The French Revolution1789

The French Revolution• Causes of the Revolution

• Absolute Monarchy• France was an absolute monarchy• Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette• Under absolutism, most people in France were denied

basic rights

• Social Inequality• Everyone in France was divided into three ‘Estates’

• 1st: Clergy• 2nd: titled nobility

• These two classes held enormous wealth and did not have to pay taxes

• 3rd: Bourgeoisie, city workers, and rural farmers

• Economic Injustices• In the late 1780s, the government was spending more

than it was producing• Lavish lifestyle and costly wars were paid for in taxes by

the third estate• Rioting caused by bread shortages worsened the

situation

Percentage of Population, By Estate

3rd Estate2nd Estate1st Estate

Total Population = 28,000,000

The French Revolution• Enlightenment

• Enlightenment thinkers were critical of France’s absolute monarchy

• This led many French to question the unfair tax system

• English and American Examples

• Glorious Revolution in England provided an example of challenging authority

• Inspired by the American colonies’ fight for liberty and equality

Stages of Political

Revolutions

Return of Moderates

Rule by Radical Revolutionaries

Rule by Moderate Reformers

Injustices of the Old

Regime

Emergence of a strong

leader

Stages of the French Revolution

• Step 1!• The Revolution Begins

•As conditions grew worse in France, demands for reform increased and Louis XVI was forced to call the Estates General into session in 1789

Stages of the Revolution

• Step 2!• National Assembly

•The Third Estate, the only elected group in the Estates General, declares itself the National Assembly and vows to write a new Constitution for France

Stages of the Revolution

• Step 3!• Seizure of the Bastille

•Working-class people, already rioting over the price of bread, stormed a prison called the Bastille on July 14, 1789. Fighting broke out through city and countryside during what became known as the Great Fear

The Storming of the Bastille

Stages of the Revolution

• Step 4!• Moderates in Power

• The king (Louis XVI), frightened by the increasing turmoil, agreed to allow the National Assembly to begin reforms

Stages of the Revolution

• Step 5!• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the

Citizen• The National Assembly abolished privileges of the First

and Second Estates and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

• Based partly on the Declaration of Independence

Stages of the Revolution

• Step 6!– New Constitution Includes a Limited Monarchy

• By 1791, the National Assembly had drafted a Constitution that outlined the new government:

– Set up a limited monarchy and a representative government– Declared that people had natural rights!– Church was now under state control

Stages of the Revolution

• …Step 7– Radicals Claim Power

• Radicals took control of the National Assembly, abolish the monarchy, set up a republic, convict King Louis XVI of treason, and have him executed in 1792

• This event triggered a period of time referred to as the Reign of Terror

• Led by Maximillien Robespierre, the Reign of Terror was responsible for the imprisonment and/or execution of thousands

HW Assignment

• For homework tonight:– Complete a one-page journal entry through the

perspective of one of the profiles you created in class today

– The journal should be written as if you are currently experiencing the French Revolution in 1791

– How would your experience be changed by the estate you are in?

– How would your feelings about what is happening in France be different based on the estate you are in?