Chapter 22: The French Revolution and Napoleon French Revolution Begins.
1.11 Chapter Two French Revolution
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Transcript of 1.11 Chapter Two French Revolution
Origins of a Bloodbath
Birth of a Nation
New Ideas Oppression people of Action
Weakness of Establishment Revolution
New ways of thinking – new opportunities
People in controlled misery
by authority
Individuals who are willing to
lead
Some flaw in the authority that can be used to gain advantage
Deep and lasting change to the
situation
• Spark – a defining event that seems to provide the point of no return from which
the revolution is inevitable.
• But first beer…
• 300 years ago much of the world was
intoxicated much of the day. This was mostly
a health issue. Water was too polluted to
drink, so beer was the beverage of choice.
• "Until the 18th century, it must be
remembered, many [people] drank beer almost
continuously, even beginning their day with
something called "beer soup." – Malcolm
Gladwell
• "It's no accident, that the age of reason
accompanies the rise of caffeinated
beverages.“
• “Now they began each day with a strong cup
of coffee. One way to explain the industrial
revolution is as the inevitable consequence of
a world where people suddenly preferred
being jittery to being drunk."
• The coffee-houses provided a gathering place
where, for a penny admission charge, any man who
was reasonably dressed could smoke his long, clay
pipe, sip a dish of coffee, read the newsletters of
the day, or enter into conversation with other
patrons. At the period when journalism was in its
infancy and the postal system was unorganized
and irregular, the coffee-house provided a center
of communication for news and information...
Naturally, this dissemination of news led to the
dissemination of ideas, and the coffee-house
served as a forum for their discussion.
• People are living atop one
another; their ideas are as
well. So notions bump into
hunches bump into offhanded
comments bump into concrete
theories bump into absolute
madness, and the results pave
the way forward.
• Scientific Revolution
– Copernicus (1530’s), Galileo 1620’s), and Newton (1700’s)
– Science became increasingly trusted as it was able to produce useful
knowledge to improve humanity. Eg. Navigation, medicine, engineering
• Freedom, Reason, The Enlightenment
– Rousseau – “Man is born free”,
– Voltaire – I will defend your right to say something I disagree with
– Thomas Paine – “My own mind is my church”,
• Democracy – Brits/Americans
– Early forms of democratic representation influenced Enlightenment
ideas about the importance of the individual.
• The Reformation
– Martin Luther –weakening of the strength of the church in Europe.
– Caused general suspicion of the motives of the church.
• Divine Right of Kings
– Monarchy was established by God through the approval of the church. Since they were
appointed by God, kings (sometimes queens) ruled with unquestioned authority.
• 95+ % of the population belonged to the lower class (third
estate) most of these were peasants whose lives depended
on the goodness of the Nobles who controlled their land.
They barely had enough to survive.
• Subsistence was a way of life for most people and there
was no real chance of the climbing the social ladder.
• Lifespan was about 30-40 years
• Marriage at 10-12 years old
• Sickness disease and poverty
• Given piece of land to work where produce belonged to
King and he would let you keep some of it so that you
stayed alive.
• You would provide the King with sons for his army and
daughters for marriage if he so chose.
• Life was hard little reason to seek advancement
• Much corruption on the part of government officials
• People were resigned to their lot in life – it was the
way God wanted it.
• Events and Personalities
• Anger about royalty
– Louis XIV (Sun King) (1643 - 1714) 72 years
• Built Versailles
• “I am the state!”
People were angry at the King for spending $ on foreign wars, building a castle, and generally ignoring the plight of the common people.
• Louis XV (1715 -1774)
– Weak ruler became king at age 5
– Caused people to question “absolutism”
– Lost the 7 Years War (and New France (Canada))
• Louis XVI (1774-1793)
• 1776 -American Rev = great debt (revenge for the 7
Years War)
• Married an Austrian (Marie-Antoinette) at age 15
• Guillotined
People became suspicious of the monarchy. They thought it was ridiculous that a 5 year old could meaningfully rule a kingdom
People became increasingly tired of the arrogant attitude of the monarchy.
France supplied naval vessels, soldiers and supplies for the American
Revolutionaries. The French did this to seek revenge against the British after
losing the 7 years war to them.
• Marie Antoinette
– Loved the decadent lifestyle of royalty
– Was largely oblivious to the political aspects of ruling
as a monarch.
Marie was despised by her people because she was more interested in fancy hair styles and the life of decadence than in
the situation that her people faced.
• Robespierre
– 1758 – 1794
– Initially friendly toward monarchy
– a skillful public speaker
– Known as a central figure in ‘The Reign of Terror’
– Famous quote:
• “Terror without virtue is [meaningless] but virtue without terror is
powerless”
• France has huge and increasing debt + unfair tax system
• Crop failure! Famine
• Weakening influence of church
• Weakening trust in absolute monarchy
• New Ideas about individual freedom
• Inequality in class system
The Spark
• Created during Feudal times – had not been called to meet since 1614.
– King needed to call a meeting because he needed increased powers to control spiraling debt.
