The French Revolution and

Napoleon

Focus Questions

Focus QuestionsWhat were the causes and effects of

the French Revolution?

How did the French Revolution lead to the Napoleonic Era?

How did Enlightenment ideas influence the French Revolution?

French Estates

French EstatesIn 1789, France, like much of Europe,

was divided socially

France was divided into three social classes, known as estates

French EstatesThe First Estate was made up of

the clergy (religious leaders)

The Second Estate was made up of the nobility

The Third Estate, mostly workers and peasants, comprised the vast majority of the population

The Third Estate

The Third EstateThe Third Estate was the most diverse social class

The bourgeoisie (middle class) sat at the top of the Third Estate

The Third EstateThe Third Estate resented the privileges of the First and Second Estates

Wages were so low that even the smallest rise in the price of bread would threaten hunger or starvation

The Third EstateAll taxes were paid almost exclusively by the Third Estate

Enlightenment ideas led many of the Third Estate to question the inequalities of the Third Estate

The Estates-General

The Estates-GeneralFrance had incurred a large national debt and the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution made it worse

King Louis XVI (r.1774-1792) tried to fix the debt

The Estates-GeneralIn order to solve the crisis, the First and Second Estates called on Louis XVI to summon the Estates-General

Estates-General: a legislative body consisting of representatives of the three estates

The Estates GeneralThe Estates-General had not been summoned for 175 years

The French kings feared nobles would use it to strengthen their power and weaken the kings

The Estates-GeneralIn 1788, bread riots began spreading in France

Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General in 1789

The Estates-GeneralDelegates were to be elected from each estate

Each delegate prepared Cahiers

Cahiers: notebooks; listed grievances

The Estates-GeneralTraditionally, each estate was given one vote

This meant that the First and Second Estates always outvoted the Third Estate

The Estates-GeneralA leader of the Third Estate, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, wrote What is the Third Estate?

In the booklet he asks: What is the Third Estate? “Everything.” What has it been? “Nothing.” What does it hope to become? “Something.”

The Estates-GeneralThe Third Estate wanted each person to have a separate vote

Due to the stalemate, the delegates of the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly

The Estates GeneralA few days later, the National Assembly was locked out of their meeting hall

They met at an indoor tennis court

The Estates-GeneralThe delegates took the Tennis Court Oath

Tennis Court Oath: delegates swore to “never separate…until we have established a just constitution.”

The Estates-GeneralMany reform minded clergy and

nobles decided to join the National Assembly

King Louis XVI accepted the National Assembly as a French Legislature

Revolution Begins

Revolution Begins1789 saw the worst recorded famine

in French history

Prices were so high that people spent up to 80% of their income on bread

Many peasants began uprising

Revolution BeginsOn July 14, 1789, more than 800 Parisians gathered outside of the Bastille

The Bastille was a medieval fortress that housed many political prisoners

Revolution BeginsThe Parisians stormed the Bastille and freed many of the prisoners

Today, France celebrates Bastille Day every July 14, just like we celebrate Independence Day

Declaration

DeclarationOn August 4, the nobles in the National Assembly agreed to give up their special privileges

Also in August, the Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

DeclarationThe Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was modeled in part after the American Declaration of Independence

DeclarationFrench Declaration:

All men are "born and remain free and equal in rights”

“liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression”

DeclarationFrench Declaration:

Governments exist to protect the natural rights of citizens

All male citizens have right to hold office

Taxes levied according to ability to pay

French Constitution of

1791

ConstitutionThe National Assembly completed a

constitution in 1791

Limited monarchyLegislative Assembly that could make laws, collect taxes, and decided on issues of war and peace

Ended Church interference

Radicals Take Over

Radicals Take OverKing Louis XVI, fearing for his life,

tried to escape France with his wife, Marie Antoinette, and his children

They were caught and sent back to Paris

Radicals Take OverIn August 1791, Prussia and Austria,

issued the Declaration of Pilnitz

In the document, the two countries threatened intervention in order to protect the French monarch

The French revolutionaries prepared for war

Radicals Take OverThe radicals, who had control of the

legislature, declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Great Britain

