French Revolution

Chapter 3Section 1

On the Eve of Revolution

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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?