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The French RevolutionWhen Revolution goes Right, Left

or Wrong?

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Objectives

I. Crisis in the French Monarchy

II. The Revolution of 1789

III. The Reconstruction of France

IV. The Second Revolution

V. The Reign of Terror

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I. Crisis in the French Monarchy

A. The financial crisis

B. Louis XIV was a weak ruler

C. The Estates General

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A. The financial crisis

• France was in massive debt– The 7 year war– The American Revolution– Lifestyle of the Bourbon family

• Nobility or the Parlements refused to increase taxes

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B. Louis XVI was a weak ruler

• Little influence over nobility– Nobility did not want to increase taxes– Would not raise taxes unless Estates General

met – It had not met since 1614.

• Little influence with public– Sex scandals

• Often unable to address pressing issues

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C. The Estates General• The First Estate: Catholic Church

– Controlled about 10% of the land.– Paid a 2% gift to the monarch

• The Second Estate: The Nobility– Less than 2% of the population.– Owned 25% of the land– Could tax peasants at will.– Resented authority of crown

• The Third Estate: everyone else– The emerging Bourgeoisie.– The urban working class.– Peasant farmers.– Carried the majority of the tax burden.

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II. The Revolution of 1789

A. Meeting of the Estates General

B. The National Assembly

C. The Tennis Court Oath

D. Fall of the Bastille

E. The Great Fear

F. March on Versailles

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A. Meeting of the Estates General

• All Estates agreed change was needed– Political reform– Address corruption

• But bitter division over how to vote.– Vote by order, Third Estate will lose 2-1.– Vote by Head, Third Estate wins 610-591.

• King Louis XVI requests estates to meet separately

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B. The National Assembly

• Third Estate refuses and forms National Assembly

• Invites 2nd and 3rd Estate to sit with them

• Seized power away from the First and Second estates

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C. The Tennis Court Oath

• Vowed to write a constitution

• Members of other estates joined

• King capitulated to National Assembly

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and citizen’s.

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D. Fall of the Bastille: 7/14/1789• Paris was a model of instability.

– Poor wheat crop cause price increases.– High price of bread diminished demand for other goods.– Riots over rising prices of bread.

• Louis XVI called for his Swiss guards to come to Paris– To Protect the crown– The crowds feared this move.– The National Assembly feared the Guards were coming after

them.

• Peasants attack Bastille to seize weapons for defense– This is NOT the Assembly

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E. The Great Fear spreads: Summer 1789.

• Peasant mobs rise against nobility.– Attacked manors– Destroyed legal documents– Seized land– Stopped paying taxes

• National Assembly forces Louis XVI to end Feudalism

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F. The March on Versailles: 10/5/1789

• Rising bread prices anger woman of Paris.– They march on the assembly.– They march to Versailles.

• The woman and mobs attack Versailles.

• Force King to agree to return to Paris.

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The March on Versailles

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III. The Reconstruction of France

A. Political reorganization

B. Economic policy

C. Civil Constitution of the Clergy

D. The Counter Revolution

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A. Political reorganization

• Citizenship and voting based on tax payers

• Created 83 departments– Replaced all provincial power– Further crippled nobility

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B. Economic policy

• Assembly outlawed labor unions– Counter to individualism

• Assembly confiscated the land of the Church

• Issued Assignats or bonds– Issued too many and led to inflation

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C. Civil Constitution of the Clergy

• Transformed Catholic Church into secular part of state.– Between loss of lands and this catholic church

was very angry– Even members of Church who supported the

assembly opposed the Revolution now.– Really angered the Pope

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D. The Counter Revolution

• The revolution threatened political and social order across Europe– The Vatican– French Nobility or Emigres– The King tried to flee, but was caught– Monarchs of Europe saw its as a threat

• Declaration of Pillnitz– Frederick II of Prussia vowed to protect Marie Antoinette

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IV. The Second Revolution

A. The Jacobins

B. The Paris Commune

C. The Sans-Culottes

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A. The Jacobins

• Political Party of the Revolution– Influenced by Rousseau and Enlightenment– Emerged as early leaders of assembly

• Declared war on Austria as a threat to the Revolution (1792)

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B. The Paris Commune

• Formed to govern Paris during the war

• Consisted of mobs of people to protect the revolution– Feared the counter revolutionaries

• Attacked the prison

• Attacked the royal residence– Imprisoned the family

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C. The Sans-Culottes

• Shop keepers, workers and artisans– Primarily the poor

• Very angry at price of food– People have a right to food– Angry at the Jacobins

• Divisions in the assembly– The left was extremely revolutionary– The Right wanted a constitutional Monarchy

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The King is dead !!!

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V. The Reign of Terror

A. War with Europe

B. The Levee en Masse

C. Committee on Public safety

D. The end of Terror

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A. War with Europe

• France was at war with Britain, Austria and Prussia– Europe feared the revolution

• The radicals of the revolution saw a need to defend the revolution– Viewed early leaders of the revolution as a

threat

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B. The Levee en Masse

• Mobilize the entire population– Over 1 million men– Included women

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C. Committee on Public safety

• Had power to defend the revolution from internal threats– Headed by Maximillian Robespierre

• Determined to build a “Republic of Virtue”• From 1793 –1794 put on trial all enemies

of the state.– Christians and women– Anyone less radical than Robespierre.– 40,000 people killed.

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The fate of those who

threatened the Revolution

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D. The End of Terror

• Robespierre creates “Cult of Supreme Being”

• Remaining leaders fear his power

• Robespierre accuses them of conspiracy

• This is the end of Robespierre

• Period becomes known as Reign of Terror

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Robespierre Is Killed in 1794

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Closure…

• The French monarchy failed in addressing the problems of France.

• How the Enlightenment influenced the Third Estate.

• How economic conditions radicalized the revolution from the bottom

• How the revolution challenged the social order of all of Europe

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Terms