THE FRENCH REVOLUTION BEGINS

I. Conditions – 1780s

French assistance in the American Revolution and – American failure to pays its debt

poor harvests – 1787 & 1788 by the end of 1789, nearly half of the French people

needed relief or food assistance unemployment – in July 1789, 150,000 people

(out of 600,000) were without jobs in Paris alone extravagance of French court life

Marie Antoinette – queen The French Revolution is THE revolution that

opened the modern era in politics.

II. The Three Estates

estates = levels (orders) in French society the estates had been in

existence since the Middle Ages

First Estate members of the clergy owned 10% of the land exempt from the taille (the

primary tax) Second Estate

members of the nobility held leading positions in govt,

military & courts tried to expand their power

owned 25-30% of the land exempt from the taille

First Estate(130,000)

Second Estate

(350,000)

Third Estate(26,520,000

)

Third Estate the commoners (75-80% of population) . . . or everyone

else owned 35-40% of the land

over half of peasants had no or little land peasants had to pay relics of feudalism – obligations to local

landlords, including fees to use village facilities included skilled craftspeople & wage earners in the cities included the bourgeoisie – the middle class

8% of population owned 20-25% of land included merchants, bankers & other professionals intrigued by Enlightenment ideas

III. A Financial Crisis

Louis XVI – king of France by the 1780s, French budgetary expenditures were:

50% for interest payments on the debt 25% to maintain the military 6% to pay for the lifestyle of the king & his court at

Versailles <20% of the budget paid for essential state functions

France had no central bank and no paper currency difficult to get loans to help the financial crisis

the only solution . . .

IV. The Estates-General

on May 5, 1789, the Estates-General met for the first time since 1614 met at Versailles nearly 1200 delegates

all three estates supported some changes to the absolute monarchy formation of a constitutional monarchy?

laws would require the consent of the Estates-General guarantees of some individual liberties? economic development that would require some reforms?

the Third Estate also wanted to require that all classes pay taxes problem: each estate had only one vote

when the Third Estate delegates were locked out of the meeting hall, they took matters into their own hands renamed themselves the National Assembly (June 17) met on a nearby tennis court and took what became known as the Tennis

Court Oath on June 20, 1789 promised to continue to meet until a new French constitution was written

V. The Revolution Begins

reminder – economic conditions July 14, 1789 – the commoners stormed the Bastille, a

notorious Paris prison broke the power monopoly of the royal army

popular revolts began to occur all over France National Assembly voted to eliminate the relics of feudalism Declaration of the Rights of Man & the Citizen

issued August 26, 1789 inspiration of Am. Rev. & Enlightenment philosophies proclaimed equal rights for all men, the need to respect the

general will and guaranteed some freedom of speech & the press

Olympe de Gouges’ response? Declaration of the Rights of Woman & the Female Citizen

VI. Louis’ Resistance?

Louis XVI objected to these reforms, especially those that reduced his power

October 5, 1789 – 7000 women marched from Paris to Versailles to demand action demanded bread raided the palace & killed a number of guards

to stop the rebellion, the royal family was forced to live in Paris description of travel procession essentially lived under house arrest at the

Tuileries Palace

VII.A Constitutional Monarchy created in July 1790 with Louis XVI’s

reluctant approval eliminated the French nobility as a class lawmaking power was given to the

National Assembly religious freedom granted to Jews &

Protestants nationalization of the Catholic Church