APEH FrenchRevolution Bourgeois Phase

Key Quotes

  • Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

The French Monarchy: 1775 - 1793

  • Key Figures: Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI

  • Important events surrounding their reign.

Marie Antoinette

  • Associated with the Royal Children and her "Peasant Cottage"

  • Necklace Scandal:

    • Cardinal Louis René Édouard de Rohan and the Countess de LaMotte.

    • A financial scandal totaling 1,600,000 livres (approx. $100 million today).

Misattributed Quotes

  • "Let Them Eat Cake!"

    • Commonly attributed to Marie Antoinette, but she never said it.

    • She was given derogatory nicknames: "Madame Deficit" and "The Austrian Whore".

Crane Brinton’s Anatomy of a Revolution

  • Compares a revolution to a fever with distinct stages:

    • Symptoms appear indicating discontent.

    • Crisis stage or "delirium".

    • Resolution and recovery phase.

Conditions Leading to Revolutions

  1. Discontent across social classes.

  2. Restlessness due to societal restrictions.

  3. Hope crushed by unfulfilled expectations.

  4. Growing bitterness between social classes.

  5. Increased hostility between adjacent social classes.

  6. Intellectuals lose faith in current governance.

  7. Government unresponsive to societal needs.

  8. Doubts among leaders about their legitimacy.

  9. Insufficient support for the government.

  10. Financial mismanagement leading to bankruptcy or heavy taxation.

Socio-Economic Data: 1789

  • Land Ownership by Social Category:

    • Clergy: 6-10% of land; 2% of population.

    • Nobility: 20-25% of land; 1.5% of population.

    • Bourgeoisie: 30% of land; 8.4% of population.

    • Peasantry: 40-45% of land; 82-87% of population.

Economic Challenges

Urban Commoner’s Budget:

  • Food: 80%

  • Rent: 25%

  • Tithe: 10%

  • Taxes: 35%

  • Clothing: 20%

  • Total Expenditure: 170%

King’s Budget:

  • Interest: 50%

  • Army: 25%

  • Versailles: 25%

  • Coronation: 10%

  • Loans: 25%

  • Admin: 25%

  • Total Expenditure: 160%

Lettres de Cachet

  • Issued by the king for imprisonment or death; extremely common during Louis XV's reign.

  • Abolished in 1790.

Taxation Issues

  • Where is the tax money? Deficit issues plagued the monarchy.

Mapping the Ancien Régime (1789)

  • Significant division of power among social classes; illustrated social hierarchy.

Voting Patterns in the Estates General

  • Representatives:

    • 1st Estate (Clergy): 300

    • 2nd Estate (Nobility): 300

    • 3rd Estate (Commoners): 648

  • Suggested voting by head, contradicting the tradition of estate voting.

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès

  • Key Questions:

    • What is the Third Estate? Everything!

    • What has it been in political order? Nothing!

    • What does it demand? To become something!

Significant Events of May-June 1789

  • Estates General: Last convened in 1614.

  • The National Assembly: Commoners claimed to represent the nation.

  • The Tennis Court Oath: Proclaiming their commitment to the revolution (June 20, 1789).

  • Storming the Bastille: Triggered by a perceived threat to National Assembly (July 14, 1789).

The Course of Revolutions (According to Crane Brinton)

  1. Impossible demands on governments.

  2. Government attempts to suppress dissent fail.

  3. Revolutionaries gain power but then fracture.

  4. Moderates gain leadership amidst dissatisfaction.

  5. Radical groups take control, leading to extremism and violence.

  6. Moderate groups regain power, signaling the end of the revolution.

The Great Fear (July 20, 1789)

  • Rumors of an aristocratic conspiracy against peasants led to widespread panic.

Night Session of August 4, 1789

  • Abolished feudal regime and established equality before the law.

National Assembly & Revolutionary Decrees

  • Key Decrees: August Decrees aiming for equality and meritocracy and the establishment of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 26, 1789)

  • Key principles of liberty, property, and resistance to oppression presented.

  • Posed dilemmas about rights for women and racial equality.

October Days (October 5-6, 1789)

  • Women marched for bread, forcing the royal family to move from Versailles to Paris.

Financial Strategies of the Revolution

  1. Confiscation of Church Lands (1790).

  2. Issuing Assignats (interest-bearing notes) secured by the church lands.

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (July 12, 1790)

  • Divided the Catholic population and altered the relationship between Church and State.

The French Constitution of 1791

  • Attempted to establish a bourgeois government with power dynamics favoring the Legislative Assembly.

The Royal Family's Attempt to Flee (June 1791)

  • Recognized at Varennes while fleeing, indicating a failure to maintain authority.

Olympe de Gouges' Views

  • Advocated for women's rights, highlighting that the Revolution did not secure citizenship rights for women.

The First Coalition & Military Challenges

  • International response to the Revolution generated crises internally and abroad.

  • French military faced significant disorganization and challenges.

French Expansion (1791-1799)

  • Overview of territories annexed or occupied by Revolutionary France.