AP European HistoryDecember 2 – 6 -2019

Hope everyone enjoyed the break and soon we’ll have another. But before then, there’s much to do before then. So, here we go.

You may recall that as we began this unit, I called it the Paradoxical Eighteenth Century. Last week (and in a previous unit) we discussed one of the hallmarks of the enlightenment was the equality of men and that some like Voltaire believed that even the absolutist kings were listening. For a time, Voltaire was even the guest of Frederick II. But soon, the shine was gone and war erupted almost constantly across the continent.

The culminating event for our semester was the chain of events in France leading to the Revolution. And, this too, would generate a period of terrible war not witnessed again until the 20th century.

MONDAY Key Terms, People, Concepts on the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution

Materials Strategy/FormatMatrix Review Review (Think Pair Share)

Student SkillsContextCausation

Instructions Since we have had a nice long break today, we will do a little refresher. This will involve the Scientific

Revolution and Enlightenment. This also includes Enlightened Absolutism. This is called a matrix review and it is one of the many that we will do throughout the year. The instructions are simple: read the clue question or phrase and find it on the matrix word bank.

You will use none of these more than once and, you will not use all of the materials on the matrix.

HomeworkTime to start reviewing. This is due Wednesday December 4

1st Nine Weeks Reviewhttp://www.quia.com/quiz/4431346.html

TUESDAY Discuss the reasons and background for wars of the 18th century (INT-7,10,11) (PP-10) (IS-6,9,10) (SP-

3,4,5,6,7) Examine the causes and effects of the War of Austrian Succession (INT-7,10,11) (PP-10) (IS-6,9,10) (SP-

3,4,5,6,7)

Materials Strategy/TacticsPPT and short documents Lecture-discussion

Introduction Today we begin the other half of our unit on the 18th century which I call the “Other Side of

Enlightenment”. We have seen the 18th century so far as an Age of Reason and scientific discovery. Nearly all of the major European nation states had embarked upon a series of liberal reforms by mid-century. Even the more despotic Eastern European nations accepted the need to create written and unified law codes, parliaments of some sort, educational reforms, attempts to uplift the peasantry by ending serfdom, and perhaps most importantly they all sought ways to expand the middle class.

Culturally this century also saw the expansion of literacy, the development of rococo art and architecture and the beauty of classical compositions by Beethoven, Mozart, and many others.

Yet this is also the century of war and bloody revolutions. The 18th century barely saw any real peace as major powers jockeyed for power making alliances of convenience along the way. Even the greater appreciation of free trade did little to stem the tide of cut throat competition. This century will see wars based upon dynastic crisis, the lust for land and empire, and finally one of the greatest revolutions in European History in France by the end of the century.

The two big winners of the century will be Britain and Prussia. Britain will alternatively gain whole continents in the early part of the century but by mid-century also lose valuable North American lands to the new power, the United States. Prussia under Frederick the Great will take long strides toward territorial unification as the result of two major European conflicts. By the end of the century Prussia will be poised to be the major power broker in Central Europe only to be nearly erased from the map as Napoleon begins his march early in the 19th century.

Russia under Czarina Catherine II and Czar Alexander I will grow in power but, as always seems to be the case with that country, just on the cusp of modernization, it will slide backwards. The same will be true for the Habsburg Empire.

The 18th century will also be the time when two ancient empires the Habsburgs and the Ottomans will start to crumble more perceptibly. Forces to continue to make deals with the ethnic minorities in the empire, the Habsburgs will yield power to first the Prussians and then most notably the Magyar nobles of Hungary.

Our task for the next couple of weeks will be two-fold. In class we will discuss the nature of the wars and political strife of the period and the nature of empire. For homework and perhaps a couple of days in class you will be examining Chapters 20 in the text dealing more the social and cultural aspects of the century.

