French Revolution
I. Background of the Revolution & Abuses of the Old Regime
Term /Definition
Old Regime /System of feudalism left over from the Middle Ages. Society divided into three large social classes.
First Estate /This Estate was made up of clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church owned 10% of all the land in France.
Second Estate /This Estate was made up of rich nobles. They made up 2% of the population, owned 20% of the land, and paid almost no taxes.
Third Estate / About 98% of people belonged to this Estate that consisted of three groups – well-educated bourgeoisie (merchants and artisans), poorly-paid workers, and peasants (80% of the population, who paid half their income in tithes and taxes).Marie Antoinette /
One of Austria’s royal family, this unpopular queen of France, involved herself in controversial court affairs and spent so lavishly, she was known as Madame Deficit.
Louis XVI / A weak, indecisive leader who could have prevented many of France’s financial problems had he cut expenses and increased taxes. Instead he played with locks and was forced to call the Estates-General over tax reforms.Economic situation in 1770- 1780s / Population, trade and production were all increasing, but high taxes made it impossible to run a business. Bad weather lead to crop failures, which caused the price of bread to double. Heavy debts from aiding American Rev.
Estates General /
An assembly of representatives from all three estates that hadn’t met for 175 years when Louis XVI called them to approve his recommended tax reforms. Each estate had one vote.
II. Phase One of the Revolution II. Phase One of the Revolution (continued)
National Assembly /Louis sided with members of the 3rd Estate desiring to make reforms that would allow them one vote per member. With encouragement from clergyman Abbé Sieyes, they declared an end to monarchy & established a representative govt
Tennis Court Oath /After forming the National Assembly, the 3rd Estate was locked out. They broke into an indoor tennis court and pledged to stay until they had drawn up a new constitution.
Storming of the Bastille(Symbolic Act of the Revolution) /
After the king ordered the nobles and clergy to join the 3rd Estate in the National Assembly, he stationed Swiss guards in Paris. Fearing massacre by foreign troops, a mob stormed the Bastille & gained control of it on July 14, 1789.
Women’s MarchMarch on Versailles /
In October 1789, 6,000 women (& some men) rioted over the rising price of bread, and marched on Versaille, where they demanded that the royal family leave their magnificent palace and move to Paris.
Declaration of theRights of Man /
After declaring the Old Regime Dead on Aug. 4, 1789, the National Assembly adopted a statement of revolutionary ideals, which stated that “men are born and remain free and equal in rights,” and stressed natural rights of liberty, property, security, etc.
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” /Inspired by the radical ideas of Enlightenment thinkers, Rousseau and Voltaire, and the success of the American Revolution, “Life, Liberty, and Fraternity” became the slogan of the French Revolution.
Olympe de Gouge /Because the Declaration did not apply to women, Olympe de Gouges wrote her own declaration of rights of women, but they were rejected and she eventually lost her head!
Legislative Assembly(Three divisions) /
Split into three groups: Radicals “left-wing” sat on left side of hall, opposed monarchy, and proposed sweeping changes with common people in full power; Moderates, who sat in the middle, were centrists who desired some change; Conservatives, called “right-wing” sat on the right, upheld the monarchy, and wanted few changes.
Sans-culottes /The most radical group outside of the assembly, who were dubbed sans-culottes “those without knee breeches.” They were small shopkeepers and wage-earners who wanted a greater voice. Later influenced through political clubs.
II. Phase One of the Revolution (continued)
Émigrés /They were nobles who fled France during the peasant uprising, who hoped to restore the Old Regime. Unlike the sans-culottes who were radical leftists, they were on the extreme right – the reactionaries.
“La Marseillais” /The “citizen soldiers” who invaded the palace where Louis and his family were staying, and fought off Prussian and Austrian who were trying to restore Louis to power.
III. Reign of Terror
Flight to Varennes /In June 1791, Louis further alienated his enemies when he and his family tried to escape to the Austrian Netherlands, The postmaster recognized them and they were forced to return to Paris.
Jacobins /Middle-class men and women joined political clubs, the most radical of which were the Jacobins, who wanted to remove the king and establish a republic. They had thousands within France (peasants, priests & rival leaders).
John Paul Marat /A prominent radical leader who, as editor of a radical newspaper, called for “five or six hundred heads cut off” [by guillotine], to rid France of the enemies of the Revolution. He was murdered in his bathtub.
Louis XVI’s trial and Execution /In the summer of 1792, mob leaders had more power than the govt. assembly. At the National Convention in September, they abolished the monarchy, gave male citizens the right to vote, and declared France a republic. Ex-king was sentenced to death & executed Jan. 21, 1793.
