The French Revolution

je deteste le francais

What is the historical context to the French Rev?

The new world is incredibly distinct from the old world. The French Rev. sought modernization. Britain and France have an intense hatred for each other down to their roots of existence, their religions (Protestantism vs Catholicism), and France drops an absurd amount of money simply to see the British get defeated by America. The French colony, Saint Domingue (Haiti), produces about 65% of France’s trade systems, and is about to revolt.

What were the characteristics of the Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment supported logic and reasoning, experimentation, and the individual over the crowd. Humanism and free thought were largely spread through this movement

What were John Locke’s contributions?

John Locke’s “natural rights of man”, “man’s state of nature”, and “right to revolt” directly contributed to Enlightenment ideals that man are good, free, and have sovereignty in a society. This directly translates into the U.S constitution with the Dec. of the Rights of Man is modeled after. These ideas are new to a nation like France that believes in divine right monarchy (if you defy the monarch, you defy god).

What were Rousseau’s contributions?

Rousseau believed in liberty and equality, that all men are born good, and in democracy. He believed one should support the common good and that the government owes protection on the natural rights to the people. These were revolutionary ideas for an absolute monarchy nation like France.

How did the Enlightenment contradict the Ancient Regime?

The Enlightenment supported ideas like overthrowing a government and supporting individuals over the masses. The Ancient Regime was instead feudal (divided into social classes), based off of divine right, and incredibly structured. New ideas that sparked in the Enlightenment directly contradicted religious ideals and a social class structure based off of aristocracy.

What was the Ancient Regime (the old order)?

The Ancient Regime included feudalism and divine right absolute monarchy. The Estates were the social classes in the feudal system in France.

What were the Estates and who was in them?

There were three Estates or social classes. The first Estate was full of clergy men (church workers) and paid no **direct** taxes even though they owned 10% of all land in France (a lot). The second Estate was the nobility (aristocrats who had top Gov. jobs and education and yet paid no **direct** taxes. The third Estate contained everyone else (Bourgeoisie + peasants or 98% of the population) who paid all taxes.

Why were there so much animosity between the Estates? How was each treated?

There was so much animosity between Estates due to the drastically different living and working conditions. Nobles had almost no taxes, lived lavishly, and barely worked. Peasants dealt with the rising prices and taxes, unpaid labor, and would only have small amounts of bread to eat due to the rising prices.

How did the Bourgeoisie (The nouvelle riche / rising class) affect the Revolution?

The Bourgeoisie resented and envied the 2nd and 1st Estates due to the fact they had just as much money and yet would never be treated as a member of higher class (access to Government jobs) due to not being an aristocrat (coming from a familial line of wealth). They were successful merchants, bankers, lawyers, and doctors who made most of the money aka, had to pay almost all the taxes in France (third estate).

What were the American Rev.’s and co. contributions?

The American Revolution and the sister revolutions caused France to go into even more debt than it was already in from the useless spending of the monarchy. France supported the Americans and spent about 1.5 billion dollars in their revolt. The American Rev. sparked ideas of the Enlightenment throughout the old world and inspired revolts such as Haiti’s.

How was Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s marriage and what were the rumors surrounding it?

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had an arranged marriage for political benefit. They were unhappy and could not produce an heir due to Louis’ impotence (which he then had surgery for and they had 6 six children, one son). Rumors surrounding the monarch’s struggle with producing an heir lead to talk of Marie’s “other relations” and unfaithfulness. Gag painting’s of Marie in inappropriate attire became common and the people mocked her.

How did the National Assembly and the Estate’s General kickstart Stage 1 of the Revolution?

The National Assembly and the Estate’s general gave power to the third Estate (peasants + bourgeoisie). Stage 1 began with hope for the people and an oath to be loyal to the revolution. Three factions of government were formed.

What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and what did it state?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man, drafted by Marquis de Lafayette, is incredibly similar to the U.S bill of rights. It states the rights of the people (free speech and right to revolt) and the importance of fair trials. The Dec. states the debts the government owes to the people, such as protection of the natural rights.

Who was Robespierre and what did he do?

Robespierre was a French lawyer and great speaker. He took on the role of the leader of the French Revolution. He founded the Committee of Public Safety in April of 1793 as a group of dictators to rule over France with him at the head. He justified the use of terror and was responsible for signing death warrants for the guillotine. Robespierre was known to advocate for the poor (with support for welfare and food access), and he voted to abolish slavery as early as 1794.

What reforms were made under Robespierre and how did it affect the people and the revolution?

Robespierre made church reforms. He practically abolished all organized religion in France, believing people would care more about their god than the revolution. He stripped the clergy of their title and guillotined those who did not comply. He washed away Catholicism, and with it, the identity of the French people. There were no more separate Church systems or court and a new “revolutionary” calendar was issued to get rid of Sunday. This led to outright anger towards Robespierre and distrust from the people.

What were the three factions (political views) in France during Stage 1 of the Revolution and what were the goals of each?

The three factions were the Radicals (Jacobins), Moderates, and the Conservatives.

Radicals - wanted an immediate conversion to a direct democracy with no place for monarchy anywhere in France.

Moderates - wanted a somewhat rapid conversion to an indirect democracy and did not what a temporary monarchy, but believed it may be necessary for stability.

Conservatives - wanted a slow conversion to a representative (indirect) democracy with temporary monarchy system until this is achieved.

What was the National Convention?

The National Convention served as the grounds for creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. All men of all classes above the age of 25 were allowed to vote in this convention. It was the precursor to the Committee of Public Safety, a more dictatorial governmental body.