The Great Northern War 1700 – 1720 (we have already discussed this a bit)

This was also a war that we discussed related to the rise of Peter the Great. The war was partly over his desire to gain ports on the Baltic but it eventually engulfed many countries in the Baltic Region. The war

bumped along for 2 decades. The Swedes essentially won the first phase when the defeated a Russian surge toward the Baltic. The defeat made Peter the Great modernize his army.

Following the pivotal battle of Poltava Sweden and her ally Finland were forced to sign the Treaty of Nystad in 172. This saw the end of Swedish imperial ambitions and the rise of Russia as a major power.

The War of Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utrecht

Background: You may recall that a vacancy on the throne of Spain had developed into an international dynastic crisis. The Bourbon and Habsburgs had intermarried and Louis XIV claimed that a Bourbon must now take the throne. This was of course disputed by the Habsburg Austrians as a Habsburg had long held this privilege. This situation was of no small concern among the major European powers in the early 1700s was their power relative to each other.

In 1702 Great Britain was alarmed at the prospect of the grandson of the King of France, Louis XIV, inheriting the Spanish throne. Britain the Netherlands, Austria and Prussia (The Grand Alliance) united against France in what was called the War of Spanish Succession, a war from 1702 to 1713 that ended in exhaustion and a temporary settlement, signed at Utrect in the United Netherlands.

As a result of the settlement at Utrecht, the French viewed Austria as their nation's primary rival on the European continent. And, as a counter to France, Charles maintained his family's tie to the British, which included loans and financial debt, while the British and French enjoyed a respite from their traditional hostilities. Both nations had been exhausted by war and were in need of recuperation, and in 1715 both nations had new kings: Louis XV under a regent, and George I in Britain.

Even despite the slightly better relations, all was not so peachy. But the British remained at odds with that other Bourbon power: Spain. The Spanish were stopping and boarding British ships suspected of trading with their territory in the Americas, the Spanish interrogating British crews and looking for goods such as indigo and cocoa and for Spanish money. (Many of you American history veterans may remember this act is called “impressments;” one of the reasons for the eventual War of 1812).

In 1718, the British, Dutch and Austria teamed up against Spain's move. So too did the French -- Bourbon against Bourbon, the French trying to expand against Spanish territory along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1719, Austria sent troops against the Spanish in Sicily. And Britain declared war on Spain and sank the Spanish navy……again! This was known as the War of the Quadruple Alliance 1718 -1720

The War of Jenkins Ear

A War between Britain and Spain that began in 1739 and eventually merged into the War of the Austrian Succession (which we will discuss tomorrow). In 1738 Capt. Robert Jenkins appeared before a committee of the House of Commons and exhibited his own amputated ear, which he alleged was cut off by Spanish coast guards who boarded his ship in the West Indies in 1731. Public opinion had already been aroused by other Spanish outrages on British ships, and the incident was exploited by members of Parliament who opposed the government of Robert Walpole. This is the classic case of swaying public opinion to go to war when a government already wants to do it.

Following the testimony of Jenkins, and petitions from other West India merchants, the opposition in Parliament voted on 28 March 1738 to send "an Address" to the King, asking his Majesty to seek redress from Spain. More than one year later, all diplomatic means having been exhausted, King George II authorized the Admiralty Board to seek maritime reprisals against Spain. On 20 July a fleet of warships

departed England bound for the West Indies to attack Spanish ships and "possessions." The actual declaration of war against Spain was not proclaimed until Saturday 23 October 1739

The most important action was the British capture, Porto Bella silver-exporting town on the coast of Panama in an attempt to damage Spain's finances and weaken its naval capabilities.. The British occupied the town for three weeks before withdrawing, having destroyed its fortifications, port and warehouses. Portobello's economy was severely damaged, and did not recover until the building of the Panama Canal more than a century later.

The War of Jenkins Ear had an impact on American history as well. Since Florida was Spanish controlled the British attacked there. Fearing constant counter-attacks, the British Parliament funded the organization of Georgia as a buffer zone. As some of you old veterans of AP US may recall, this was the last of the original 13 Colonies.

