part 1

• The French Revolution is considered a turning point in the history of European nationalism
• The people of France changed their society which spread throughout Europe
• The French Revolution

  • Beheaded the King of France
  • Ended centuries old feudal order
  • Transformed France into Europe's first republic
• Before the French Revolution, people's loyalties were to the King
• After the revolution, people began to focus their loyalty to themselves the people as a nation
• Revolution


  A fundamental change in the social structure or government in a nation
• Republic


  A type of government where the elected leaders of government are accountable to the people whom they represent
• Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité


  The motto of the National Assembly during the revolution, stands for Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood
• Louis XVI(sixteenth)


  The king of France during the French Revolution, he was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793
• Marie Antoinette


  The queen of France during the French Revolution, she was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793
• Estates-General


  A representative body of the three estates of France (First, Second, and Third Estate)
• National Assembly


  The representative body of the Third Estate after they declared independence from the Estates-General
• Declaration of the Rights of Man


  A document written by the National Assembly in August 1789 which abolished the special rights of the nobility and clergy, and established the rights and freedoms of all French citizens
• Bastille


  A prison in Paris that was a symbol of the king's tyranny and power over the people; it was stormed and destroyed by an angry mob of French peasants on July 14th, 1789 (known as Bastille Day in France)
• Legislative Assembly


  The republican government created by the National Assembly the Constitution of 1791
• National Convention


  An emergency convention called by the National Assembly in 1792 to protect the revolution from enemies who wanted to reinstate the monarchy in France. The National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety
• Committee of Public Safety


  A 9 member committee appointed by the National Convention to protect the republic from "enemies" of the revolution, led by radical Maximilien Robespierre
• Reign of Terror


  Nearly 12 months during 1793-1794 when 10 000's of French citizens were executed for being suspected "enemies" of the revolution
• Social Structure of pre-revolutionary France

  • First Estate: Clergy
  • Second Estate: Nobility
  • Third Estate: Commoners
• First Estate: Clergy


  • Approx. 1% of France's population
  • Included high ranking and wealthy members of the powerful Catholic Church in France
  • Paid no taxes and lived very rich lifestyle
  • The Church owned a lot of land in France
  • Commoners had to pay tithes (taxes) to the Church, refusal to pay tithes would result in punishment by the Church
• Second Estate: Nobility


  • Approx. 3% of France's population
  • Included wealthy aristocratic families in France who were considered the royal ruling class, they inherited their wealth by owning and ruling most of the land in France
  • Had special political privileges that came with their wealth, including being exempt from paying most taxes
  • Were exempt from serving in the army
  • Peasants who lived on noble's land had to pay land taxes to the land owner
• Third Estate: Commoners


  • Approx. 96% of France's population
  • Included peasants, farmers, city dwellers, shop owners, lawyers, doctors, etc
  • Had no special privileges and could not inherit wealth and power like the nobility
  • Some commoners had some wealth, but had to pay high taxes to the king, the nobility, and the church
  • Poorer peasants lived a nasty brutal life of poverty and despair
• The King and Royal Family of France


  • Were not included in the three estates, but instead were above all other French citizens
  • The king ruled with absolute power - he had total control of the political and economic system in France
  • All laws in France were made by the king himself with no elected representative body
  • King Louis 16th and his wife Marie Antoinette lived in lavish luxury and paid no attention to the people whom they ruled
• The Third Estate of France (everyone else) represents approx. 96% of France's population and they had no special rights - they were being treated unfairly
• The Second Estate (nobility) and First Estate (clergy) represented approx. 4% of the population of France, and they had special privileges including being exempt from paying most taxes
• Four Phases (Periods) of the French Revolution


  • National Assembly (1789-1791)
  • Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)
  • Convention (1792-1795)
  • Directory (1795-1799)
• 1788-1789: France experiences severe weather - bitterly cold winter and spring, followed by devastating drought in the summer
• This resulted in a sharp increase in the price of flour and bread - a staple in the diet of millions of poor French people
• As a result - millions of French peasants and commoners were starving and angry
• 1789-90 - bread riots erupted throughout Paris and elsewhere in France, led by starving angry French people
• Rumors circulated that when Marie Antoinette was informed of the riots, she responded by saying "Let them eat cake" (however this was false propaganda)

  
  

  Her supposed comments circulated throughout France, and the people directed their anger at the King and Queen
• France was experiencing a financial crisis during 1780's
• King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were spending too much public money and France was deeply in debt
• France's taxation system was broken because the wealthy aristocracy was exempt from paying taxes while the poor commoners were responsible for paying taxes
• Estates-General


  Representatives from the three estates met to discuss and vote on solutions to the financial crisis
• Structure of Estates-General

  • First estate: 300 members representing 100 000 clergy members who owned 10% of the land in France, one vote
  • Second estate: 300 members representing 400 000 members of nobility and aristocracy who owned 25% of the land in France, one vote
  • Third estate: 600 members representing 24 500 000 commoners, peasants, farmers, and bourgeoisie who owned 65% of the land in France, one vote
• Under the old system the single vote of the First Estate and the single vote of the Second Estate together could outvote the Third Estate
• National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath


  • The Third Estate had issued a number of grievances to the King at the Estates-General - the King dismissed all of these grievances
  • As a reaction, Third Estate was determined to change the system: they declared themselves the National Assembly - separate from the Estates-General
  • The King kicked them out of the Estates-General, the 600 members of the National Assembly convened in a nearby tennis court, and collectively took an oath that they would not stop until France had a constitution
• June 20th, 1789: Members of the National Assembly take the Tennis Court Oath
• Declaration of the Rights of Man


  • The National Assembly writes France's first constitution and bill of rights called The Declaration of the Rights of Man in August 1789
  • It abolished traditional privileges of the nobility and clergy
  • It limited the power of the King
  • It established a non-religious (secular) republic
  • It created equality and liberty among all French citizens