Section 4: The French Revolution (1789-1815)

Causes of the French Revolution

Abuses of absolute monarchs, income inequality, class divisions, starvation, Enlightenment ideas, and the American Revolution.

First Estate

Clergy/Religious leaders, 0.5% of population, did not pay taxes.

Second Estate

Nobles/rich landowners, 1.5% of population, did not pay taxes.

Third Estate

Everyone else (including Bourgeoisie), 98% of population, paid all taxes.

Estates General

Legislative body representing the three estates; gave the king a façade of power

Tennis Court Oath

June 1789, Third Estate vowed to create a new government, marking the start of the Revolution.

Storming of the Bastille

July 14, 1789; symbolic start of the French Revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

French “Bill of Rights”; granted freedoms and rights to men.

Flight of Louis XVI

1791, king attempted to flee France to regain absolute power with foreign armies.

Radical Phase / Reign of Terror (1792–1794)

Period of extreme change; led by Jacobins and Robespierre; thousands executed.

Maximilien Robespierre

Radical leader of the Jacobins; key figure in the Reign of Terror; executed 9,000 by guillotine.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

King and Queen of France executed during the Reign of Terror.

Olympe de Gouges

French woman who advocated women’s rights; wrote Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen; guillotined.

France at War

Fought Austria and other nations trying to restore monarchies; revolution inspired others in Europe.

The Directory (1794–1798)

Government ruled by 5 Directors; corrupt oligarchy; continued wars; weak and bribable.