The results of the war itself are not that critical because this conflict merged into the War of Spanish Succession which started in 1740. One major result for history was Britain winning the so-called asiento, which was the right to supply slaves to Spanish North America. This made Britain the largest slave trading empire in world history.

The War of Austrian Succession 1740 – 1748 One of the most serious conflicts to strike Europe involved the issue of the heir to the Habsburg Throne. In

American History this is also known as King George’s War. This was an important event because it involved every major (and several minor) powers.

The war’s background involved the decision by Habsburg emperor Charles VI to solve a potential succession crisis with the Pragmatic Sanction. This deal that elevated his daughter Maria Theresa to the throne and made her husband the Holy Roman Emperor. This was a product of the same negotiating that we have already seen in this strange empire. In Austria, like France a Salic Law existed disallowing a woman from becoming the Holy Roman leader. Yet, to maintain the Dynasty, a Habsburg had to be on the throne in Vienna. Initially all of the members of the empire accepted this compromise.

The Spark of this conflict occurred when Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded mineral rich Silesia wresting it from Austria. Frederick II it was said made this move partially for economic reasons and partly due to what he perceived to be favoritism among the Habsburgs toward the Bohemian and Hungarian Magyars.

Frederick II position was very strong. Not only did he have a small but highly professional, well-trained force, he was able to quickly establish a defensive position and had support among the majority German population of Silesia. Additionally, the French, Swedes, and Bavarians (along with Spain who may of may not be considered a major force) supported his invasion. Austria had mostly the support of Britain and the Dutch. A wild card in all of this was Russia. In the strangely named League of the Petticoats Catherine the Great of Russia pledged support for Austria but never really became involved (this will also be briefly in effect when the Seven Years War starts)

The War of the Austrian Succession was greatly complicated by the fact that almost all of the contenders were fighting for their own interests rather than for a unified cause. In Europe, the primary contention was between Austria and Prussia, and the secondary contention was between France and Austria. In the Asian and American colonies, the primary contention was between Britain and France.

Most of the battles between Austrian and Prussia were fought during 1742 or 1745 over the German region of Silesia. In 1740 Frederick the Great sought to occupy the region and after failing to drive him out in 1742, Maria Theresa made peace so she could fight her other enemies, France and Spain. After winning a few important victories over her rivals however, she resumed her war with Frederick II. After about three decisive battles fought in 1745 however, she made peace with her rival, and resumed the war with France. So, as you can see the war evolved far beyond the original causes. As we have seen in many wars involving the Austrians, victory was elusive and the further weakening of their power seemed to always be the result.

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle that ended the war resulted in the loss of both Silesia and Austrian territories in Italy (though the will win these back later). The French were slightly weakened by losing influence in Holland but most importantly territories in India. This was an issue in American History because many Massachusetts militiamen died taking a fort in Canada (Ft. Louisbourg) from the French. It was then returned to them in exchange for land in India (Madras). This created much animosity toward the British and is seen as an early example of Anglo-American tensions.

Conclusion

The early decades of the 18th century set the tone for the much worse wars to come. The early phases tended to involve trade and access to resources. The Spanish and Swedes will fall by the wayside finally and will no longer play a major role. However, trouble was brewing in Central Europe. A succession issue coupled with the demands of a growing Prussia will lead to an international war. This is where we will pick up next week

HomeworkThe Quia Quiz is Due Tomorrw

WEDNESDAY Examine the effects of the Seven Year's War 1756-1763(conclusion from last week) (INT-1,11) (SP-15)

Materials Strategy/FormatQuiz and ppt Assessment/lecture-discussion

Student SkillsContextPeriodizationCCOT

Introduction

As we have seen this week war was a fact of the 18th century. Mercantilism and succession issues were the root causes but more and more a certain lust for empire characterized the conflicts. Spain and Sweden were now largely non-factors. Poland, once a great power was now occupied. The rise of Russia presented a new challenge to European diplomacy and for the next two centuries would be the object of most state foreign affairs.

