THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Meeting of the Estates-General

King Louis XVI called the
Estates-General to order
Financial crisis
Stabilize his rule
Voting unfairly favored 1
st

and 2
nd
estates

First estate clergy
Second estate nobility
Third estate commoners
(bourgeoisie) and
peasants
How does this political cartoon
illustrate the relationship between the
3 Estates?
The Tennis Court Oath
Third estate = National Assembly
Tennis Court Oath was a promise not to disband
until a constitution was written

The Storming of the Bastille
King Louis XIV decided to
punish 3
rd
estate
Ended up not having to

July 14, 1789

Hundreds of hungry
people stormed the
Bastille, a prison, looking
for gunpowder

Storming of the Bastille
Took it down brick by
brick

Began the French
Revolution

Peasants revolted
against their lords
Reign of Terror

The March on Versailles
Months of bread shortages led to women of Paris
to march to Versailles (where the palace was) to
demand bread
King and queen leave Versailles, never to return
again

Reforms of the Catholic Church
Catholic Church had much power
National Assembly seized church owned land and
sold it
Needed $$ to start new government
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Bishops & priests elected by people and not the pope

Declaration of the Rights of Man
August 26, 1789
Inspiration from English
Bill of Rights, U.S.
Declaration of
Independence and U.S.
Constitution

Natural rights of men
Liberty, property, security,
resistance to oppression
Execution of Louis XVI
Guillotined during Reign of
Terror
Maximilien Robespierre
established special
revolutionary courts,
responsible only to him.
He feared enemies both
inside and outside France.
He tried citizens for
treason, killing over 40,000
Frenchmen in 2 years.

Revolution Radicals
Radicals = people that wanted
extreme change
Jacobin faction

Jean-Paul Marat
Defender of sans-culottes
Wanted destruction of kings power, death of
1
st
and 2
nd
estates
Pure democracy


Committee of Public Safety
In control of government

Wanted to defend France
from external and internal
threats

Reign of Terror
Georges Danton
Maximilien Robespierre


A motto from the
French Revolution is
Libert, galit,
fraternit

This translates into
liberty, equality,
fraternity
Libertem Egalite, Fraternite
Liberty = freedom
Equality = all are equal
Fraternity = brotherhood

Why would this motto of Libert, galit,
fraternit be an appropriate motto for the
French Revolution? How does this motto
perfectly sum up what the French were fighting
for during the revolution?
Execution of Maximilien Robespierre
July 1794
Robespierre was
taken to the
guillotine by
members of the
National
Convention.

This ended the
Reign of Terror.

After the Reign of Terror
National Convention
Restricted power of Committee of Public Safety
Churches allowed to reopen
New constitution was written
More conservative than Robespierres government



The Directory
Formed from new constitution
5 members
Corrupt
Used the military to help keep their
power


Napoleon and Coup dEtat
Coup detat = overthrow
of government

Napoleon Bonaparte
Military leader
Did not support the
Directory
Overthrew the Directory in
1799
The Age of Napoleon
People lost faith in the
French government
Napoleon set up a consulate
People should have been able
to elect but Napoleon had
absolute power
Napoleon claimed he had
saved the gains of the
revolution.
Agree or disagree?



How Did Napoleon Keep Power?
He was first elected
by a plebiscite, or
vote of the people.

He supported the
constitution and
provided strong
leadership.

Napoleon & Catholic Church
Wanted to make peace with
Catholic Church
Catholicism became religion of
majority
Pope could not ask for church
lands seized during French
Revolution
People who owned church land
loved Napoleon
Napoleon and the Economy
What were the goals?
Decrease inflation, equal taxation
What did Napoleon do?
Fairer tax code
National Bank
State loans to businesses
What were the results?
Equal taxation
Stable economy
Napoleonic Code, or Civil Code
Before F.R., there were over 300 different types
of laws
7 new law codes, most important was
Napoleonic Code
Goals of the Napoleonic Code
Less government corruption
Equal opportunity in government
Napoleonic Code (continued)
What did the Napoleonic Code do?
Equality of all citizens
Right of people to choose their profession
Jobs given based on merit
Fired corrupt officials
Religious toleration
Created lycees government run schools
Abolition (get rid of) of serfdom and all feudal
obligations (serfs and peasants owing money to
lords)

Napoleonic Code (continued)
What were the results of the Napoleonic
Code?
Honest, competent officials
Equal opportunity in government
Public education
Napoleons New Government
Strong, central government
Government jobs based on merit
Birth and rank did not matter
New aristocracy/Upper class
60% - military officers
22% - from noble families of old regime
Rest other government officials
Restricted freedom of the press