I. On the Eve of Revolution

I. On the Eve of Revolution

A. l’ Ancien Regime (The Old Order)

1. established during the 15th century

○ a. includes the First, Second and Third Estates


A. l’ Ancien Regime (The

Old Order)

2. The First Estate

○ a. the clergy

○ b. the church owned 10% of

the land in France

○ c. collected their own taxes,

but paid no taxes themselves

○ d. provided some social

services

i. schooling, hospitals, and

orphanages



3. The Second Estate

○ a. “titled” nobility

○ b. always had special privileges and preferential treatment

i. top positions in government, army, courts, etc.

○ c. also didn’t pay taxes

○ d. feared change



4. The Third Estate

○ a. 98% of the total population @ 27 million

○ b. a diverse group

i. bourgeoisie – middle class occupations such as banker, merchant,

manufactures, lawyers, doctors, journalists, professors, and skilled

artisans

ii. 9 out of 10 members of the Third Estate were rural peasants

iii. urban workers were probably the worst off


A. l’ Ancien

Regime (The Old

Order)

5. Discontent

Question: Who

are the three

characters in this

cartoon and what

is the author’s

purpose?



5. Discontent

○ a. peasants live a miserable existence while the 1st and 2nd

Estate live off the sweat and blood of the members of the

3rd Estate

○ b. influence of the Enlightenment reaches members of the

bourgeoisie

i. Why should the 1st and 2nd Estates have such great privileges at

the expense of the majority?

ii. it did not meet the test of reason!


B. Economic Troubles

1. French government was deficit spending

○ a. when a government spends more than it brings in

○ b. Louis XIV’s Versailles, French court culture, wars, etc…

2. poor harvests and famine

○ a. bread riots were common

3. Louis XVI dismisses finance minister Jacques Necker

4. calling of the Estates General in May 1789

○ first meeting in 175 years!

I. On the Eve of Revolution C. Louis XVI & the Estates General

1. Louis not interested in “working” while king

2. Estates present cahiers at the Estates General

○ a. notebooks listing grievances/complaints

○ b. freedom of press, lower taxes, stop inflation, and regular meetings of the Estates General

○ c. testified and highlighted class resentment

“Tax collectors are the bloodsuckers of the nation who drinks the tears of the unfortunate from goblets of gold”

“vampires pumping the last drops of blood from the people”

“20 million must live on half the wealth of France while the clergy devour the other half”


C. Louis XVI & the Estates General

3. in the Estates General, each estate has one vote

Question: What is the inherent problem with this

voting system?

the First and Second Estate will always outvote the

Third Estates even though they are the majority

○ a. Third Estate wants votes to be simple majority


C. Louis XVI & the Estates General

4. Tennis Court Oath

○ a. Third Estate locked out of Estates General meeting

house

○ b. members of the Third Estate swore “never to separate

and to meet whenever the circumstances might require

until we have an established a sound and just

constitution.”

I. On the Eve of Revolution D. Storming of the Bastille

1. July 14, 1789 – Parisians afraid king Louis XVI is sending troops to squash rebellious attitude

2. Bastille – a Medieval fortress and prison

○ a. where weapons and ammunitions are stored

3. guards open fire as Parisians attempt to break in

4. Louis XVI “Is it a revolt”

○ a. “No, sire, it is a revolution!”

5. becomes an early symbol of the Revolution

○ a. Bastille Day celebrated similarly to July 4th Independence Day

II. Creating a New France

A. Phases of the French Revolution

1. 1789-91: The National Assembly

2. 1792-93: Escalating Violence

3. 1793-94: Reign of Terror

4. 1795-99: The Directory

5. 1799-1815: The Age of Napoleon


B. Revolts in Paris and the Provinces

1. inflation of bread prices

○ a. peasant families spending 80% of income on food alone

○ b. violence and anger spread during the Great Fear

○ c. factions begin to form in Paris

i. factions – small groups with shared ideas/philosophies

○ d. all factions begin to openly criticize the Monarchy


C. Moderate Reforms of the National

Assembly

1. nobles forced to agree to the Declaration

of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

○ a. abolished “feudalism”

○ b. modeled in part on the U.S. Constitution

○ c. natural rights to liberty, property, security,

and resistance to oppression

○ d. all male citizens equal before the law

i. in reality, the nobles gave up nothing they had not

already lost

2. Louis XVI was slow to implement

changes, if at all


D. Women March on Versailles

1. fearsome fish ladies demand bread

2. hatred directed at Queen Marie Antoinette

○ a. because of her excessive spending

○ b. “Let them eat cake;” probably not actually said

3. force royal family to move to Paris

○ a. held as “prisoners” at the Tuileries Palace


E. The National Assembly Presses

Onward

1. gov’t took over Catholic Church

possessions

2. create the Constitution of 1791

○ a. established a constitutional monarchy

i. limited monarchy replaces absolute monarchy

○ b. established a legislative assembly

i. power to make laws, collect taxes, and wage

wars and peace

3. Louis XVI attempted escape

○ a. tries to escape to family in Austria;