Now by mid-century there was quickly developing a bi-polarity of powers between Britain and its allies and France and her allies. The wild card in all of this will once again be Prussia.

The Seven Years War 1756 – 1763 was in some ways the first “world war.” While the War of Austrian Succession was a glimpse of things to come, the Seven Years War was more brutal and something of an “all of nothing” affair. At the end French power will be dealt a lasting blow. Prussia, while one of the victors was bloodied and some of its weaknesses revealed. Britain will clearly be the big winner in terms of lands and power but, its economy was so strained that they were forced to embark upon policies that would see the loss of much of North America by the end of the century.

The Seven Years War: The Causes

Following the War of Austrian Succession there was a sense of relief (which we will finish discussing today). Voltaire, Montesquieu and some other intellectuals became optimistic about the nations of Europe getting along with each other. In 1751, Voltaire described Europe (excluding that controlled by the Ottoman Turks) as "a sort of great republic." The kingdoms of Europe, he wrote, had "the same principles of public and political law unknown in other parts of the world" and were bent on "maintaining among themselves as far as possible an equal balance of power."

The war theorist Von Clauswitz once said that” war was foreign policy by another means.” This surely was the mindset of most European powers. If there was a balance of power in Europe it was not an effective instrument in maintaining peace. War was still not dreaded enough to adequately motivate compromise and harmony. Military action was still viewed more than economic development as a means to well-being. In European civilization, there was still no international law to which all the powers felt obliged to adhere. And not all powers would endure in taking seriously the recent agreements that ended the last great war.

This war had its origins in the colonial ambitions of Britain and France in North America. There had already been a series of Anglo-French skirmishes called King Williams’ War, Queen Anne’s War and finally the King George’s War (War of Austrian Succession).

As many of my AP US veterans will hopefully recall, renewed conflict between Britain and France erupted in the Ohio Valley in 1754 -- to be known as the French and Indian War. In early 1755, troops left Britain and crossed the Atlantic. In late April, troops from France embarked for the Americas, and in early June the British attacked the French ships carrying these troops. It had been seven years since the British public was tired of war, but now they were again eager for war against the French. The British capture of Acadia was followed by a British policy of deportation of the French living in Nova Scotia. This came to be known as the Great Expulsion, a deportation of approximately 11,500 French people (Cajuns) from the maritime region. There was some resistance to the deportations, while approximately a third of these people are said to have perished from disease or drowning.

The Diplomatic Shift in Europe

King George II of Britain was concerned about his territory in Hanover. He signed a defensive treaty with King Frederick of Brandenburg-Prussia, the Treaty of Westminster, to discourage the French from attacking Hanover. Britain was allied with Russia, and Frederick hoped that his alliance with Britain would diminish Russia's animosity towards him. Instead, Britain's treaty would make George's Hanover territory less secure, and Russia's hostility toward Frederick would increase.

Austria's monarch, Maria Theresa, meanwhile still saw Silesia as rightly belonging to her, and she believed it should be Catholic in faith. She had seen the return of war between Britain and France as an opportunity, and she had suggested to Britain that she would support Britain's war against France only if Britain supported her against Frederick, and she was shaken when learning of Britain's agreement with Frederick. Maria Theresa's foreign minister urged her to forget the 250-year-old feud between the Bourbons of France and her Habsburg family and ally herself with France

France, at any rate, was ready to take advantage of the falling out between Britain and Austria. French strategists interpreted recent British aggressions against them on the high seas and in the Americas as stemming from the certainty of assistance from its treaty with Brandenburg-Prussia. And they were ready to accommodate Austria with an alliance. This was of course a major shift as Franco-Austrian power struggles had been a fact of life for almost 200 years. On May 1, 1756, France and Austria signed an alliance that was ostensibly defensive -- the First Treaty of Versailles. It was recognized that Austria was to remain neutral regarding France's war against Britain, and Austria had France’s acceptance of Austria’s attack on Brandenburg-Prussia. Russia joined this alliance -- upsetting its traditional hostility towards France.

