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World History Chapter 11The French Revolution & Age of NapoleonBackground to Revolution1789 What a year in world history!Beginning of the United States of AmericaBeginning of the French RevolutionMore radical & violent than the American RevolutionAttempted to create new political and social ordersTwo Causes of the French RevolutionLong range cause: The social inequality within France caused by the traditional divisions within their society: the EstatesImmediate cause: the near collapse of the French governments finances

1st Estate: The ClergyMade up 0.5% of the French population(total population: 27,000,000)Owned 10% of French landDID NOT pay the taille Frances chief taxRadical divisions existed among this estate:Higher clergy share the interests of the nobility & often came from aristocratic familiesLower clergy (parish priests) were often poor and from the class of commoners

2nd Estate: The NobilityMade up 1.5% of the populationOwned 25% of the landHeld major positions in the government, military, church, and judicial systemAlso DID NOT pay the taille

3rd Estate: The CommonersThree subdivisions of the 3rd estate existedMade up 98% of the populationOwned 65% of the landPaid 100% of the taille (theyre the only taxpayers!)Among members of the 3rd estate there was a wide range of wealth, occupations, and education

Divisions of the 3rd EstatePeasantsFarmers who were still mostly tied to local landlords for survivalSkilled craftspeopleWage earners: carpenters, cobblers, smiths, etc.BourgeoisieMiddle classProfessionals: doctors, lawyers, bankers, merchants, etc.Drawn to Enlightenment ideasWhat are we going to eat??? Frances population had grown by more than 7 million during the 1700s after growing by less than 2 million people during the previous 200 yearsThe staple of the French diet was bread, which requires flour to make, which comes from grain, which must be farmedTwo successive bad harvests in 1787 & 1788 had catastrophic consequences:Food shortagesSkyrocketing food pricesDecrease in manufacturingRising unemploymentTOTAL MISERY for the poor of France1/3 of the population! (9 million)Financial CrisisUncontrolled government spendingLouis XVI & Marie Antoinette lived a lavish lifestyle at Versailles with their courtFashion/jewelry/hairstylesCourt life: Food, wine, banquets, etc.Excessive costs of warStill had not recovered from the debt incurred during the Seven Years War (1756-1763)Aid to the American Rebels vs. Great BritainThe Kings ResponseTo look for solutions to the financial crisis King Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates GeneralThe French ParliamentComposed of representatives from all 3 EstatesClergy & Nobility had about 300 delegates each3rd Estate had nearly 600 total delegatesVote by Order: Each estate could cast only 1 vote as an entire group (individual delegates did NOT get to vote)It was the first meeting in 175 years! (1614)The National AssemblyAs the Estates General began, deputies of the 3rd Estate argued to change voting practices so that each delegate would cast their own voteLouis XVI decided voting would remain by orderJune 17, 1789 the 3rd Estate declared itself a National AssemblyTheir goal was to draft a constitution for FranceTennis Court OathJune 20, 1789 the National Assembly found their meeting place lockedThey moved to an indoor tennis court & took an oath to continue meeting as a National Assembly until they had produced a French Constitution

Storming the BastilleLouis XVI prepared to use force against the 3rd EstateJuly 14, 1789 a mob of Parisians stormed the BastilleAn armory & prison in ParisAs a symbol of royal oppression, it was torn down brick by brickParis was abandoned to the rebelsThe King was told he could no longer trust royal troopsThe fall of the Bastille saved the National Assembly

Destruction of the Old RegimePeasant revolts & fear of invasion during the summer of 1789 spurred the National Assembly to take actionAugust 4: abolished the rights of landlords & the financial privileges of the 1st and 2nd Estates

Declaration of the Rights of ManProduced by the National Assembly on August 26, 1789Inspired by the:U.S. Declaration of Independence & ConstitutionEnglish Bill of RightsNatural & imprescriptible rights of manLibertyPropertySecurityResistance to oppressionFreedom & Equal Rights for all menMerit system for holding public officeEnd to exemptions from taxationAffirmed freedom of speech and the pressDeclaration of the Rights of WomenWomen were not included in the provisions of the Declaration of the Rights of ManWriter Olympe de Gouges refused to accept thisShe wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female CitizenIt insists women should have all the same rights as menShe was ignored by the National Assembly

King Louis XVI ConcedesRoyal family remained isolated at Versailles & refused to accept the decrees of the National AssemblyOctober 5, 1789: March on Versailles1000s of women, many armed marched from Paris to VersaillesRan through the palace killing guards & looking for the queenLouis XVI forced to accept their demandsAbolition of feudalism & financial privilegesSign the Declaration of the Rights of ManRoyal family returned to Paris as prisoners of the Revolution1st Attack on the ChurchNational Assembly seized & sold church landsNew Civil Constitution of the Clergy Bishops & Priests were to be elected positionsThey would be paid by the state (French govt)French govt controlled the churchCatholics become enemies of the RevolutionConstitution of 1791Completed by the National Assembly, thus upholding the oath they took on June 20, 1789Set up a limited monarchyKing is still the head of stateLaws are made by an elected legislatureRequirements to vote for the legislature:MaleOlder than 25Pay a certain amount of taxesThe Paris CommuneLosses vs. Austria & economic troubles led to a new radical group in Paris the Paris CommuneOrganized an attack on the Legislative Assembly:Took Louis XVI hostage & suspended the monarchyNew national convention to decide the nations futureUniversal Male Suffrage ALL males could vote for their representatives at this new conventionGovernmental power passed into the hands of the CommuneMany members of the commune called themselves sans-culottes: those without knee pants; to be identified with the working poorRadical Revolution & ReactionChapter 11 section 2A Radical ShiftUnder Georges Danton the Paris Commune sought revenge on anyone who aided the king or resisted the changes1000s were arrested & massacredA New National ConventionBegan meeting in September, 1792First Action: Abolish the monarchy & est. the French RepubicMembers of the convention split into factions over the issue of Louis XVIs fateFactions: groups connected by a shared belief or opinion within a larger groupThe Emerging FactionsBoth factions are members of the Jacobin club a large network of political groups throughout the countryGirondins: represented the provinces (areas outside of the cities) & wanted to keep the King aliveMountain: represented the interests of radicals in Paris & wanted to execute Louis XVI for treasonLouis XVI was beheaded by the guillotine on Jan. 21, 1793

New Crisis: Foreign & DomesticNational Convention didnt rule all of FrancePeasants in Western France & those who lived in major provincial cities refused to accept the Conventions authorityExecuting Louis XVI & Marie angered the rest of Europes monarchsBy late spring 1793 an informal coalition prepared to invade FranceAustria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, GB, Dutch RepublicIf France were defeated it would be the end of the revolution, revolutionaries, and restore the old regime