The Causes of the French Revolution

Background• Louis the XIV ruled absolutely,

but by the end of his reign, the country was failing– Rich getting richer, and the poor

getting poorer– High taxes and high prices for food

• Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, inherited the throne from his grandfather– Marie Antoinette was from Austria,

a longtime enemy of France– Louis XVI was a very weak ruler—

he did not pay much attention to the government

Cause 1: The Old Regime (France in the 1780s)

• France’s society was divided into three classes or estates– 1st and 2nd: privileged and did not have

to pay taxes– 3rd: 98% of the population, responsible

for all taxes, and had no government privileges

• The 3rd Estate resented the other two, and wanted government reform

Cause 2: The Enlightenment

• France was the center of the Enlightenment in the 1700s

• The ideas of Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu encouraged the people to think about taking power from the government

Cause 3: The American Revolution• Americans listened to

the ideas of the Enlightenment and with the help of France, overthrew Britain and formed their own government.

• Stories of the revolution spread throughout France and encouraged people (especially lower-class people) to wonder if they could overthrow the French government

STOP AND THINK…• Which cause do you think had the

biggest effect on the French Revolution? Why?

• If you were a member of the 3rd Estate, which cause would have affected you the most?

Experiencing the Meeting of the Estates General

• Step 1: The King assembles the Estate General for advice.

• Step 2: The Three Estates prepare to meet.• Step 3: Each Estate proposes a plan to save

France• Step 4: The king proposes a plan to save

France• Step 5: The Estates General votes on the

king’s plan• Step 6: Severe famine occurs• Step 7: The Third Estate responds to the

situation.

Effect: The Meeting of the Estates General – May 5, 1789

• Louis and Marie spent France into bankruptcy. To get out of it, he wanted to tax the nobles (the 2nd Estate)

• The nobles forced Louis to call the Estates together to approve the taxes

• The 3rd Estate, being the largest, felt that they should have a major say in the decision

• The King refused to grant the people of the 3rd Estate their own votes and so the 1st and 2nd Estates dominated the decision. – Result: Taxes remained the burden of the 3rd Estate

Effect: The National Assembly

• Upset at the King, the 3rd Assembly left the Estates General and called themselves the National Assembly– Wanted to pass laws to reform the government for the

people• June 17, 1789: the Assembly voted to end the

monarchy and start a representative government• 3 days later: the Assembly was kicked out of its

meeting room. Instead, they met on an indoor tennis court and pledged to stay there until they had a new constitution– Known as the Tennis Court Oath

Effect: Storming the Bastille

• Louis tried to make peace with the 3rd Estate by giving into their demands– BUT—he was nervous, and called in Swiss guards

to Paris to keep order• In Paris, people thought the guards were

coming to massacre them, and took to the streets in protest

• July 14, 1789: the people stormed the Bastille, a French prison in Paris. This became a symbol of revolution to the French.– Like our 4th of July

Effect: The Great Fear• The violence and fear in Paris soon spread

throughout the country• The Great Fear: wave of senseless panic that

took over France– Peasants became outlaws

• October 5, 1789: 6,000 Parisian women (and some men) rioted over high bread prices– Marched on Versailles, took over, and forced

Louis, Marie Antoinette, and their children to go to Paris