The fighting began in 1792 and lasted on and off until 1815

Radicals Take OverFrance started off by losing many of

the early battles

Many revolutionaries thought that the king was working with the enemies

Radicals Take OverParisians attacked the royal palace

on August 10, 1792 and killed all of the kings guards

Louis XVI escaped

Radicals Take OverIn September 1792, citizens attacked

prisons that held nobles and priests

About 1,200 prisoners were killed, including many ordinary criminals

It became known as the September Massacres

Radicals Take OverThe radicals then took over control

of the Assembly and established the National Convention

They also demanded suffrage for all male citizens

Radicals Take OverThe Convention abolished the

monarchy and established France as a republic

They seized the land of nobles and abolished their titles

Radicals Take OverThe Convention put King Louis XVI

on trial as a traitor to France

He was convicted and sentenced to death

In January 1793, Louis was executed and his wife was executed in October

Reign of Terror"Liberty cannot be secured unless criminals lose

their heads."-Maximilien Robespierre

TerrorThe French army was gaining ground in

Europe, led by the young general Napoleon Bonaparte

It overran the Netherlands and invaded Italy, frightening many monarchs

The revolutionaries were also frightening fellow countrymen

TerrorThe Reign of Terror lasted from

September 1793 – July 1794

Anyone who resisted the revolution could be imprisoned

300,000 were imprisoned during the Reign of Terror. 17,000 were executed.

TerrorMost were executed by the guillotine

On July 27, 1794, many of those in charge of the Reign of Terror were arrested and also faced the guillotine

The Reign of Terror was over and France entered a new stage

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Guillotinemodels.jpg

The Constitution of 1795

Constitution of 1795Only male citizens that owned

property could vote

Led by a 5-man Directory (oligarchy)

Two-house legislature

Age of Napoleon

NapoleonThe Directory was very corrupt

In 1799, revolutionaries overthrew the Directory and set up a three-man Consulate

One of the leaders of the overthrow was the military general Napoleon Bonaparte

NapoleonNapoleon soon took the title First

Consul and in 1802 - Consul for Life

Each time Napoleon gained a new title, he did so by holding a plebiscite

NapoleonPlebiscite: popular vote by ballot of

a particular item

Napoleon eventually made himself emperor, but granted voting rights to male citizens

NapoleonTo restore economic prosperity,

Napoleon encouraged new industry and built roads and canals

He set up public schools under strict control to ensure France had well-trained officials and military officers

NapoleonNapoleon also made peace with the

Catholic Church

He created the Napoleonic Code

Napoleonic Code: first complete codification of French law

NapoleonNapoleonic Code:

Religious toleration Serfdom illegal Supremacy of husband over wife and

children

NapoleonIn 1803, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory in North America to The United States of America for $15 million dollars

It included most of present-day America west of the Mississippi River (This spurred the Lewis and Clark Expedition)

NapoleonBy plebiscite, Napoleon was made

emperor of France in 1804

December 2, 1804 was Napoleon’s coronation

It was held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

NapoleonPope Pius VII was going to place

the crown on Napoleon (tradition)

Napoleon took the crown from the Pope and crowned himself

Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor Napoleon I (r. 1804-1814)

NapoleonNapoleon conquered much of Europe

from 1804 to 1812

He annexed many of the territories

Annex: to add to (an empire)

NapoleonHe annexed the Netherlands,

Belgium, and parts of Italy and Germany

He made alliances with many other European nations

NapoleonNapoleon destroyed what was

remaining of the Holy Roman Empire

Napoleon removed the King of Spain and replaced him with his brother, Joseph Bonaparte

NapoleonNapoleon became known as the “Corsican Ogre”

Britain was the only major European Empire that remained out of Napoleon’s grasp.

NapoleonIn 1805, Napoleon tried to invade

England, but the French fleet was destroyed in the Battle of Trafalgar by Horatio Nelson

NapoleonNapoleon and Britain tried to attack

each other’s commerce

Britain seized any ship it thought was helping Napoleon

This would be a cause of the British/American War of 1812

NapoleonFighters within the conquered

territories began to fight against Napoleon

Tsar Alexander I of Russia was an ally of Napoleon

NapoleonAlexander and Napoleon had agreed

to divide Europe

After Napoleon’s policies were hurting Russian economics and he placed a large force near Russia, Alexander withdrew his support

NapoleonNapoleon invaded Russia in 1812,

with 600,000 soldiers and 50,000 horses

The Russians retreated east and burned everything in their path

This is known as scorched-earth policy

NapoleonNapoleon reached Moscow, but had

to turn around due to the Russian winter

Napoleon’s forces retreated 1,000 miles

Fewer than 20,000 troops survived

Napoleon“General Famine and General Winter, rather than Russian bullets, have conquered the Grand Army.”

- French General Michel Ney

NapoleonNapoleon abdicated the throne

Abdicate: step down from power

Napoleon was sent into exile in Elba, an island in the Mediterranean

NapoleonLouis XVIII was made the leader of

France

Napoleon escaped exile and took back control of the military in March 1815

Louis XVIII fled France

NapoleonNapoleon tried to conquer Europeon

forces on June 18, 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium

Napoleon was defeated and sent into exile at St. Helena

He died in 1821 (stomach cancer or poisoning?)

The End