The End of a Monarchy

The old regime falls

– After the storming of the Bastille Louis XVI lost almost all power to enforce his will

– August 4, 1789, National Assembly votes to abolish the rights of landlords and financial privileges of clergy and nobles

– N.A. adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

– Inspired by the Declaration of Independence and the English Bill of Rights

– The rights of man included liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression

– Olympe de Gouge spoke up for the rights of women writing her own document called, “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen”

– Gouge was mostly ignored

Louis XVI finally gives in

– Oct. 5, 1789, thousands of women marched to Versailles with weapons to demand that the king accepts the “Rights of Man” declaration

– Louis concedes and travels back to Paris with the woman and even brings flour with him as gifts to the poor

Changes in the Church

– National Assembly seizes church land and sells it for money to support the cause

– Bishops and Priests are to be elected by the people and paid by the state.

– Because of the government’s ownership of the church, the revolution lost the support of many Catholics

Legislative Assembly

– N.A. made new constitution in 1791 that established a limited monarchy and the Legislative Assembly that made the laws

– Consisted of 745 representatives

The rest of Europe thinks this is all kind of sketchy

– Austria and Prussia are concerned that revolution ideas will spread to their countries and threaten to use force to reinstall Louis as absolute monarch

– France declares war on Austria and fights poorly

– This is blamed on the king’s disloyalty

The Cards get shuffled again by the Paris Commune

– Defeat in war and economic problems lead many people to lose faith in the new government

– The Paris Commune (made up of men calling themselves sans-culottes) attacks the royal palace and the Legislative Assembly

– King is captured and the L. Assembly is forced suspend the monarchy and call a National Convention to decide the future form of government.