The Eruption of War

This time Frederick was not the aggressor. He did not want war, but he believed that to defend himself he should move first. He sent 26,000 men to his frontier with Russia. Then, on August 29, 1756, with an army of 70,000, Frederick and his army crossed into Saxony to take up defensive positions against an Austrian attack. Frederick and his army took the Saxon capital, Dresden, and defeated Saxons were ordered into Frederick's army.

The opening phase of combat involved two sides exchanged artillery fire and cavalry charges followed by a clash of their infantries. Each side lost about 3,000 men, killed and wounded, with indecisive results: Maria

Theresa’s army managed an orderly withdrawal from the battlefield, and Frederick's army returned to Saxony to wait out the winter.

By late spring Prussia was in real trouble. Frederick's forces began maneuvering against Austria's forces in Bohemia, and on May 5 the two armies met just outside the city of Prague. The fighting lasted two hours, with Frederick losing 11,740 killed and wounded and 1560 as prisoners -- about 21 percent of his army's strength. The Austrians lost about as many and retreated behind Prague's walls. This was a tactical victory for Austria because Prussia was surrounded by potentially hostile forces and had fewer troops to start.

The British Make a Move in 1758

Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder, now leader of a coalition government, began to give more active aid to Brandenburg-Prussia, while Frederick was surrounded by advancing enemies: Sweden from the north, Russia advancing across East Prussia, and the Austrians coming at him from the south. France was distracted by a ground war in America, where it was hoping to stave off defeat while winning in Europe -- while Britain was hoping to win in America and just hold on in Europe. And Austria was distracted by new threats from the Ottoman Empire.

Meanwhile there were two times that Frederick’s forces could have been annihilated but were saved by the inability or unwillingness of Austrians and Russians to pursue his retreating army. 1760, all the belligerents were again hurting enough from war that again all of them wanted peace -- except for Great Britain. That year the British were tightening their noose around the French in Canada. In October, while Frederick and his army were under pressure in Saxony, a combined force of Russians and Austrians occupied and looted Berlin. Then, hearing that Fredrick and his army were on their way, they fled. Also in October, George II died. The new king, George III, cared little about Hanover, and British subsidies to Frederick were discontinued.

The Miracle of 1761

Russian armies were now converging Frederick’s armies from three sides. Frederick withdrew into an entrenched camp in Silesia, where his enemies refused to risk an attack. Then Frederick was blessed by good luck. On January 5, Russia's empress, Elizabeth, died. She was succeeded by Peter III, a 33-year-old grandson of Peter the Great who saw himself as German, disliked Russia and was a great admirer of Frederick. On February 23 he declared an end to the war against Frederick. In Brandenburg-Prussia it was seen as a miracle. Peter III put Russia's armies on the side of Brandenburg-Prussia. Making former allies into enemies and former enemies into allies in the middle of a war was awkward.

On June 28 a military coup overthrew Peter III and placed his wife, Catherine II, on the throne, and she declared Russia's neutrality. Maria Theresa, suffering from the loss of Russia as an ally and receiving little help from France, was also ready for negotiations. Also her military was exhausted and she was without money. She saw no hope in defeating Frederick and sent him representatives to discuss an end to the war. Frederick II was also ready!

The Treaty of Paris 1763

Though Britain had pressed the war while all others had sought negotiations earlier on, now the war had also impoverished Great Britain's treasury, and Britain's political leaders saw the time as right to negotiate. On February 10, 1763, Britain, Spain and France signed the Treaty of Paris, and on February. If one could say that there were winners it had to once again be Britain and Prussia. Frederick had successfully defended his hold on Silesia, but Austria had gained nothing. France lost all of its possessions in the Americas to the British -- except for some small islands in the Caribbean.

