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The French Revolution

In this lesson, students will be able to define the following terms:

The Three Estates

The Estates General

The National Assembly

The Bastille

Declaration of the Rights of Man

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Before 1789, French society was dividedinto three classes or estates.

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The Three Estates

• The first estate was made up of the clergy or priests.

• The second estate was made up of the nobles.

• The third and largest estate was made up of the commoners.

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The mostpowerful group

in the ThirdEstate were thebourgeoisie, ormiddle class, composed of

merchants andprofessionals.

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Inequalities

• In Old Regime France, there were many inequalities between the estates.

• The clergy and nobles were exempt from most taxes and only nobles could fill certain posts in the army or King’s court.

• The bourgeoisie resented these special privileges.

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There were many causes of the FrenchRevolution.

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The Estates General• During the 1700s, French kings almost

bankrupted the state through wars and borrowing.

• In 1789, the king’s ministers believed that it was necessary to tax nobles.

• The nobles refused unless the king summoned an Estates General or assembly with representatives from the Three Estates.

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During the Estates General, the bourgeoisie declared themselves a

National Assembly.

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The Bastille

• The king threatened to break up the Assembly because the bourgeoisie claimed to represent “the people”.

• The Parisians seized a royal prison known as the Bastille.

• To prevent a civil war, King Louis XVI let the National Assembly continue.

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The monarchy was in danger. Revolutionary ideas were in the air.

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Declaration of the Rights of Man• In August, 1789, the National Assembly

issued a Declaration of the Rights of Man.

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man proclaimed that the government rested on the consent of the people, not on the divine right of the king.

• The Assembly then abolished the privileges of the nobles and clergy.

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The sloganof the

revolutionbecame“Liberty,Equality,

and Fraternity.”

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The National Assembly adopteda written constitution, created anational legislature, and turned

France into a constitutional monarchy.

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Questions for Reflection:

• Describe the Three Estates of Old Regime France.

• Who was the most influential group of the Third estate and what did this group want?

• Why was an Estates General summoned?• Why did the Third Estate declare

themselves a National Assembly?• What was the storming of the Bastille?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man?