In 1700’s France was the most advanced country in Europe Center of Enlightenment Large population Prosperous foreign trade

Bad Harvests High Prices High Taxes Questions raised by the Enlightenment

1770’s – France was under the Old Regime

The people of France were divided into three large social classes or estates

First Estate (1% of French population) Made up of clergy of Roman Catholic

Church Hated Enlightenment ideas Paid very few taxes

Second Estate (2% of French pop.) Made up of rich

nobles Held highest

offices in government

Disagreed with Enlightenment ideas

Paid NO TAXES

Third Estate (97% of French population) Was made up of three sub groups

Included bourgeoisie (middle class businessmen), urban lower class, and peasant farmers

Peasant Farmers – largest group Had no power to influence government Loved Enlightenment ideas Resented the wealthy First and Second Estates

PAID A TON of TAXES!!!

Member of the Third Estate were inspired by the success of the American Revolution (Life, Liberty, and Property!)

Louis XVI + Maria Antoinette Weak Leaders They were left a lot of debt from previous

monarchs Spent A TON of money Tried to tax nobility!! (This is going to

cause a problem!!)

Called a meeting to vote on this new tax

This meeting was called the Estates General An assembly of representatives from all

three estates would vote for this new tax

Each estate’s delegates met in a separate hall to vote

Each estate had one vote What’s the problem here???

The two privileged estates could always outvote the third estate.

This meant that the third estate never gained political success

They needed to do something about that!

Third Estate – Named themselves the National Assembly (1789) They could pass laws and reforms in the

name of the French people They were locked out of their meeting

room by the nobles

The National Assembly broke into an indoor tennis court to create a new constitution – This became known as the Tennis Court Oath

In response to the Tennis Court Oath he stationed his army around Versailles

The French people thought the King was going to attack his own people They began to gather weapons for defense

July 14th 1789 – An angry French mob attacked the Bastille, a French prison, to get gunpowder. The French people took over the prison

This marked the beginning of the Revolution!!

From Paris to the countryside the revolution spread.

Peasants began burning down nobles’ farms

Women marched on Versailles and demanded cheap bread.

The monarch left France – The revolution succeeded!!

Aug 4th 1789 – Many Clergymen and Nobles joined the National Assembly. They took many powers away from the First and Second Estate.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen This was the doc. created by the

National Assembly (Like our Declaration of Independence)

It stated that “all men are born and remain free and equal in rights”

Freedom of speech, religion, and equal justice

National Assembly took over Church lands

Clergy had to be elected

Clergy and nobles are losing power!!

For 2 yrs. the Assembly fought over a new constitution

Finally created a new one in 1791Created the Legislative Assembly

It could create laws and approve or reject declarations of war.

The Legislative Assembly split into three groups Those that sat on the left side of the hall

(Radicals) Those that sat in the middle (Moderates) Those that sat on the right side of the

hall (Conservatives)

Does this sound familiar???

During the French Rev. other European countries did not want this revolution to spread into their country. SO – they demanded that the French restore Louis XVI to his throne.

NOT A CHANCE – Let’s go to WAR!!

Rumors started that the Kings supporters were going to break out of prisons.

SO – revolutionaries broke into the prison and killed everyone.

Out with Legislative Assembly (1791) and in with National Convention Universal male suffrage Declared France a republic

Radicals from a distinct political organization (revolutionaries) Jean-Paul Marat – newspaper editor▪ Believed that anyone who supported the kind

should be KILLED!!

1793 – King and queen are murdered by the newly introduced guillotine.

This marks the beginning of “THE REIGN OF TERROR”!!!