As we move toward the era of revolutions, there were certainly implications from this conflict. The royal French government was also deeply in debt, which would contribute to a coming revolution. And the debt of the government of King George III of Britain would also to lead to conflict -- over taxation in his American colonies.

Homework As we mentioned in class the impact of the American Revolution may have had an impact leading to the French Revolution (though not resulting perhaps in the same kind of revolution)

Read the following secondary source for a short bell work assignment of on https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HIST303-2.6.1-

HowRevolutionaryWastheRevolution-FINAL.pdf

THURSDAY and FRIDAY Bell work from Reading Chapter 19 Examine the political, social, and economic causes of the French Revolution (INT-7,10,11) (PP-10)(IS-

6,9,10)(SP-3,4,5,6,7)

Materials Strategy/FormatPPT and video Lecture-discussion

Introduction

There can be little doubt that the French Revolution was one of the most impactful events, not only in European History but also World History. The long-range consequences have reverberated into our modern day world with the commonality of civil rights, liberal democracy, and western values. In many respects the Revolution was another component to the republicanism that we discussed before. In the short range, the revolution will also spawn a series of revolutions and counter-revolutions on into the 19th century.

The resultant spread of liberalism will be praised and vilified in Europe leading to our first war on an ideology similar to what we see in our times with the "war on terrorism." For conservative powers of Europe, it will be a "war on liberalism."

The French Revolution had several background causes some of which had little to do with Louis XVI. However, when examining the causes, we know full well that the monarchy had to share the brunt of the blame. We saw that the Enlightenment itself had unleashed liberal ideas that would come back to hunt many of the nobles who espoused liberty. Louis XVI himself was far more enlightened than any of his predecessors and this probably played a role in his allowing the Estates-general to meet

This is one of the most important events of European History. The revolution essentially lasted 10 years depending upon what we call the beginning or the end. Most people think of the Revolution as the period when heads were being loped off and the end as when the king and queen were executed. There is however much more. Further, the Revolution spawned political, social, and economic changes. Today we will look at the start of the Revolution and what, if any changes took place.

To get the ball rolling we will watch a bit of video on the road to revolution.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye1dwpBPpgE

IntroductionThe Precedents of Revolution

1. The exigencies of war and overspending by Louis XIV and XV2. The Mississippi Bubble: John Law, a gambling buddy of Louis XV from Scotland became the chief

financial advisor. He exaggerated the wealth of Louisiana with an effective marketing scheme, which led to wild speculation on the shares of the company in 1719. The scheme was to have the success of the Mississippi Company combine investor fervor and the wealth of its Louisiana prospects into a sustainable joint-trading company. The popularity of company shares were such that they sparked a need for more paper bank notes, and when shares generated profits the investors were paid out in paper bank notes. In 1720, the bank and company were united and Law was appointed Controller General of Finances to attract capital. Law's pioneering note-issuing bank was successful until the French government was forced to admit that the number of paper notes being issued by the Banque Royale were not equal to the amount of metal coinage it held. The "bubble" burst at the end of 1720, when opponents of the financier attempted en masse to convert their notes into specie, forcing the bank to stop payment on its inflated paper money

3. The Seven Years War 1756 – 1763 obviously was a turning point in royal power as the war cost France much of empire and more of its treasury. The war created an economic issue for France but more importantly emboldened the, to try nearly anything to get revenge. Our Ben Franklin played them like a bunch of chumps convincing them to aid us in our little Revolution against Britain.

4. French loans to the Americans amounted of millions of dollars at a time when France was cash poor. Additionally many Frenchmen participated in the American Revolution and literally absorbed the rhetoric of liberty. Marquis de Lafayette will be the most important. He fought with Washington’s armies in America and will lead National Guard in the attack on the Bastille signally French independence day

5. Climate also played a role. In 1787-1788 two very bad winters struck France weakening grain harvests and thus driving up grain prices. Remember what we said about hungry and angry peasants when bread prices rise!

