Symbol/importance of Bastille to French people– Use “the citizens had become hardened to the fire”– Events of storming– Treatment of governor and officers of Bastille– Use “This glorious day must amaze our enemies, and

finally usher in for us the triumph of justice and liberty”

Overthrow of the Bastille • July 14, 1789 – large crowds against Louis

XVI go the Bastille– a fortress that once held political prisoners – looking to arm the militia (98 Parisians, several troops and the governor of the Bastille are killed

• July 15, 1789 – the National Guard, led by Marquis de Lafayette, officially take over the Bastille. – The head of the governor is cut off and

marched around Paris• Louis XVI days later recognizes the new

government, the Commune of Paris

On July 14, 1789, crowds stormed the Bastille, a prison in Paris. This event, whose only practical effect was to free a few prisoners, marked the first time the populace of Paris redirected the course of the revolution.Anonymous, France, 18th century, “Siege of the Bastille, 14 July, 1789.” Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

Summary Q: The Bastille

• Why was the Bastille so hated by the people of Paris at this point in time?

• Why has the fall of the Bastille come to be celebrated as a big holiday in France?

Effect: Power of the Masses

p. 699-700

Effect: The August Decrees, Aug. 4, 1789p. 698/Brown Box

Cause: The Great Fear (#4)p. 697-698

The “Great Fear”• peasant disturbances intensify in the countryside as

the aristocrats land is taken over• August 4, 1789 –August Decrees– Several nobles

and clergymen renounce their nobility rights at the National Constituent Assembly to quell the riots– All people of France were subject to the same laws and

obligations to society– No more feudal dues or tithes; no more special status or

tax exemptions for nobles– All male citizens could hold gov’t, army, or Church office– Created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the

Citizen• “Old Regime” is officially abolished

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (#5)

• new constitution drafted on August 27, 1789 by Lafayette with help from Thomas Jefferson and ideas of Locke

• Modeled on American Decl. of Indep.

• “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” slogan of Fr. Rev

• The decrees– Men are born free and equal– Men are guaranteed freedom of religion, speech,

and due process– Taxes based on ability to pay– The right to rule rests on the general will of the

people• Rights of women not included

Women’s response to the “Declaration”

• 1791, Olympe de Gouges wrote The Rights of Women which argued for women to enjoy the same rights as men like right to education, property, and divorce

• De Gouges would be executed during the Reign of Terror

The Royal Family Forced to Return to Paris

• P. 701• Describe the 5 Ws.• Describe the events that led to the return of

Louis XVI and the National Constituent Assembly back to Paris

The Women’s March on Versailles• A large mob (7,000) led by mostly women upset

about bread prices march to Versailles – October 5, 1789

• King Louis XVI forced to go back to the Tuileries in Paris

• Crowd wanted to hold the King to his promise to respect the decrees of the National Assembly

• King Louis XVI and family now under control of the people of Paris

• National Assembly, fearful of the mob, returned to Paris

The Women of Paris marched to Versailles on October 5, 1789. The following day the royal family was forced to return to Paris with them. Henceforth, the French government would function under the constant threat of mob violence.Anonymous, 18th CE, “To Versailles, to Versailles”. The women of Paris going to Versailles, 7 October, 1789. French. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Photograph copyright Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY