AP Euro: Unit 9 - The French Revolution

Background to the French Revolution (end of 18th century)

• problem #1: 
  • France is bankrupt
    • spent lots of money on the 7 Years' War and lost
    • Louis XIV built Versailles (the most luxurious, over-the-top palace)
    • spent even more money to fight England again in the American Revolutionary War
• problem #2:
  • French society was extremely unequal and still followed the ancient regime (where society was split into 3 groups)
    • 1st estate - clergy
      • owned 1/4 of all French land
      • paid no taxes
      • 1.5% of the population
    • 2nd estate - nobility (royal bloodlines)
      • luxurious lives
      • owned majority of French land and serfs worked that land
      • paid no taxes
      • 1.5% of the population
    • 3rd estate - everyone else
      • 97% of the population
      • paid all the taxes
      • owned nothing
      • starving
  • there was a middle class (bourgeoise) but they were still politically merged with the lower classes
• problem #3:
  • French politics was extremely unequal
    • the king shares little power with the legislature/Estates General (whose power was supposedly divided equally in representatives of each class and each class gets one vote)
    • 1st and 2nd estates (3% of the population) each get a vote and the 3rd estate (97% of the population) gets 1 vote
      • wealthy estates always voted together against the 3rd estate
• problem #4:
  • monarchs were incompetent and out of touch with their people (also, they couldn't produce a heir due to Louis's deformity)
    • Louis XIV - indecisive and weak monarch, easily swayed by advisors, made bad/no decisions
    • Marie Antoinette - Austrian, entitled, spoiled princess, oblivious to France's bankruptcy and splurged on extravagant finery
• problem #5:
  • bad timing
    • bad weather killed crops and there was little food, which led to inflation on food prices
    • new taxes on 3rd estate to pay off debt
    • king fires people's hero, Jacques Necker, from finance minister, and doubles military presence in Paris --> common people felt agitated and powerless
      • Jacques Necker was sympathetic with the 3rd estate and wanted economic equality (taxes for 1st and 2nd estate) and told royals to stop excessively spending
• problem #6: 
  • America exists
    • US Revolution (in which the French fight and die in) is all about overthrowing an unjust and unfair king, and installing a fair and just government
    • enlightenment ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, etc. are all embodied in the new American government --> if it's possible in the US, it's possible anywhere
    • Marquis de Lafayette: 
      • French noble who served with Washington
      • originally goes to strike blow against England and comes back changed; saw ideals America represented and saw disparities between American and French society and shares with the French people

The French Revolution Begins

• deficit spending:
  • occurs when government spends more money than it takes in from taxes and international trade (palace of Versailles, 7 Years' War, American Revolutionary War, only 3rd estate is taxes, etc.)
  • Louis XVI hired Jacques Necker (the people's hero) as finance manager:
    • goals were to stop Marie Antoinette and French court's excessive spending, reduce international tariffs, tax 1st and 2nd estates
    • 1st and 2nd estates complained to the king and got him fired
• meeting of the Estates General:
  • Louis XVI was pressured by all the estates to call the Estates General (meeting of all estates) to bring spending under control and force king to sign a bill of rights
  • Louis has reps from each estate prepare cahiers (lists of grievances): 
    • nobles and clergy reaffirm that they don't want to pay taxes
    • peasants starving, bread riots, high prices on goods, servants want pay, taxes were high and unfair
• tennis court oath:
  • 3rd estate demands that voting should be done by representation (97% vs 3%) in 1 legislature body
  • heated debates lasted weeks and ended when the 3rd estate declared themselves to be the National Assembly
  • representatives of this new assembly arrived at meeting hall to find it locked and guarded --> they went to a nearby tennis court and swore they won't stop until they established a just and sound constitution
• storming of Bastille: 
  • Louis increased the number of soldiers in Paris, and the National Assembly though it was the first move towards the occupation of Paris and their downfall
  • the National Assembly sought weapons for protection and though they would be stored in Bastille (ancient prison that housed political prisoners and symbolized oppression of the 3rd estate)
  • on July 14, 1789, 100s of Parisians took to the front of Bastille to demand for weapons --> commander refused and opened fire --> mob broke through gates and tore guards apart --> didn't find weapons but released prisoners and demolished prison
• some nobles on board:
  • Marquis de Lafayette:
    • served with Washington 
    • new head of French National Guard
    • hero to moderates
  • nobles in the National Assembly voted to end their own privileges (hunting rights, manorial dues, tax exemptions, special legal status, etc.)
  • opened door for National Assembly to use enlightenment ideals to outline basic rights and create a new constitution
• Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen:
  • excluded women
  • modeled on the Declaration of Independence
  • principles in French Revolution slogan - liberty, equality, and fraternity
  • all men are born and remain free and equal in rights
  • rights:
    • liberty
    • property
    • security
    • resistance to oppression
    • hold public office (based on virtue not noble status)
    • religious freedom
  • tax levied based on ability to pay (progressive tax system)
• more deficit spending:
  • Louis was unsure on how to proceed and took advice not to take National Assembly seriously (doesn't want reforms anyways)
  • went back to throwing expensive parties at Versailles for nobles and clergy while the people starve and word gets out
    • word also gets out of people at the party stomping on the new French flag
• women's march on Versailles:
  • women took initiative and marched 13 miles Paris to Versailles, demanding bread and to see the king
  • women stormed the palace (beheaded guards, wanted to kill the queen) and refused to leave until the royals were brought back to Paris (move center of government away from Versailles) as prisoners of the National Assembly
• National Assembly acts:
  • sold church lands to pay off debt and put the Catholic Church under state control --> scandalization(?) and discontent among staunchly Catholic people
  • established new Constitution (1791) that limited power of monarchy and put power in the people's hands
    • lawmakers should be tax paying citizens over 25 (no longer need nobility or clergy's input)
    • established new courts
    • reformed laws
    • new tax code that doesn't benefit nobles
    • king and queen are 'guests' (prisoners) of National Assembly
    • forced king to give up powers to National Assembly repeatedly
• Louis tries to escape:
  • Louis was basically reduced to a figurehead and prisoner of the National Assembly for 2 years
  • the king and royal family disguised themselves as servants and tried to escape to Austria (where Marie Antoinette's family were) 
  • someone recognizes Louis so they get arrested and sent back to Paris where the royal family was labeled as 'traitors to the revolution'
• other nobles and clergy flee France:
  • emigres - nobles and clergy that fled France as situation worsens, and reach Austria, Prussia, and England 
    • other monarchs are scared of what's happening in France because the same thing can happen to them
  • Austria and Prussia issue Declaration of Pilnitz threatening to declare war on revolutionaries --> meant as a bluff but taken seriously by the French who prepare for war
• urge for more reform:
  • food shortages and inflation lead to radical people
  • radical groups in society:
    • *both want a republic
    • sans culottes (working class) - literally translates to 'without breeches' (basically proud of being not-rich)
    • jacobins (middle class lawyers/intellectuals)
  • split in National Assembly between moderates and radicals:
    • girodins - moderates, think assembly should work with king
    • the mountain - radicals, wanted to abolish monarchy and form republic, their name came from their seats in the assembly hall which were on the upward sloping sides of the hall
  • radicals in assembly win upper hand and declared war on Austria, Prussia, Britain, etc.
    • declared war on tyranny thinking people will rise up against European monarchs
  • Prussia and Austria think it will be easy to win (both wrong - war (1792-1815))

A Radical Revolution

• Maximilien Robespierre:
  • came from humble beginnings
  • became lawyer/politician through hard work
  • brilliant orator
  • cold/impersonal 
  • popular with Jacobins and sans culottes
  • leading member of National Assembly
  • initially against death penalty and slavery, and for free press and universal suffrage (right to vote) but became everything he hated (like Oliver Cromwell)
• George Danton:
  • noble
  • sides with the people
  • well-liked for personality and status (popular with sans culottes even though he was a noble)
  • leading member of National Assembly
  • Minister of Justice
  • most outspoken advocate for king's removal from power and establishment of republic
  • inspired citizens to join military and fight foreign invaders
• Jean Paul Marat:
  • physician and radical journalist
  • angry about French government and conditions (so poor that, pre-revolution, he lived in the sewers and contracted a skin disease)
  • published radical newspaper that advocated violence (to kill opponents of revolution), end to monarchy, etc.
  • printed the story of the party that led to the women's march on Versailles
• radical revolutionaries turn violent:
  • French troops were being cut down by Prussian soldiers and monarchs were caught passing info to Austrian to defeat French armies
  • people became nervous about the enemy --> raided prison holding clergy and nobles, and killed 1600 people (September Massacre, incited by Marat)
  • radicals gained majority in the Assembly --> wanted new Constitution where monarchs had no part and called for a new legislative body (National Convention)
• National Convention:
  • made new constitution
  • established French Republic
  • seized lands from nobles and took away their titles
  • adopted 'humane' killing device (guillotine)
  • Robespierre began to support death penalty
  • put Louis and Maire on trial for treason --> execution --> other monarchs go crazy
• guillotine:
  • laid on belly to not see blade
  • weighted blade released --> falls and severs person's head
  • hair is cut short to not get stuck
  • 'humane' device where everyone is equal in death
  • no torture or brutal killing
• France divided:
  • under attack from all sides - at war with Spain, Netherlands, Britain, Austria, Prussia, Italian states
  • National Convention divided between Girodins (moderates) and Jacobins/Sans Culottes
  • food shortages and inflation but soldiers are needed at same time on front lines
  • Vendee region in open rebellion led by royal supporters and deposed clergy
  • created Committee for Public Safety (12 person committee with almost absolute power to save France)
• Marat assassinated:
  • killed by peasant (Charlotte Corday) because he incited violence and spread fear through newspapers
  • Corday was executed, didn't even try to run, thought killing Marat would bring peace
  • however, Marat becomes hero of France and people were more suspicious of people working against revolution
• Committee for Public Safety:
  • has power to issue taxes
  • required everyone to contribute to the war effort
  • in charge of trials and executions
  • headed by Danton and Robespierre
    • Robespierre was called a tyrant and believed France could only become a 'republic of virtue' (people don't just follow laws; active in the work of the government) by terrorizing people in the name of justice (will suffer if you betray the republic)
  • ushers in the Reign of Terror where any suspicion (or false accusation) can get you killed
• Reign of Terror:
  • 1793-94
  • hundreds of thousands of people were arrested for crimes against republic (not all deserved death penalty), and many died in prison from disease, neglect, and unsanitary conditions
  • trials were short and based on false accusations
  • in the end, the revolution targets the 3rd estate (despite being created to serve the 3rd estate) (all new laws and rights suspended, government spies)
    • 15% of executions were people in the 1st and 2nd estates
    • 85% of executions were people in the 3rd estate
• destruction of church: 
  • church lands already taken and sold
  • Committee of Public Safety wanted to completely destroy church
  • cathedrals sacked, new street names and public statues, rearranged calendar (10 day weeks, 2 week months, months renamed, new year 0)
    • de-christianization was more shocking than killing monarchs
• Danton guillotined:
  • Danton believed the Reign of Terror needed to be stopped because it already served its purpose
  • Robespierre disagreed and Danton and his followers were executed --> Great Terror began
• the end of Robespierre:
  • people thinks he's crazy
    • Robespierre proclaimed himself as new Jesus/center point of new religion
    • he was a dictator at this point
  • announces he has a list of enemies of revolution and doesn't reveal the names --> people are scared they could be on the list --> people declare Robespierre as a traitor --> he is arrested and attempts suicide but he is beheaded
  • Convention passes 3rd new constitution --> new government (the Directory) is corrupt and weak
  • Napoleon will seize power in 1799