The Spark1. In need for revenue and believing in the need to gain support for revenue measures, Louis XIV calls the

Estates General into session. This really opened a can of worms. Would Louis XIV have done this?2. The Parlements, the regional assemblies had already started to ignore the monarchy, a clear sign that once

again the nobility was prepared to reassert their power.3. The removal of Jacques Necker and Jacques Collone’s came after they both attempted reforms involving

constraining royal spending.

New Coalitions Form1. Church and Nobles join ranks versus the King. Where will the middle class end up?2. The calling of the Estates General (not since 1614 had it met) Why did the nobles do this?3. Why did the king agree?4. So is this the start of the revolution 1788? While it was revolutionary perhaps to have allowed the meeting

to take place, it was not the real revolution…yet!

The Meeting and Results1. The first major issue that developed was the nature of voting. Previously each estate or class had a single

vote. All of the members would vote on an issue within their group and that would decide the single vote cast by the estate. Obviously the 1st estate (the clergy) and the 2nd estate (the nobles/king) usually would vote together always overruling the lower classes. This is one reason why there was even little reason for the Estates General to convene. However from the previous 150 years the lowest class, the 3rd Estate had dramatically changed.

2. Abbe Sieyes was seen as a leader of the 3rd Estates and he helped the other estates to realize the change with an essay called “What is the 3rd Estate.” Now instead of peasants and few artisans, there were wealthy banks and other business men, officers in the military/navy, civic leaders, and peasants. Easily 97% or so percent of the population.

3. The Third Estate demanded an alteration in the voting procedure4. The Cahiers des doleances ( list of demands)was a list of demands made to the king most of which were

economic and political.

The Tennis Court Oath1. When it became clear that there seemed to be no intention of allowing the3rd estate an equal voice and

following being locked out of the assembly hall at Versailles, they pledged to form a separate government. vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved. Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new assembly

2. The National Assembly (sometimes called the National Constitute Assembly) formed when 1st and 2nd Estate realized that they had just been marginalized. If they wanted a voice in the future, then they had no choice but to accede to the demands of the 3rd estate.

3. Was this the Revolution? Probably so and if it could have ended here then the future would have been VERY different.

The Revolution Turns Bloody: The Great Fear and the Attack on the Bastille On June 12, as the National Assembly (known as the National Constituent Assembly during its work on a

constitution) continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the start of the French Revolution.

The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as the Great Fear, the agrarian insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what the historian Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.”Establishing a New Government: The Moderate or Bourgeoisie Phase

The Term "Bourgeoisie" was used by Marxist historians to describe the middle class nature of the initial government. Certainly the major reforms were moderate: the king was still in power though limited, citizenship was male and based upon property, and labor unions were banned.

August 4, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (“Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen”), a statement of democratic principles grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau . The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government.An important feature of the new government was the monarchy. It still played a role and the king was the head of the military (with checks on that power), and was something like a prime minister or president’s law enforcement power. Few if any at this point were really talking about ending the monarchy completely.

Drafting a formal constitution proved much more of a challenge for the National Constituent Assembly, which had the added burden of functioning as a legislature during harsh economic times. For months, its members wrestled with fundamental questions about the shape and expanse of France’s new political landscape. For instance, who would be responsible for electing delegates? Would the clergy owe allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church or the French government? Perhaps most importantly, how much authority would the king, his public image further weakened after a failed attempt to flee in June 1791, retain? A Adopted on September 3, 1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the more moderate voices in the Assembly, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and the ability to appoint ministers.ConclusionOne has to wonder about the future of France if the moderate phase had solved all of the problems. However, some of the more radical leaders were already starting to wonder if the monarchy could be trusted to yield power. They were to discover that Louis XVI had no intention of becoming a constitutional monarch.

Homework for Thursday Night Night and WeekendRead the instructions before you start. This one is a bit tougher

A Review of the 16th-17th Centuries: European Historyhttp://www.quia.com/quiz/5280972.html