Post on 05-Jan-2016
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French Revolution
Chapter 3Section 1
On the Eve of Revolution
Video Paste this link into your Internet
browser and watch the 17 minute video:
http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history/v/french-revolution--part-1
Take notes during the video.
Old French government system was called the ancien regime (left over from Middle Ages)
Old Political Structure in France1700s
Three social classes, or estates, in France First Estate = Clergy (enjoyed great
wealth and privilege) Second Estate = Nobility Third Estate = majority of the population
(included the bourgeoisie, or middle class, and rural peasants and poor city workers)
Note: if you were not part of the clergy (priests) or the nobility, you fell within the Third Estate
Resentment Members of Third Estate resented privileges
held by First and Second Estates First and Second Estates did not have to pay
most taxes while peasants paid taxes on many items, such as necessities of life (milk, bread, salt, etc.)
Enlightenment ideas led people to “question” the inequalities of the old, medieval social/economic structure in France
Third Estate demanded that privileged classes pay their fair share in taxes
Economic Troubles in France Economic troubles led to great social unrest Monarchs spent more money than they were
bringing in with taxes, or deficit spending France was heavily in debt for supporting the
American Revolution Bad harvests sent food prices soaring (inflation
skyrocketed) King Louis XVI chose Jacques Necker to be
the king’s economic adviser To solve the economic crisis, Necker proposed
taxing the First and Second Estates
King Louis XVI
Jacque Necker
Economic adviser to King Louis XVI.
Bad Harvests Led to Rising Prices
Starvation of French Citizens
French citizens suffered starvation while King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette lived a life of luxury inside their palace.
Economic Troubles in France First and Second Estates strongly opposed the king’s
plan to increase any taxes The economic crisis worsened with time Powerful nobles and clergy called for a meeting of the
Estates-General, an ancient lawmaking body, to try to halt the government’s plans to raise revenue
Louis XVI finally scheduled a meeting at Versailles, his grand and luxurious palace 10 miles from Paris
The king asked all three estates to prepare a list of complaints called cahiers
The complaints addressed the resentment toward the monarchy and the First and Second Estates
Estates-General Met in 1789 All three estates did not cooperate and could
not agree on reforms, creating a stalemate After three weeks, members of the Third
Estate walked out and formed their own government called the National Assembly
Later, the delegates of the Third Estate were locked out of their meeting room (probably by the king)
They broke into an indoor tennis court and pledged to remain until a new constitution was written that applied to all citizens of France (Tennis Court Oath)
Tennis Court Oath
July 14, 1789 Paris buzzed with rumors that royal troops
were planning to occupy the city To protect themselves, angry citizens stormed
the ancient Bastille Prison to seize weapons and gunpowder
The commander of the Bastille refused their entry and the enraged mob forced their way inside and executed several guards
The French Revolution began
July 14, 1789
Bastille Prison
Powerpoint Questions 1. Name the three estates (social classes) in
France in the 18th century. Indicate what people belonged to each estate. (3 points)
2. What was the name of the old order in France? 3. What caused France to run out of money? 4. Define deficit spending. 5. Why did members of the Third Estates resent
the First and Second estates? 6. What was the Estates-General? How long had
it been since it had last met?
Powerpoint Questions 7. What were the cahiers? 8. What did delegates of the Third Estate
form? 9. Why did the delegates of the Third Estate
find themselves meeting on a Tennis Court? 10. What was the pledge behind the
Tennis Court Oath? 11. Name the medieval prison that
Parisans stormed on July 14, 1789. 12. Finally, from where did the French
revolutionaries get their ideas to revolt?