Creating a New France

19.2

Revolts in Paris & the Provinces:

  • Famine of 1789 forced many peasants to leave their villages and go to other villages or towns

The Great Fear:

  • Peasants were angry with nobles who were trying to bring back medieval dues.
  • They attacked homes of nobles, burned old manor records, and stole grain.

Paris in arms:

  • Moderates trusted Lafayette, leader of the National Guard—a middle class militia who were the 1st to wear the tricolor (red, white, & blue badge).
  • Paris Commune—more radical & replaced the king’s government.
  • Newspapers & political clubs spread everywhere.

Liberty, Equality, & Fraternity (slogan of the French Revolution)

  • August 4th, nobles in the National Assembly gave up their old manorial dues, hunting rights, special legal status, & exemption from taxes.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen:

  • Modeled after American Declaration of Independence
  • All men were” born & remain free & equal in rights.” Their rights include “liberty, property, security, & resistance to oppression.”
  • All male citizens are equal before the law & can hold public office.
  • Ensured freedom of religion and taxation according to wealth.
  • Louis XVI was slow to accept the reforms and more royal troops arrived.

Women March on Versailles

  • On Oct 5th, thousands of women marched to the palace at Versailles to see the king.
  • The crowd was angry with Marie Antoinette due to extravagance (wasted money on silly things)
  • They marched back to Paris with the King & his family. (The baker, the baker’s wife, & their boy)
  • For the next three years, Louis was practically a prisoner at Tuileries palace.

A Time of Reform

  • The National Assembly followed the king to Paris to write a constitution & reform government.

Reorganizing the Church

  • Assembly took over & sold Church lands to pay off the government’s debts.
  • In 1790, they passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy by which bishops & priests became elected, salaried officials.
  • Many bishops & priests refused to obey the law & were punished. Some peasants supported them.

A written constitution 1791

  • Limited monarchy & a powerful Legislative Assembly ( makes laws, collects taxes, decides war or not)
  • 83 departments of equal size replaced provinces. Provincial courts were ended & many laws reformed
  • Private property & free trade were supported. Nobles were given money for their lands
  • Guilds & labor unions were made illegal.

The Fateful Flight:

  • Marie Antoinette convinced the king to escape their palace in Paris. They were caught at a small town.

Reaction Outside France

  • Supporters of the Enlightenment welcomed the reforms of the National assembly.

Widespread Fears:

  • European rulers increased border patrols, fearing the spread of the revolution.
  • Émigrés (fleeing nobles & clergy) reported attacks on privilege , property, religion, & even lives.

Threats from Abroad:

  • King of Prussia & the emperor of Austria, the French queen’s brother, threatened to intervene to protect the Monarchy (Declaration of Pilnitz)

War at Home & Abroad

  • Legislative assembly survived for less than a year 1791-1792
  • Assignats, the new currency, dropped in value causing prices to rise quickly.

The Sans-Culottes:

  • Working class men & women radicalized the revolution.
  • They wanted a republic & a living wage. They were supported by Jacobins.
  • The Jacobins, mostly middle-class lawyers or intellectuals, used printed press to fight for the republic.

From right to left.

  • In the legislative assembly people who had similar views sat together.
  • On the right—those who resisted reform & wanted a return to the old status quo
  • In the center—supporters of moderate reform
  • On the left—Jacobins & other republicans who wanted an end to monarchy.

War on tyranny

  • Assembly declared war on Austria, then on Prussia, Britain, & other states. 1792--1815