• Equal numbers of representatives of the 3 estates meet as estates
• One vote per estate
• Role was to give advice to the king
• The Third Estate hoped the king would hear their main complaints (cahiers)
How are these classes represented
in the political/governmental
system which was operating at this
time in France?
Anatomy of a revolution
New Ideas Oppression People of
Action Weak
EstablishmentRevolution
• Liberty• Freedom of
individual,• Authority
questioned• Scientific
revolution• Power of
reason.
• Lack of political voice (estate generale)
• Hunger (famine)
• Taxes• Church rules
and corruption
• Robespierre• Danton• Marrat
(newspaper)• Corday• Sans Culotte• Napoleon
• Church weakened by Reformation
• Incompetent Monarchy
• Out of control debt
• Fundamental changes to society.
• Wipe out all evidence of old regime.
• New sense of nationalism emerges
• Complaints become a constitution
• Equality of taxation
• Rights for citizens
• End to hunting rights of nobility
• More of a political voice
The Cahiers de Doléances were the lists of grievances drawn up
by each of the three Estates of the Estates
Generale. The King ordered these to be
compiled so that each estate could air their complaints about the
problems facing France.
• 3rd Estate demanded vote
• They are locked out of the Estates General
• Birth of the “National Assembly”
• Tennis Court Oath
– “We will create a fair constitution for France”
• The Revolution had begun!
Tennis court oath
Origins of a Bloodbath
Early revolution
• Louis brings in the army
• Mobs loot food stores and seize fortresses (Bastille)
• Mob believed that the king was stockpiling weapons there and
keeping many political prisoners imprisoned there
– demanded that the castle be turned over to them
– when the commander refused they opened fire
– the fort eventually falls to the mob and is torn down
• July 14, the day of the ‘Storming of the Bastille’ becomes France’s
national holiday
• The Great Fear (people were suspicious that the nobility hoarding
food and the nobles were nervous expecting the people to attack
them – many did)
• THE VIOLENCE BEGINS!!!
Revolution builds
• Feudalism is abolished by the system of government in the National Assembly
– peasants are freed, nobles are stripped of titles
• The “Declaration of Man”
– guaranteed rights of wealthy landowners to have a voice in who would form the government
• The Women’s March to Versailles – 1789
– Tried to find the stores of food that Marie Antoinette was apparently keeping.
• Civil Constitution of the Clergy
– Reduced authority of the church
• 10% land, state appoints clergy, the divide begins between religion and the government
• France now has One: flag, currency, metric, new calendar, single language
• Royals are in trouble! (Secret Letters, Varennes, Treason, Abdicate)
• The National Convention – established in 1792
• French Republic formed, constitution sworn in (the cahiers have now become the constitution)
Old regime new republic
•Men are free and equal•Liberty, ownership of property, security•Nation is sovereign•Limits to liberty determined by law•Law is an expression of the general will•Due process of the law•Presumed innocent until proven guilty•Freedom of religion•Freedom of speech and the press•Only state police, not personal•Equal taxation•Gov’t accountable to the public•Separation of powers•Right of property security
•All people are equal
•The right to own property
•Rule of law
•Everyone has the right to
life, liberty, and security
•Due process of law
•Presumed innocent until
proven guilty
•Freedom of religion
•Freedom of speech
•Freedom of thought
•Will of the people is the
basis of a gov’ts authority
•Limits on rights must be
pros by law
•Right to a nationality
•No discrimination based on
race or ethnicity.
Revolution out of control?!?• 1793 - Robespierre leads the NC
• Committee on Public Safety formed
• Guillotine invented as a way to provide equality in death
• Reign of Terror begins (20K in one year)
• Denouncing goes overboard (sans-culottes)
– People begin ratting out their neighbors for the silliest of reasons
– Anyone who even says something silly about the price of bread is going to be in trouble
• Wars with neighbours
– Austria and Spain see France as weak and try to take a piece of it
• 1793 – (Jan) Au Revoir, Louis… why?
– treason
• (Oct) – Adieu, Madame Deficit
– trumped up charges
• Robespierre comes to a brutal/pathetic end
– Shoots himself then is guillotined
• 1794 – The madness ends..
And then along comes…
results of the French Revolution:
• The old social, political and economic structure (‘Old Regime’) feudalism was
destroyed
• The recognition of human rights – ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’ – foundation of
modern constitutions – roots of democracy
results of the French Revolution:
• Nationalism in France was developed out of love for the nation and belief in control
for and by the people
• The idea developed that the country and the government belonged to the people, not
a monarch – ‘nationalism’ is born
• The ideas above were spread to many other countries in Europe
results of the French Revolution:
• Of all the above, probably the most important is the new sense of nationalism
among the French people that grew out of the revolution. No longer were the
French people loyal to their king or to the church or to a local nobleman. Now they
were loyal to the nation and the ideas of liberty, equality (egalitarianism)
and fraternity. This new kind of loyalty was destined to spread throughout
Europe and the world.
So then
• Answer the big question:
• (To what extent) How much violence should be used in the getting rid of a corrupt
system of government?
• List examples that could be used to argue this case.