The Old regimeOlivia, Jacki

e, colee

What was Life like?

– Life was harsh for the third estate. – There were no taxes for the second or first estates

as the third estate, who had very little money, paid very high taxes.

– The third estate was not thought of much by the king

– Life was great for the first and second estate, had a lot of money and rights whereas the third estate had very little.

What was Absolutism?

– The principle or exercise of absolute and unrestricted power of the government

– The government has total, unrestricted power.– The people have 0% of the power– Government could make any laws, but the laws

did not apply to them– The people had no rights.

Who were the three estates?– The First Estate– The 1st estate: The Clergy (Catholic church, Priests,

Bishops) • owned 10% of the land • Freedom form taxes • Operated schools & hospitals • Censored books • Conducted religious services • Moral police • Registered births, marriages, and deaths

Second Estate

– The 2nd estate: The Nobiltiy • owned 25% of the land • Freedom from taxes • Operate the government • Collected rent • Lived in luxury, no food shortages • Provided protection

The third estate

– The 3rd estate: Everybody else (peasants, merchants, artisans) • Owned 65% of land → Buourgeosise: 25%, Peasants:

40% • Had to pay taxes and rent • Farmed and harvested crops/did all the physical labor • No social status or privilege • Often overruled by the first and second estate

What were the causes of discontent in France?

By Carly Comito, Michelle Jeffery, and Kayla Scoli

Bread Shortage• Bread shortage was an economic and social problem.

• Royalty had large feasts every day while the poor people suffered from starvation.

• The lower people in society would go to extreme measures to get food.

• The demand of the bread was greater than the supply they had.

• It was leading to social distress.

The French monarchy

• The French Monarchy was absolutism which is where they had 100% of the power.

• Lower people in society had few rights.• Louis XVI was the king during this time period.• He was uninterested in ruling the country and was self-

indulgent.• He lived in the Versailles where they were physically detached

from Paris which is where most of the population was.• There was no similarity between the people that lived in the

Versailles and Paris.• This was a political issue.

American Revolution

• This was a economic and social issue.• The French helped the US fight Britain because

they hated Britain for the reason of them losing their land to Britain.

• The American Revolution put France in debt.• They were no funds and people suffered from

poverty.• The French were inspired by the US because

they saw how much better their lives were.

The enlightenment

• This was a social cause.• During the Enlightenment, reason replaced tradition.• People began to question authority.• New ideas about the government was developed.• The status quo can be changed.• The people believed that the government represent

the people.• The individual person wanted to be better than their

status.

What did Jean Domat say about absolutism?

• Domat believed all men are equal by nature, but with the equality there are different factors that could effect their position in society.

• The ideas of a government are evident in a family due to the power, or leader in the family being the father, as the leader in government is the king. Children are like the citizens, who must be obedient to their leader.

• To him, obedience is necessary to maintain the order and peace that unites the society.

• He promoted idea that the monarch came from the gods (Divine Right of Kings).

What did Abbe Seiyes say about absolutism?

• Seiyes’ opinion on the estates was that the third estate carries the burden of taxes that the other two classes don’t. Without the third class, society could not function because no taxes would be paid. However, without the first and second estate, society would be much better because all the taxes would not have to be paid by the poorest citizens of France, taxes would be spread out throughout all social classes.

• Seiyes stated that the third estate was the most important of the three, so much so that the other estates should cease to exist.

Estates-General Meeting

• King Louis XVI called the Estates-General Meeting for the first time in 175 years

• Thought he could get approval to tax the first and second estates to get out of the financial crisis There was a disagreement in the meeting and the king locked the third estate out

• Third Estate want more of a say in government and leave for the Tennis Court showing the first act of defiance

• The Tennis Court Oath showed that the Third Estate did not want to be under the king’s rule and established the idea of popular sovereignty. It later led the to creation of the Constitution and National Assembly.

The Storming of the Bastille

Keith KatzMaraide CifelliKaitlin Muccio

Summary• Bastille was a armory/prison in Paris filled with guns• Symbol of King’s absolute power• On July 14, 1789, citizens decided to take action against the harsh rule of

the monarchy stormed the fortress • An estimated 28,000 weapons were taken• After the citizens took control, they dismantled the fortress brick by brick

Literal Importance

• Armed the citizens with thousands of weapons to fight the Monarchy

• Was one of the first significant acts of defiance that the people took against the government

Figurative Importance

• The Bastille was a symbol of the hold that the Monarchy held over the third estate

• When the attackers started to take apart the Bastille, it represented the metaphorical dismantling of feudalism

• One of the events that turned the power in France to the people

The Declaration of Rights of Man

Nathaniel Griffee, Michelle Verkhoglaz, Evangelia

Panagakos

Declaration of Rights of Man

• Written and approved by the National Assembly on August 26th 1789

• It is based on the Declaration of Independence in America and asserts the principle of popular sovereignty

• It says that all men are free and equal.• It goes over how the government cannot

abuse its power against the people• It gives people freedom of speech and

religion

Why was the French Revolution a Revolution?

By Kira Player, Lyne Kabbara, and Mia Rossi

The French Revolution was a revolution because…

It was caused by three complaints the people had and they desperately argued for change.

Political Social Economic

• The monarch had 100% of the power while people had few rights

• King Louis was young, glutinous, and uninterested in ruling the country

• He physically was detached from Paris and was unaware of the needs of the people

• The Enlightenment began and people began to question authority.

• They began to think the status quo could change and the government should represent the people.

• Reason replaced tradition.

• There was a shortage of bread among the French people while the royalty had large feasts every day.

• France aided the U.S. in the American revolution and was in large debt.

Execution of the King

• The third estate was kicked out of the meeting of the Estates General.

• They formed the National Assembly.• Once they became a republic, they were all

radicals and none of them wanted a king anymore.

• He was then guillotined by the people.

Government• Stages: Absolutism Constitutional Monarch

Republic• Absolutism: the King had all the power and

was meant to be king “because of God’s word”• Constitutional Monarch: still wanted a King,

but the common people created a Constitution to limit his power

• Republic: saw no reason to have a King anymore and decided to behead him