THE EVENTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Financial Situation

Debt from WarsDebt from King’s extravaganceInterest payments ½ tax revenue

Tax structure problemsChange necessary soon

Which of the following was not a cause of the French Revolution?

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1. Unfair class system2. Enlightenment ideas3. Louis XVI’s leadership skills4. A strong economy

Estates General called

Last called in 1614Legislative body in an Absolute Monarchy

Meeting at Versailles’ palaceEach Estate gets one vote

May 5th, 1789

Double the Third

Third Estate won’t cooperate; knows resultMeets in Tennis Court

King offers two votes to Third EstateThird rejects King’s offer

King closes the Estates General to the 3rd EstateJune 17th, 1789

National Assembly

June 20th, 1789Three Estates meet

Form National AssemblyAll Three Estates representedQuestion format of Assembly

Tennis Court Oath

National Assembly vows to make changeVow taken in Tennis Court

Will not disband until Constitution is created

BastilleKing’s Prison in downtown Paris

Symbol of King’s power and controlCrowds of 3rd Estate members attack

Free prisoners and gain weapons

Great FearRumors of violence against peasants

Untrue RumorsViolence caused against Manor houses

Which of the following is not an example of citizen action in France during the Revolution?

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25% 25%25%25%1. March on Versailles2. Estates General3. Tennis Court Oath4. Storming of the Bastille

Which statement describes the impact of the idea of government as a social contract on the French Revolution in 1789?

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1. The king granted women the right to vote.

2. French citizens claimed their natural rights.

3. The king raised taxes to pay off the public debt. 

4. French citizens supported the king against the nobles

Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen

August 1789Weakened the King’s power when he rejected it

The King refused to sign the DeclarationStated the major principals the peasants wanted

Incorporated the ideas of the EnlightenmentGuaranteed natural rights such as freedom of speech,

limited arbitrary arrest and punishment

Women March on Versailles

Women marched to Versailles due to the refusal of the Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen

October 1789Angry Mob of Women attack the King’s Palace

King listens to women’s request, moves to Paris with family

Women wanted lower food prices and the king to show support for the National Assembly

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Made the Clergy be elected and not appointed by the Pope

National Assembly voted to take the land held by the Church and sell it.

1791Pope Pius VI condemned the Revolution

Created a deep rift between the Church and the PeopleWeakened the power of the Church

Created two churches: one loyal to Rome and one loyal to France

New GovernmentUnicameral Legislature chosen by voters

Divided between Royalists (supported the King) and Radicals (supported the Revolution)

Not popular with the peopleKept the Monarchy

Only males could vote in this government

King FleesKing Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette left

Paris in costumeTried to escape to Austria where the Queen was from;

her brother was the Emperor of AustriaSpotted by a road block near the border in Varennes

and arrestedReturned to Paris and Louis accepted the limited

monarchy proposed by the National Assembly1792

Declare war on Austria1792

France declares war on AustriaAustria supported by Prussia and Silesia, monarchies

to their east.France declares war so they can get a jump on the other

countries who seem ready to declare war on them

Section Three

Battle at Valmy1792

Austrians/Prussians/Silesians vs. French Revolutionaries or Monarchists vs. Revolutionaries

Victory for the FrenchBoosted the spirits of the RevolutionariesSaved the Revolution for the time being

National Convention created a new Government for France; a Republic/Democracy

National Convention and the New Calendar

National Convention meets: 1792-1795Replaced the Monarchy with a democratic Constitution

Started a new era of freedom: constitution, calendar, borders.

All newness based on Natural: rights, borders, calendar, etc.

Day One, Year One= Sept. 22, 1792

What action by the leaders of the French Revolution demonstrates that they were influenced by Enlightenment ideas?

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25% 25%25%25%1. They called for the fall of

the absolute monarchy. 2. They encouraged the

conquests of Napoleon. 3. They fought to maintain

France’s colonial empire.  4. They supported the

combination of church and state

Trial and Execution of the King

Tried December 1792, Executed January 1793Convicted for Conspiring against the “Liberty of the

Nation”A large box of letters he had written to foreign

monarchs was the incriminating evidence.King is a symbol of oppression

People were joyous after his death

Committee of Public SafetyCreated to direct war effort

Formed by the National AssemblySet up the Republic of Virtue which was the Jacobins

answer to the democratic republicRuled France after the King

Led by Maximilien de Robespierre

Reign of TerrorJuly 1793-July 1794

Caused by the Jacobins wanting power40,000 died/85% were merchants, laborers and

peasants using the GuillotineAttempted to sort those in favor of the Revolution from

those who were not.Jacobins: radical extremists who wanted to change

everything about France; hostile

Constitution of 17951795- Replaces the Constitution of 1791

Only citizens who owned property could voteSets up the Directory (Executive branch with 5

directors)Brought into effect by wealthy middle class citizens

The Gap between the rich and poor grows larger

The DirectoryRules with a Bicameral Legislature and a Five Director

Executive BranchCompletely ineffective

1795-1799Corrupt Leadership

Revolutionary government was on the brink of Bankruptcy

French people of all classes looked to the power of the army to save France from ruin

Section Four: Napoleon’s Empire

Overthrow of the Directory

First he sets up a ConsulateOverthrows the Directory in 1799

Replaced elected officials with men he appointed himself.