Napoleon

• early life:
  • born to unimportant Italian nobility (nothing to inherit because too many siblings) and was sent to a military school in France, where he excelled despite being bullied for his lineage and stature
  • saw the French Revolution as an opportunity to advance quickly and he rose to the rank of general by 20
• rise to prominence:
  • saved National Assembly from mob and promoted to commander of all forces in Italy
    • won many victories and forced Austria to sure for peace
  • used unconventional tactics and defeated forces larger than his own
  • pushed officers to be better and even socialized with peasant, conscripted soldiers
  • led coup d'état (overthrow of a group in power) and became de facto dictator (1st consul) of France and later named emperor
• social policies:
  • signed Concordat which stopped church from claiming lands in French Empire
  • Catholics and Protestants were tolerated because there was no official religion
  • however, he used religion to control people
    • in Egypt, he once lied he was Muslim
  • return of state-supported Christianity brought stability back to France
  • restored nobles to titles and standardized education for everyone
  • to ensure loyalty in conquered territories, he installed his family as monarchs (nepotism)
• Napoleon's code of laws:
  • established single set of laws for all of France
  • new: 
    • standardized property sales and other major economic transactions
    • compulsory education (society places larger focus on science, tech, industry, and education)
  • kept:
    • equality before law
    • freedom of profession and religion
    • outlaws serfdom and feudalism
    • tax system where no one is exempt
  • got rid of:
    • rights for women (divorce is harder, can no longer keep property, husband controlled family)
    • local ruling assemblies (replaced with prefects (closest family, friends, supporters) to government posts)
• opposition to Napoleon:
  • had done away with most equality and democracy in France during revolution
  • many said Napoleon had become a despot (oppressive absolute monarch)
  • he shut down 60/73 of France's newspapers, mail was opened by government police, and anyone who questioned his rule was exiled
• outside opposition:
  • included Russia, Austria, Great Britain (1st, 2nd, 3rd coalitions)
  • Napoleon won against forces on Europe except Great Britain who had naval superiority
  • Napoleon created tons of nationalism (loyalty, strong identification, and devotion to one's nation) in many European nations under his rule --> these countries wanted to overthrow Napoleon's rule because of strong identification to their own countries, not France
• changes to Europe and the world: 
  • reorganized map of Europe in a way that benefited France and their allies
    • recreated Poland
    • dissolved and defeated Holy Roman Empire 
  • liberation of central and south America from Spain (occupied with Napoleon in Europe) by Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin
    • Brazil declares independence from Portugal
  • Napoleon spreads nationalism --> countries want independence
  • Napoleon sells US Louisiana purchase (doubles US's size) for money for war effort
• opposition to Napoleon (pt. 2):
  • France enacted continental system (European trade network to starve Britain of trade) which failed to weaken Britain enough for France to invade
  • Napoleon forced to sell Louisiana territory to America to finance ongoing wars in Europe
  • in conquered countries, he faced opposition from nationalist movements wishing to break away from the French Order which made it hard for his troops to advance
• the big mistake:
  • Napoleon's crucial mistake was trying to Russia during the winter of 1812
  • Russia is big, super cold, and the French weren't prepared
  • Russians practiced a scorched earth policy (destroy everything useful so the opponent cannot use it), and destroyed shelters and food crops that Napoleon was counting on 
  • 22k/380k French soldiers survived
• Napoleon defeated:
  • disastrous invasion of Russia --> European continent freeing itself from French rule
  • Napoleon was exiled to Island of Elba --> escaped 9 months later and returned to France to do it all again --> defeated by coalition of everyone else at battle of Waterloo --> exiled to St. Helena
• aftermath: 
  • Europe called meeting (Congress of Vienna) to undo Napoleon's organization of Europe and to discuss ways to keep France from gaining too much power in future
  • European powers of Austria, Britain, Russia, and Prussia continued to meet in annual concerts of Europe, which had several main goals:
    • keep peace among European powers and settle disputes among them
    • keep balance of power in Europe
    • stop nationalist movements and rebellions from threatening the peace