THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Focus Question

  • What were the causes, the main events, and the results of the French Revolution?

Background to the French Revolution

  • Social structure of the old regime:
    • The First Estate: Clergy
    • The Second Estate: Nobility
    • The Third Estate: Commoners including urban wage earners and middle-class bourgeois
  • Political ideas of the Enlightenment:
    • Attracted both the aristocracy and bourgeoisie
  • Revolution’s origins in political grievances:
    • Opposition to the old order encouraged drastic action against the monarchical regime

FRANCE BEFORE THE REVOLUTION: LOUIS XIV & ABSOLUTISM

Key Questions

  1. What was absolutism?
  2. What did it look like?
  3. Who was Louis XIV?

Absolutism

  • Definition:
    • A system in which all sovereignty resides with the king
    • King does not share power with anyone
    • Characterized by absolute power and authority for the monarch
    • Monarch is above the law and the nobility
    • Rulers govern by divine right

Characteristics of Absolutism

  • Nobles become inferior to the king.
  • Build a large bureaucracy staffed by middle-class officials.
  • Taxes must increase to fund the bureaucracy and military.
  • Establish a standing army rather than one that is assembled only in wartime.
  • Establish religious uniformity under state control.
  • Emphasis on CONTROL in governance.

LOUIS XIV: THE FRONDE OCCURS

  • Reign Begins: 1643, Louis XIV becomes king at 5 years old
  • The Fronde (1648-1653):
    • Revolt during Louis's minority led by the Nobles of the Robe
    • Objectives of these nobles:
    • Abolish intendants (government officials ensuring efficiency)
    • Right to approve royal taxation
    • Cessation of selling offices
    • Right of habeas corpus
    • Revolt leads to popular uprisings where the common people sided with the nobles
    • Final defeat of Fronde marked the end of significant noble power before the revolution

LOUIS XIV: A “PERFECT PICTURE” OF ABSOLUTISM

  • Louis XIV relocated the government to Versailles, building the largest palace in Europe as a symbol of power
  • Achievements at Versailles:
    • Hosts numerous noble families, rotating them to monitor and control them
    • Nobles competing in lavish parties led to bankruptcy, increasing their dependency on him
  • Titles: Calls himself “The Sun King,” implying radiance of power
  • Maintained loyalty among officials by hiring for skill and loyalty
  • Controlled military and legal frameworks with hands-on governance
  • Revoked the Edict of Nantes, which weakened Huguenots and increased dissent

FRENCH REVOLUTION BACKGROUND

  • Begun in 1789 under Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
  • Division of the Population into Three Estates:
    • Clergy: 130,000, 10% of land, exempt from taille tax
    • Nobility: 350,000, 30% of land, powerful, also exempt
    • Commoners: 26.5 million, 60% of land; comprised of:
    • Peasantry: 80% of total population and 40% of land; subject to feudal duties
    • Bourgeoisie: 8% of population, 20% of land; could ascend to nobility

CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

  • Multiple Factors Leading to Revolution:
  • Influence of Enlightenment ideas challenged traditional authority and promoted individual rights
  • Discontent with rigid social structures, particularly within the Third Estate
  • Economic hardships due to bad harvests in 1787 & 1788 leading to high food prices
  • High taxes disproportionately affecting the bourgeois and peasantry
  • Mismanaged government finances leading to debt used for interest payments

Specific Economic Causes

  1. High taxes due to government extravagance and war funding
  2. Debt from wars with Britain:
    • War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
    • Seven Years’ War (1756-1763)
    • American Revolution (1776-1783)
  3. High interest rates, making loans harder to secure due to perceived risk
  4. Public dissatisfaction with the royal family heightened by scandals such as the Diamond Necklace Affair

DIAMOND NECKLACE AFFAIR

  • Notorious scandal involving Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, exposing royal extravagance
  • Key Players:
    • Cardinal Rohan: A noble seeking favor with the queen
    • Countess de Lamotte: Deceptive schemer aiming to restore her family's fortunes
  • The necklace was valued at over 15 million dollars. Lamotte forged letters from the queen. Rohan’s downfall became symbolic of royal corruption

CALLING OF THE ASSEMBLY OF NOTABLES 1787

  • Meeting called to discuss taxing the privileged estates
  • Grievance collection revealed divisions among the estates, each with different goals

1789 ESTATES-GENERAL

  • Summon prompted by financial crisis, leading to discussions of representation
  • Composition of Estates-General:
    • First Estate: 300 delegates
    • Second Estate: 300 delegates
    • Third Estate: 600 delegates (majority were lawyers)

Disputes Within the Estates

  • Proposal by the Third Estate to draft a constitution and abolish privileges was rejected by First and Second Estates
  • Conflict over whether to vote by order or by head denied the Third Estate a fair chance

PHASES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

  • Phases include: 1789 to 1792 and 1792 to 1794
  • Key events in the first phase included:
    • Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789)
    • Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)
    • The Great Fear (July to August, 1789)
    • Women’s march on Versailles (October 5, 1789)

1789 ESTATES-GENERAL OUTCOMES

  • The Third Estate’s formation of the National Assembly in response to royal intransigence
  • Declaration of rights adopted, claiming popular sovereignty

THE MAKING OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

  • The mob stormed the Bastille, marking a decisive moment against monarchical authority
  • Transition from monarchy to constitutional governance took place with the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man (August 1789)

FRENCH REVOLUTION: LATER EVENTS

  • Louis XVI attempted to escape but was caught, leading to further diminishing of royal authority
  • Radical actions result from military setbacks in wars declared against Austria, scrutiny rises on the king

SECOND PHASE: 1792-1794

  • National Convention abolishes monarchy, establishing a republic
  • Execution of Louis XVI (January 21, 1793) and Marie Antoinette (October 1793)
  • Enforcement of radical changes and Reign of Terror under Robespierre leads to thousands executed (estimates vary, 17,000 to 40,000)

DEMOCRATIC REFORMS DURING THE REVOLUTION

  • 1793 constitution established rights to work and rebellion against tyranny
  • Establishment of deviations from former time and metric standards post-revolution

NAPOLEON’S RISE

  • From military general to emperor, establishing domestic policies that retained revolutionary principles
  • Concordat reestablished Catholic Church without land disputes
  • Napoleonic Code emphasized equality under the law, career access beyond birthright

NAPOLEONIC WARS AND DOWNFALL

  • Successful campaigns against multiple states establish a vast empire
  • The Russian campaign and subsequent defeats signify the decline leading to coalition forces defeating him at Leipzig
  • Exile first to Elba and later to St. Helena post-defeat at Waterloo

RESULTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEON

  • Spread of revolutionary ideals across Europe, fostering movements for constitutions and national identity
  • Establishment of the metric system and new governmental structures in the wake of the revolution’s aftermath

CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

  • May 5, 1789: Meeting of Estates-General
  • June 17, 1789: Formation of National Assembly
  • July 14, 1789: Fall of the Bastille
  • August 26, 1789: Declaration of the Rights of Man
  • January 21, 1793: Execution of Louis XVI
  • July 28, 1794: Execution of Robespierre
  • August 22, 1795: Adoption of Constitution of 1795 & Directory