What happened in Stage 1 that carved a hopeful future for the Revolution?

The Tennis Court Oath, The National Convention, and The Dec. of the Rights of Man created hope throughout the people for a successful and “peaceful” revolution. They sparked new ideas into the people and created a temporary reformed government that gave power to the people. France was converted to a limited monarchy, the feudal system was abolished, and church reforms were put in place.

What is significant about Louis XVI and Antoinette’s attempted escape?

Their escape showed to the French people that they were not at all loyal or compliant to the revolution. They were trying to flee to Austria and this led to the revolutionaries declaring war on Austria. Austria was an ally of France (As Antoinette had familial relations there) and the war opened up opportunity for invasion. The King was then guillotined and Marie Antoinette and her children were jailed. When Marie was eventually guillotined, her children were washed of their identity and ultimately died of neglect.

Why was declaring war on Austria a horrible idea for the French Revolutionaries? What did this allow?

Declaring war on Austria is a direct act against one of France’s allies. This means that other allies and enemies of the French could now attempt to invade and overtake France due to the breaking of their allyship. The Revolutionaries had neither the funds nor the people to combat against a takeover.

What led to the Reign of Terror (Stage 2)? How did Stage 1 destabilize so fast?

Stage 2 of the revolution started with the September Massacres, but was predated by violent acts such as the Women’s march on Versailles and the storming of the Bastille. These were a wave of killings in order to eradicate “inside conspirators” or people who were suspected of helping the enemies invading France or conspiring with monarchy. Distrust between the people caused the destabilization and many were killed without trial. The killed mostly consisted of upper class citizens, moderates, conservatives, and people lynched from prisons. Monarchy was abolished and the “Committee of Public Safety” becomes the only ruling Gov, a dictatorship. France is declared a Republic.

What faction or political view was solely present during Stage 2 of the Revolution?

The only faction left in France was the radicals. There was no political diversity and if someone was suspected of being a conservative or radical they would be guillotined.

What was Robespierre’s role in the Reign of Terror and how did he impact the hysteria?

Robespierre once said “uncertainty of punishment encourages the guilty”. He became paranoid just as the people were that everyone was conspiring against the revolution. As a charismatic and smart speaker as well as the head of the Committee, he sentenced hundreds of people to be guillotined, including the King himself. He encouraged people to rat out their neighbor and to spy. He justified terror and killed anyone who doubted him in name of '“the revolution”

How did Robespierre justify / define the use of terror and why?

Robespierre justified terror by tying it to “virtue”, which he defined as patriotism instead of good morality. He defined terror as codependent to virtue, that it is the consequence of loving one’s country. If one does not love their country, it is hence corrupt. Virtue is the only way for a democracy to exist according to Robespierre, meaning the only way to achieve democracy is through terror. He wrote the Justification of the use of Terror in order to not only convince people, but to make a mark of himself.

How did the Reign of Terror contradict the Enlightenment?

During the Reign of Terror, free speech and religion were completely irradicated. With these being part of documents (dec. of rights of man, dec. of independence) that took direct inspiration from the Enlightenment, getting rid of these freedoms contradicted it. The natural rights (life, liberty, property, but mostly life lmao) were not adhered to and it lead to hundred (thousands) of deaths of innocent people. The dictatorship that Robespierre ran did not support democracy (the Gov. supported by the Enlightenment), had no checks and balances, and valued to crowd over the individual (anti-individualism).

What led to the end of the Reign of Terror and transition into Stage 3?

The Reign of Terror ended with the death of Robespierre by guillotine, the very weapon he had beheaded hundreds of others with. With Robespierre’s death, a short period of assassinations of his supporters and other radicals ensued (also called “the first phase of the white terror” or the Thermidorian Reaction). A new Gov. body formed called “The Directory” with Napoleon Bonaparte at the head.

What was The Directory and why did it fail?

The Directory lasted four years after the National Convention was dissolved. It was a five-man bi-cameral (executive + legislative) power in France, a last stitch effort of a representative (indirect) democracy. This Gov. was put in place to attempt to fix what had happened in the Reign of Terror (killing radicals / Jacobin / that supported Robespierre) using the military power of the general, Napoleon Bonaparte. The Directory was doomed to fail due to the distrust already created in the people. The French people had seen several Gov.s fail and cause mass destruction, they had no care for the “new and improved” Gov. They didn’t listen to anything it said and did not take them seriously (hence needing the military power). Napoleon eventually overthrew The Directory and created his own dictatorship.

What is a Republic?

A representative democracy. People elect officials (representatives) to vote on behalf of the people.

Timeline (woo)

1302 - Birth of the Estate’s General, 3 Estates formed

1620 - Establishment of Plymouth Plantation and success in Jamestown (Americas)

1756-1763 - 7 years war (France loses ton of money, one of many Treaty of Paris)

1776 - Dec. of Independence issued with France’s support

1789-1791 - Revolution starts - Stage 1 / National Assembly.

* Bourgeoisie part of the third estate


* Tennis Court Oath (June 20th 1789)
* Storming of the Bastille (July 14th 1789)
* Dec. of Rights of Man (August 26th 1789)
* Women’s March on Versailles (October 5th 1789)
* Monarchs attempt escape to Austria (June 21st 1791)

1792 - Stage 2 / The Reign of Terror

* France declares war on Austria (April 20th)
* Tuileries Palace stormed (August 10th)
* The September Massacres (September 2-7)

1794 - Stage 3 / The rise of Napoleon

* Robespierre guillotined (July 28th)
* The Directory formed

1799 - Napoleon’s reign begin