French Revolution: Ancien Regime

• The Americans sought independence from British imperial rule, but they kept British law and much of the British social and cultural heritage

• On the other hand, French revolutionaries sought to replace the ancien regime (“the old order”) with new political, social, and cultural structures

Need for Revenue• In May 1789, in an effort

to raise taxes, King Louis XVI convened the Estates General.– An assembly representing

the entire French population

King Louis XVI Marie Antoinette

EstatesGeneral

Estates General National Assembly• The first estate was

about 100,000 Roman Catholic clergy

• The second estate was about 400,000 nobles

• The third estate was about 24 million others (serfs, free peasants, laborers)

• Each estate had one vote

ancien regime

• The third estate demanded reform, but the other two estates resisted

• On June 20, 1789, the third estate seceded from the Estates General and declared itself the National Assembly

• The National Assembly vowed not to disband until France had a written constitution

NationalAssembly

Storming of the Bastille

• This assertion of popular sovereignty spread to Paris and on July 14 a crowd stormed the Bastille to seize weapons and ammunition

• In Aug 1789, the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

• Proclaimed the equality of all men, declared that sovereignty resided in the people, and asserted individual rights to liberty, prosperity, and security

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

The Convention

• Drafted people and resources for use in the war

• Used the guillotine to execute enemies including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette

• Alarmed by the disintegration of monarchial authority, the rulers of Austria and Prussia invaded France to support the king and restore the ancien regime

• The revolutionaries responded by establishing the Convention, a new legislative body elected by universal male suffrage• The Convention abolished the

monarchy and proclaimed France a republic

Robespierre and the Jacobins

• Jacobin party believed France needed complete restructuring and used a campaign of terror to promote their agenda– Between the summers of 1793 and

1794, the Jacobins executed 40,000 people and imprisoned 300,000

– Many of the victims of the “Reign of Terror” were fellow radicals who had fallen out of favor with Robespierre and the Jacobins

• In July 1794, the Convention arrested Robespierre and his allies, convicted them of treason, and executed them

• A group of conservative men of property seized power and ruled from 1795 to 1799 under a new institution called the Directory

• The Directory sought a middle way between the ancien regime and radical revolution but had little success

The Directory

Maximilian Robespierre

Napoleon (1769-1821)• In Nov 1799, Napoleon

Bonaparte staged a coup d’etat and seized power

• In 1796-1797, he drove the Austrians from northern Italy and established French rule there

• In 1799, he returned to France and joined the Directory, but overthrew the Directory, imposed a new constitution, and named himself leader

• 1804 crowned himself emperor

Two sides of Napoleon’s Leadership

• Brought stability to France

• In 1804, Napoleon established the Civil Code which further stabilized France

• Limited free speech,

• Established a secret police force and detained thousands of political opponents

• Manipulated public opinion

End of Napoleon’s Empire•In 1812, Napoleon decided to invade Russia,

• Napoleon and his “Grand Army” of 600,000 soldiers captured Moscow, but the Russians refused to surrender

• Instead, Russian patriots burned the city, leaving Napoleon without supplies or shelter

• Napoleon was forced to retreat– Only 30,000 soldiers made it back to France

•The defeat in Russia emboldened a coalition of British, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies to converge on France

• Forced Napoleon to abdicate his throne in April 1814•The French monarchy was restored Napoleon was exiled•In March 1815, Napoleon escaped

and returned to France•This time the British defeated him at

Waterloo and banished Napoleon where he died in 1821

Compare and Contrast

Objective Type of Warfare

Religion Philo-sophical Rationale and Declara-tions

Interna-tionalReaction

Immedi-ate and Long-termResults

Am Rev

Fr Rev