french revolution & napoleon

what did the french revolution want to do?

marry the idea of a “state” with a singular nation, making it both secular and a french nation based on linguistic identity

what did the french want to create in their nation-state?

• collective consciousness

• liberty, equality, fraternity

what was france like before the revolution?

• feudal society

• controlled by inequality

• rigid class structure with no social mobility

third estate:

• peasants were the vast majority of the population (around 95%) who worked the land & lived in poverty

  • they were taxed heavily

  • they had few rights compared to the others

second estate

• the nobility made up around 2% of the population who attained their status at birth

  • they were exempt from taxes

  • they owned land, and land = wealth

  • their money came from the peasants working their land

    • was produced from agriculture, mining, labor

first estate

• the clergy (the church) were made up of priests and bishops who made up around 3%

  • they were exempt from taxes

  • had a seperate legal system from everyone else

what was the king like, and how did he hold absolute rule?

• head of state that had absolute control over the country

  • they used the “divine right of kings” where their authority came from God

  • their decisions could not be questioned since it would question the will of God

what were some of the king’s responsibilities?

• creating laws

• collecting taxes

• appointing government officials

• declaring war

• carrying out justice

what was the french revolution partially inspired by?

the Enlightenment.

the enlightenment:

• all people believed in reason & capacity to think logically, contrasting to belief of superstition in the past

who was responsible for the development of liberalism?

both ordinary people and philosophers were responsible for the development of liberalism

tuffayl:

• humans have the capability to be good or bad based on experiences

  • knowledge gained from experience over knowledge gained from authority

locke:

• all people are capable of rational thought

  • they can control their future & have a say in decisions

  • people give up some freedom so that the government can represent their will

    • representative democracy

montesquieu:

• people will be corrupted by power and will use it to gain control

  • need checks & balances to ensure that one person doesn’t accumulate power

rousseau:

• humans were inherently good & were corrupted by society

  • supported direct democracy

hobbes

all humans are inherently evil

voltaire

• belief in freedom of speech & religion

  • criticised feudalism and the three estates in france (the ancien regime)

what started the french revolution?

the estates general

the estate general:

the representatives of all three Estates, and were called for some political decisions

why were the estates general called?

• was done so that France didn’t go bankrupt due to debt

• the King wanted the approval of the Estates first to tax the upper two estates because the peasants were all broke

what was the estates general mainly used for?

• was used to gain approval for taxes from clergy and nobles

  • usually they just raised taxes for the peasants instead

why were peasants unequal compared to the other two estates?

each estate was originally given one vote, so the peasants were usually out-voted

what happened when the estates met?

• peasants refused to discuss until the other two houses joined them in a national assembly

• the nobility refused to join but the clergy decided to join them in the end

• in response the King locked them both out of the meeting with the Estates General

how did the tennis court oath come to be?

• the clergy and peasants took an oath stating that they would refuse to stop working until France had a new constitution

what happened in response to the tennis court oath?

• the King let them back in and gave vote by head count rather than estate, making the peasants equal

what was the types of governments shown during the Revolution?

absolute rule → representative democracy → dictatorship → empire

classical conservatives

wanted an absolute monarchy

neo-conseratives:

wanted a reduced role in government when it comes to the economy

capitalism:

a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.

classical liberalism:

wanted a constitutional monarchy limiting power of the king

modern liberalism:

wanted a greater role for government in the economy

illiberalism:

hides its nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedure

radicals

change in any means necessary, even if it includes violence

liberals

• advocated for a republic

  • ruled by a president w seperate branches of government that have divided power

moderates

wanted a constitutional monarchy where thre king’s powers were limited

conservatives:

want to preserve the status quo

reactionary

• wanted to return to an imaginary past of the “ideal” country

  • based on the idea of a shared history that usually isn’t real

what did Napoleon do?

• he also strengthened the central gov and instituted many reforms

• regulated the economy

• promoted public schools for men

• reconciled with the Catholic Church

• created the Napoleonic Code

napoleonic code

The most lasting effect on France was the Napoleonic Code, a set of laws that brought change in Canada.

• Promoted the interests of the middlwe class and guaranteed civil liberties

• Did not treat women and children well, only men

what were the pros of the Napoleonic Code?

1. all were equal under the law

2. no birthright privilege

3. freedom of religion

4. seperation of church and state

5. freedom to work in an occupation by choice

6. strengthening family values by:

   1. making the father the breadwinner

   2. restricting divorce to adultery, serious crime, excess cruelty

   3. inheritance of family property was determined

what were the cons of the Napoleonic Code?

1. women could not vote

2. wives owed obedience to their husbands

3. unmarried women had few rights

4. women had a harder time getting divorces

5. men catching their wives cheating can kill them

6. children had few rights

7. children from wedlock got no inheritance

what was Napoleon’s strategy with winning against Britain? did it work?

instead of going for their soldiers, france went for their trade with the continental system, but it didn’t work

continental system

forbade french allies and colonies from importing british goods

how did britain get around the continental system?

• increasing trade with the US

• smuggling goods into Europe

why was france unhappy with Napoleon?

• middle class merchants were pissed because they were weakened by the cutoff, so they turned on Napoleon

• this is b/c british did a trade blockade on france

what happened when he tried to conquer Spain and Portugal?

both countries fought with guerilla warfare against France and eventually they withdrew

why did napoleon’s invasion of Russia fail?

• russia withheld resources from the french

• they drew out their supply lines pursuing a retreating Russia

what were the impacts of Napoleonic rule?

He brought many reforms during the Revolution, and it spread to other parts of Europe

• governments organized, feudalism rejected, and ideas of rational thought and equality took root. liberalism has come to Europe.

why was napoleon’s rule bad for france?

He ignored some of the individual freedoms, and legit he actually went backwards from some of the French Revolution.

what were some of the things that he did that were controversial?

• lack of favor for political liberty and free elections

• censorship of the press

• imprisonment of opposition

• conquered by napoleon? you have to:

  • provide soldiers

  • provide taxes

  • raw materials for industry

what was the issue with Napoleon declaring himself as an emperor?

• believed he had full control of France.

  • he recognized no authority higher than himself

  • he had absolute rule over the country