captured

○ b. convinces French that he is a traitor


F. Reaction Outside France

1. enlightened philosophers were excited by the

progress of the National Assembly in France

2. European absolute monarchs were worried

3. émigrés – French nobles, clergy and others who are

fleeing the dangers of the French Revolution

○ a. many began predicting the revolution will get bloodier


G. War at Home and Abroad

1. threats emerge from outside France

○ a. Austria and Prussia issue the Declaration of Pilnitz

i. threatened to intervene to save the monarchy

○ b. the National Assembly (France’s revolutionary gov’t)

prepares to defend itself

2. Paris factions disagree on key issues

○ a. a Republic (no monarchy) or a limited monarchy

3. by April 1792, French armies battling against

European powers and fighting within France

III. Radical Days

A. Abolition of the Monarchy

1. September Massacres – French

slaughter “supposed enemies of the

revolution”

2. the Legislative Assembly becomes

the National Convention

○ a. place King Louis XVI on trial as a

traitor

i. found guilty

ii. sentenced to death by the Guillotine

iii. Queen Marie Antoinette executed a few days

later

iv. royal children die of abuse in prison

III. Radical Days

A. Abolition of the

Monarchy

3. the Guillotine

○ a. a more “humane” way

of execution

○ b. equal in life, equal in

death

i. better than the torture

devices used previously on

the members of the 3rd

Estate

III. Radical Days

B. The Convention Defends

the Republic

1. establish the Committee on

Public Safety

○ a. a 12-member body made of

members from the bourgeoisie

who have absolute power

○ b. issue a levee en masse

i. a mass levy / military draft

○ c. began to actually attack and

invade foreign nations

i. the Netherlands and Italy among

others

III. Radical Days

C. Maximillien Robespierre & the Reign of Terror

1. called “The Incorruptible”

2. a lawyer with Enlightened ideals

3. attempted to create a “republic of virtue”

○ a. “Liberty cannot be achieved unless criminals lose their

heads”

III. Radical Days

C. Maximillien Robespierre & the Reign of Terror

4. July 1793-4: The Reign of Terror

○ a. cheers of “Hail the Republic; Death to Traitors”

○ b. 40,000 French citizens are sentenced to death

○ c. causes massive hysteria

5. fatal mistake

○ a. presents a list of traitors but doesn’t let anyone see it

○ b. members of the other factions fear they might be on the

list

○ c. Robespierre is arrested by the other factions

○ d. Robespierre is sentenced to guillotine

6. after Robespierre’s death, the Reign of Terror ends

and violence subsides

III. Radical Days

D. Reaction & the Directory

1. once again, a new constitution

2. established a 5-man governing body [The Directory]

3. members of the bourgeoisie still running France

4. made peace with Prussia and Spain, continued to

fight with Austria and Britain (UK)

5. frustrated citizens look to Napoleon Bonaparte, a

young military hero

III. Radical Days

E. Changes to Daily Life in France

1. 1789-99 = 10 years of bloody revolution

2. dislodged old social order, abolished monarchy, and

took over the power and privileges of the Church

3. universal greeting becomes “citizen”

○ a. eliminated titles

4. fashion becomes less extravagant

5. French calendar changed

○ a. 10-day week with new names for days and months

6. abolished slavery in the colonies

7. establish non-religious schools

IV. The Age of Napoleon

“He was like an expert chess

player with the human race

as an opponent, which he

proposed to checkmate” –

Madame Germaine de Staël

“Nothing has been simpler

than my elevation (in power);

it is owing to the peculiarities

of the time”


A. Napoleon’s Rise to Power

1. born on island of Corsica to minor nobles

2. entered military school at age 9

3. age 20 when the revolution begins

○ a. rank of Lieutenant

4. favored republican rule over monarchy

○ a. despite its contradictions

“Since one must take sides, one might as well choose

the side that is victorious…”

Question: What does this quote by a young

Napoleon tell us about his values/goals?

Concerned less with ideals and more with power/glory


B. Early Successes

1. drove the British out of the port city of Toulon

2. defeated the Austrians; gained northern Italian

states

3. defeated in Egypt by the British

○ a. attempted to disrupt British trade with India

○ b. successfully hid the severity of the defeat


C. Political Career

1. Napoleon used plebiscites:

○ a simple yes or no vote

2. helped overthrow the Directory; a 5-man

governing body that was weak and divided

○ a. became one of three members of the

Consulate

3. elected First Consul

4. elected First Consul for Life in 1802

5. elected as Emperor of the French in 1804

○ a. invites pope as a spectator only (huge diss)



D. France Under Napoleon's Leadership

1. consolidated France and strengthened the

central government

○ a. “Order, Security & Efficiency” became new motto

2. reforms:

○ a. controlled inflation and prices

○ b. encouraged industry, roads and canals

○ c. public school system

○ d. made peace with Catholic Church


D. France Under Napoleon's Leadership

3. won support from ALL classes

○ a. encouraged émigré to return home to France

○ b. made jobs meritocratic

i. open to all talent / based on ability

4. Napoleonic Code

○ a. new legal / law code

○ b. contained Enlightened ideals of the revolution

○ c. undid some changes from revolution (women voting)

"My true glory is not to have won 40 battles...Waterloo

will erase the memory of so many victories. ... But...

what will live forever, is my Civil Code.” - Napoleon

○ d. still has importance today in a quarter of the world's

jurisdictions including in Europe, the Americas and Africa


E. Building an Empire

“I grew up on the field of battle, and a man such as I

care little for the life of a million men” – Napoleon

Question: What does this quote lead you to

believe about Napoleon’s military techniques?

