Chapter 18: The French Revolution and Napoleon 1789-1815

Section 1: On the Eve of Revolution In 1789 France was experiencing a

horrible financial recession Wages were being cut, while food prices

soared The poorest citizens of Paris had enough

and took action French Society Divided During this time, France had a strict class

system: -First Estate = Clergy -Second Estate = Nobility -Third Estate = bulk of population The clergy enjoyed great wealth and led

lavish lifestyles

Despite this, the First Estate did perform social services

The Nobles of the Second Estate held top government jobs

Many nobles felt the effects of the bad economy however

They hated absolutism and the possibility of losing special privileges

The Third Estate was made up of several different classes:

-Bourgeoisie (middle class) -rural peasants -urban workers

Urban workers were the poorest and faced unemployment and crime

Members of the Third Estate resented privileges of those above them

The First and Second Estates paid almost no taxes at the expense of the peasants

The Enlightenment led people to question social inequalities

The Third Estate started to demand financial equality

Financial Troubles Economic problems in France were made

worse due to deficit spending Vocab pg 572

By the 1780’s huge debt and crop failures made the situation worse resulting in tax increases

Jacques Necker was a financial advisor to the king:

-reduce extravagant spending -reform government -abolish tariffs He was dismissed after he suggested the

First and Second Estates pay taxes Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General Estates-General consisted of legislative

body from all three estates

The King had all Estates prepare a list of grievances called cahiers

These cahiers reflected class resentments Delegates from the Third Estate insisted

on reform, including the system for voting Eventually the Third Estate named

themselves the National Assembly They took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing

not to disband until a just constitution was passed

Some reform minded clergy and nobles joined the Assembly

The King sent in troops to attempt to dismiss the National Assembly

Parisians Storm the Bastille With the assembly surrounded, Parisians

took action More than 800 stormed the Bastille

searching for weapons They killed the leader of the Bastille but

found no weapons The Bastille became a symbol of the

independence of the French people however

July 14th is known as Bastille Day Pg 577 3-5

Section 2: The French Revolution Unfolds Revolution can be broke into several

phases: -National Assembly (1789-1791) -Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Directory (1795-1799) -Age of Napoleon (1799-1815) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt Revolt was fueled by two things: -political crisis -famine 80% of income was spent on food Things were made worse by rumors of the

government seizing food

The National Assembly Acts Nobles in the National Assembly voted to

end their special privileges Later the Assembly issued the Declaration

of the Rights of Man and Citizen This was modeled after the Declaration of

Independence The Declaration upheld the slogan of the

revolution, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” Many women were imprisoned or

executed for protesting the omission of women in the declaration

The Declaration was also ignored by many upper class who still lived in luxury

The National Assembly Presses Onward To help pay off debt, the National

Assembly voted to take over and sell Church lands

The Catholic Church was placed under complete state control

Many clergy and Catholic peasants rejected this

In 1791 The Assembly finished work on the Constitution of 1791

The Constitution had many democratic ideas, but power was still in the hands of the wealthy

Radicals Take Over Many European rulers denounced the

revolution European nations started to strengthen

borders to keep out the “French Plague” When Prussia and Austria vowed to

defend the French Monarchy, the Revolution moved into the Radical Phase

The Legislative Assembly lasted less than one year

Working class men and women pushed the revolution into the Radical Phase

They demanded a new Republican form of government

The Legislative Assembly was torn apart between revolutionaries and moderates

Revolutionaries took control of the Assembly and declared war on various European countries

This war lasted for 23 years Vocab pg 578, 3-5 pg 583

Section 3: Radical Days of the Revolution There was much violence between

loyalists and revolutionaries Radicals eventually gained control of the

Assembly and demanded suffrage for all males

They set up the French Republic and drew up a new constitution

King Louis was tried as a traitor and executed

Terror and Danger Grip France France was in constant danger from

foreign countries, and counter-revolutionaries

To deal with violence, the Committee for Public Safety was established

Young French recruits were inspired by the revolution and were eager to fight

The French army was young, but became very powerful

To deal with counter-revolutionaries, the Committee launched a reign of terror

Under Maxmillian Robespierre, the guillotine became the symbol of the revolution

17,000 people were beheaded during the reign of terror

Eventually Robespierre was also executed

The Revolution Enters Its Third Stage After the Reign of Terror, moderates created

a new constitution It set up a 5 man Directory and a 2 house

legislature The Directory was weak and supporters of a

constitutional monarchy won a majority in the legislature

Revolution Brings Change Most important change in France was a

feeling of Nationalism Social reform and religious toleration were

also outcomes of the revolution Vocab 585, 3-6 pg 590

Section 4: The Age of Napoleon Napoleon Rises to Power As a young soldier, Napoleon favored

Republican rule He was ambitious, and won many battles He eventually became involved in politics He overthrew the Directory and named

himself Consul for life, then Emperor Napoleon reforms France His slogan became order, security and

efficiency He also restored economic prosperity

All levels of society backed Napoleon His Napoleonic Code was accepted by fair

by all classes, but still excluded women Napoleon Builds an Empire Through military power, he began to

annex conquered lands He controlled most of Europe by placing

friends on the thrones of conquered states His invasions helped spread revolutionary

ideas across Europe and inspired nationalism in France

Napoleons Empire Faces Challenges Napoleons first mistake occurred in 1812

Nationalism in other countries started to work against him

Conquered countries started to revolt against him

Napoleon attempted to invade Russia Out of 600,000 soldiers, 20,000 returned

home This defeat hurt his reputation at home Napoleon Falls from Power After new alliances formed against him,

Napoleon abdicated Louis XVIII took the throne of France

Napoleon escaped from exile and returned to France to seize power again

He reassembled the army under his command

The French Army was crushed at the Battle of Waterloo

After this battle European leaders met at the Congress of Vienna to restore order and stability

They achieved a goal of European peace for the next 100 years

Vocab pg 592, 3-5 pg 600 End of notes!