ConsulateThere are three Consuls; Napoleon names himself the

First Consul and concentrates the power in his own hands.

1802Approved by a Plebiscite or a popular vote

Crowns Himself Emperor1804

Had the support of most people of FranceRestoring order; financially, thru education, militarily

Created the Bank of FranceRequired all citizens to pay taxes

From a democracy to an Empire in 5 years (1799-1804)

Financial situation brought inflation and high prices under control

Napoleonic CodeWrote the Napoleonic Code with Enlightenment ideas

of Natural LawClear as opposed to those of the past

Women lost many rights that they had received during the Revolution

Placed the State over the IndividualEducated people get more rights

Limited the Freedom of Speech and PressAllowed censorship of printed material

Concordat of 1801Catholicism was the religion of the majority of French

PeopleAllowed for Religious toleration

Deal made with Napoleon and Pope Pius VIIPope gives up Church land and in return Government

of France pays the Clergy

Battle of TrafalgarOff the southern Coast of Spain

October 1805French defeat

Stopped the possibility of a French Invasion into Great Britain

Made the necessity of the Continental System

Continental SystemNapoleon ordered all European Nations he had

conquered to stop trading with the BritishBritain responded to the trade blockade with a counter-

threat: any ship on it’s way to a European port had to stop in Britain first

France responded that they would seize any ship which stopped at a British port

This led to conflicts with other “outside countries”

Attack on RussiaRussia needs to withdraw from the Continental System, they can’t make ends meet without trading

with BritainNapoleon is outraged

Launches a suicide mission in May of 1812Russians launch a “scorched earth” plan; knowing that

his army is on it’s way, they set supplies on fire and then retreat.

The attack was a failure

100 DaysAfter his return to France, he is forced to abdicate (give

up his Emperor-ship) and exiled to a small island off the coast of Italy called Elba.

The boundires of France were reduced to those of 1792Napoleon returnes to France in March 1815 and gains

France’s support

Battle of Nations @ Waterloo, Belgium

Napoleon raises an armyIn June 1815, the French troops are defeated by a

combined force of British, Dutch, Prussians and Austrians

European Monarchs feared that the would regain strength and defeated him once and for all

St. Helena

After losing at Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled there in 1815

St. Helena is located in the South Atlantic He died there under house arrest in 1821

Section Five: Peace in Europe

Congress of ViennaClemens Von Metternich

Sept 1814 to June 1815Meet in Vienna, Austria

Attended by all European Nations delgatesThe Big Four (Britain, Russia, Austria and France)

attempt to establish European Stability

RestorationReparation

Balance of PowerGuided by three principals:

Restoration: restoring the Absolute Monarchs to the their thrones

Reparation: the countries of Europe should be repaid for their expenses incurred while fighting France

Balance of Power: No country should be able to dominate Continental Europe

Buffer StatesNeutral Territories around France

Attempting to keep France from undermining the rulers of neighboring countries

Other rules didn’t want France’s type of rule to spread to their countries

Austrian Netherlands, Dutch Netherlands become one country between France and Prussia

Reactionaries vs. Liberalism

Reactionaries people who opposed change and wanted to return to the way it was

Liberals- accepted the ideas of the Enlightenment and the results of the French Revolution. Believed in

democratic reforms and individual freedoms

AlliancesAlliances are the promise of one country to help

another in the allianceAlliances were called Quadruple Alliance: Great

Britain, Austria, Prussia and RussiaConcluded the alliance in 1815

France was admitted three years laterAlliances were in place to prevent democratic

revolution

Metternich System The Meetings of the Alliances were called the Concert

of Europe and helped European countries avoid conflicts like the Napoleonic Wars

Metternich achieved his political goals in opposing Liberalism and Nationalism as well as defending the

Absolute Monarchies of Europe

NationalismThe idea of the people controlling their countries and

not the Kings was not eliminated by the Metternich System

In Germany, students rose up against the governmentIn Spain, the Absolute Monarch was forced to accept a

constitutionIn Greece the people won their independence from

Turkey in 1829The ideas of the French Revolution lived on!