1. France’s Grande Empire reaches its greatest extent

in 1810

2. invented new strategies with new plans for invasion

and defense



3. annexed territories

○ a. annexed = to add

outright

(unconditionally)

i. Netherlands, Belgium,

German and Italian states

○ b. abolished the Holy

Roman Empire

i. established the

Confederation of the

Rhine (38 member states)



4. Napoleon utilized nepotism and cronyism

○ a. placed his family and friends in high gov’t positions

○ b. his brother became King of Spain!

5. created a system of alliances among powerful

European nations



6. France v. Britain

○ a. French lose naval battle of Trafalgar

i. makes invasion of Britain impossible

○ b. installs the Continental System to prevent Britain from

trading with the continent of Europe; fails

○ c. Britain blockades French-held ports

i. causes inflation and resentment toward France

V. The End of an Era

A. Challenges to Napoleon's Empire

1. introduces nationalism to conquered territories

○ a. nationalism = pride in one’s country

Question: List one positive and one negative way

nationalism affects a nation.

○ b. revolts began throughout France’s Grand Empire

2. Spain and other conquered territories use guerrilla

warfare against Napoleon’s occupational troops

○ a. guerrilla warfare = “little war” / hit and run tactics



3. Invasion of Russia

○ a. many issues caused Russia to withdraw from

Napoleon’s Continental System

○ b. in 1812, Napoleon invades Russia with 400,000 troops

○ c. Russians retreat using their “scorched Earth” policy

i. Russians destroyed their own livestock and fields, burned their

own villages and purposefully refused to meet Napoleon’s army on

open ground



3. Invasion of Russia

Question: Why would Russia pursue a scorched Earth

policy? (What is their advantage of doing this?) Russians are waiting for their advantage…WINTER

○ d. only 10,000 of Napoleon’s troops complete the 1,000+

mile retreat from Moscow during the harsh Russian winter


B. Downfall of Napoleon

1. Austria, Prussia, Russia and Great

Britain declare war on France after

Napoleon’s loss in Russia

2. Napoleon defeated at the Battle of

the Nations at Leipzig

3. Napoleon abdicates throne in

1814

○ a. abdicates = to willingly step down

4. Napoleon exiled to island of Elba

in Mediterranean


B. Downfall of Napoleon

5. Napoleon escapes exile

and reconquers France

6. 1815 – Napoleon defeated

at Battle of Waterloo by the

combined forces of the Duke

of Wellington and General

Blucher of Prussia

7. Napoleon exiled, again, to

island of St. Helena

○ a. he did not escape this time


C. Legacy of Napoleon

1. left a strong, centralized and efficient gov’t

2. however, many citizens lost some of their new “rights”

3. introduces nationalism to other nations (BIG DEAL!)

4. abolishes the Holy Roman Empire

5. Napoleon sold the Louisiana Purchases to the United

States

○ a. he needed cash for his European wars

○ b. doubled the size of the United States


D. Congress of Vienna

1. 1815, national leaders met to restore stability and

order in Europe

2. Goals of Congress:

○ a. to create a lasting peace by establishing a balance of

power and protecting the system of monarchy

○ b. redrew the borders of European nations

i. made the countries next to France stronger (containment)

○ c. promoted legitimacy – restoring hereditary monarchs

i. France, Spain, Portugal and Italian states

○ 3. creates the Quadruple Alliance

a. Prussia, Russia, Austria and Britain

b. pledged to “act together and to suppress future rebellions”


D. Congress of Vienna

4. Remaining Issues

○ a. new borders drawn without concerns for national/ethnic

concerns

○ b. last “big” European war until 1914 (The Great War)

○ c. though revolutions cease in Europe, the Enlightened

ideals of the French Revolution spread to colonies and

their fight for independence

Causes and Effects of the French

Revolution

Immediate Effects

Long Term Causes

Long-Term Effects

Immediate Causes


Revolution

Long Term Causes

spread of Enlightenment ideas

insensitive monarchy (bad)

members of the 3rd Estate resent privileges of

the 1st & 2nd Estate

Immediate Causes

government debt (deficit spending)

bread prices (inflation) & famine

no government action

formation of the National Assembly

Storming of the Bastille


Revolution

Immediate Effects

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the

Citizen

first written constitution in French history

monarchy abolished

Reign of Terror

Long-Term Effects

Napoleon becomes Emperor

Napoleonic Code established

French conquests spread nationalism

Revolutions begin in Europe and Latin America

Date post:	25-Feb-2022
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I. On the Eve of Revolution

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