Maximilien Robespierre /As dozens of radical leaders struggled for power, he slowly gathered control, set out to establish a “republic of virtue,” and tried to wipe out any trace of France’s monarchy & nobility. Headed Committee of Public Safety. His rule became known as the “Reign of Terror.”
Committee of Public Safety /The head of this Committee decided who would be considered enemies of the state. The Committee would try people in the morning and guillotine them in the afternoon. Marie Antoinette was most famous victim of Committee.
Charlotte Corday /Supporter of a rival faction whose members had been jailed, she murdered Marat as he bathed. A revolutionary court sent her to the guillotine.
Impact of the Revolution on Life in France /Approximately 85 % of the people killed were members of the urban poor or middle class – the group the Revolution had intended to benefit. Closed churches, prices of bread, salt, and other necessities skyrocketed.
IV. Directory and the Rise of Napoleon
Directory /Moderate leaders of the National Convention drafted a new constitution that placed power in the hands of a two house legislature and an executive body of five men. They named Napoleon Boneparte general.
Military background of Napoleon /Born on Corsica, sent to military school at age 9, became a lieutenant at 16. In October 1795, he defended delegates of National Convention from royalists, and in 1796, he won remarkable victories against Austria. Kept his defeat by Horatio Nelson in Egypt out of the press. Abbé Sieyes encouraged him to seize power in a coupe d’état.
Josephine /Socialite wife of Napoleon, who used her influence to help set Napoleon’s military takeover in motion.
First Consul /In 1800, desperate for a strong leader, Napoleon was elected overwhelmingly to this position when the people of France voted in favor of the new constitution.
Napoleonic Code /A comprehensive system of laws that provided a unified code of law and eliminated some injustices. However, it took away some rights that had been gained during the Rev. (Women sell property, & freedom of speech and press)
Nepotism /System of appointing government officials on the basis of family connections. Napoleon ended this and replaced it with a merit system. Oddly enough, later he ended up putting many of his own relatives on thrones around Europe.
IV. Directory and the Rise of Napoleon (continued)
Concordat of 1801 /An agreement with Pope Pius VII that spelled out the relationship between church and state. Govt. recognized church but rejected church control in national affairs. Govt appts. bishops, but bishops appt parish priests
Battle of Trafalgar /Napoleon wanted to conquer Europe and assert French control in New World; succeeded in Europe. Eventually, the British were the only ones stopping him. Defeated at sea by British off the southern coast of Spain in 1805.
Satellite States / Napoleon annexed territories and controlled Spain, parts of Italy, Warsaw, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland, as well as alliances in Russia, Prussia, and Austria.Nationalism /
Napoleon’s power and military threats made conquered peoples more aware of loyalty to their own nations.
V. Russian Campaign to the Fall of Napoleon
Guerilla warfare /When Napoleon sent an army through Spain to invade Portugal for ignoring blockade. When Spanish citizens protested, Napoleon put his brother on throne. For five years, bands of Spanish peasants ambushed French, weakening French Empire.
Invasion of Russia /Napoleon invaded with 422,000 troops when czar refused to stop selling grain to Britain, and suspected the country of having designs on Poland. N.’s “grand army” had little loyalty to him and the army could not find food to eat because of the “scorched-earth policy. Retreated w/ 10,000
Battle of Nations(Coalition) /
Russia, Prussia, and Austria defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Nations in Leipzig.
Elba /In 1814, Napoleon accepted the terms of surrender, was given a small pension and exiled to a small island. Louis XVIII, next king of France, was very unpopular. Napoleon escaped from this island, raised an army & was once again emperor of France.
Duke of Wellington /Led the British army that administered Napoleon’s final defeat.
Waterloo /On June 15, 1815 the British and Prussian armies worked together in Belgium to end Napoleon’s final bid for power, known as the “Hundred Days.”
St. Helena /Taking no chances, Napoleon was exiled to this remote island in the South Atlantic. He lived there for six years, writing his memoirs, then died of a stomach ailment.
Louis XVIII /Wisely adopted a constitution and ruled as a constitutional monarch – provided legitimacy which was part of Metternich’s plan.
Directions for French Revolution Drama
1. Carefully read your assigned section of the French Revolution. If you don’t understand something, refer to other parts of the handout.
2. As a group, work together to create a skit showing the major elements of your part in the French Revolution.
3. Work out a small script.
4. Bring and create props that will enhance your production.
5. Your skit should be about five minutes long and must TEACH your classmates the important events of your stage of the Revolution.
6. You will be graded on your acting, the quality of your props, and the historical accuracy of your skit.