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Deficit Spending
Louis XVIFrance was deeply in debt after the ruling of Louis XIV. The government kept borrowing more money. In 1789, half of the government's income went to paying off the debt. The price of food increased and peasants began to starve. Louis XVI choose Jacques Necker to help him with the financial problems. He was eventually fired because he proposed taxing the First and Second Estates. The wealthy classes demanded that the king summon the Estates General. -
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General 2
This was unfair. The Third Estate wanted all three estates to meet in a single body, with votes counted by head. The Third Estate declared themselves as the National Assembly, claiming to represent the people of France. A couple days later, the meeting hall was locked and guarded. The National Assembly moved to the tennis court, and took their famous Tennis Court Oath. After this, there were rumors of the king planning to dissolve the Assembly. -
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General 1
Louis finally called the Estates-General to meet at Versailles. He had the three estates arrange cahiers and most said they wanted fairer taxes, freedom of the press, and regular meetings of the Estates-General. Delegates to the Estates-General from the Third Estate were elected, but only men that owned property could vote. The Third Estate was vastly larger then the others, but each state had the same representation-one vote. The Third Estate's vote was overriden by the other two. -
Storming the Bastille
There were rumors that royal troops were occupying the capital. Outside of the Bastille, more then 800 Parisians surrounded the prison. The crowd demanded gunpowder and weapons, but the commander refused. Once the fighting began many people were killed. The Bastille represents the years of abuse of the monarchy. French call this day their national independence day. -
National Assembly Acts, Rights of Man
The representatives of the French people, organized as the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The declaration proclaimed all male citizens were equal before the law. It used John Locke's ideas explaining government job to protect the natural rights of citizens. It was greatly modeled after the American Declaration of Independence. -
National Assembly Acts, Women's March
A hungry mob of 6,000 women marched 13 miles from Paris to Versailles. The crowd blamed Queen Marie Antoinette for lack of bread. The Queen lived extravagantly while the women could barely feed their children. They directed most of their anger towards her. The women refused to leave Versailles until Louis XVI returned to Paris. The King agreed to return to Pairs and for the next three years he was a virtual prisoner. -
National Assembly Acts, The Church
To pay off the government's debt, the Assembly voted to take over and sell Church lands. The National Assembly put the French Catholic Church under state control. Under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, bishops and priests became elected and salaried officials. It also ended convents and monasteries. Bishops, priests, and the pope were against the Civil Constitution. French peasants rejected it as well. -
Threats From Abroad
Due to Louis XVI's attempted escape from Paris more problems and threats arose. The king of Prussia and Marie Antoinette's brother, the emperor of Austria released the Declaration of Pillnitz. Although the document may have been a bluff, it threated to protect the French monarchy. The threat was taken seriously and France prepared for war. -
The National Assmebly Acts, The Constitution
The Constitution of 1791 established a limited monarchy, instead of an absolute monarchy. The new Legislative Assembly had the power to make laws, collect taxes, and decide on issues involving war and peace. The constitution replaced the old provinces with 83 departments, and improved the laws. It ended church interference in government and expressed the Enlightenment goals; ensuring equality of all men before the law. -
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Radicals Declare War
Sans CulottesThe newly elected Legislative Assembly took power in 1791, but only lasted for a year. The sans-cullotes demanded for a republic instead of a monarch. A revolutionary club, the Jacobins used pamphlets and newspapers to advance the republican cause. In 1792, the war between the French revolutionaries and European monarchs began. -
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Monarchy is Abolished 2
Execution of Louis XVIThe Convention also put Louis XVI on trail. He was convicted as a traitor and executed. Along with Loius XVI his wife, Marie Antoinette was exectued months later. -
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Monarchy is Abolished 1
Royal Palace of TuileriesA crowd of Parisians stormed the royal palace of the Tuileries and killed the king's guards on August 5, 1792. Then citizens attacked prisons that held nobles and priests accused of political offenses. Around 1,200 prisoners were killed. Radicals controlled the assembly and called for a new legislative body, the National Convention. The Jacobins, who controlled the National Convention voted to extend the right to vote to all male citizens, abolish the monarch and establish a republic. -
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Robespierre and the Reign of Terror
The GuillotineFrance was in war with much of Europe. The Committee of Public Safety was created to deal with the threats. The 12 members of the Committee had large control of France, especially, Maximilien Robspierre. Robespierre was nicknamed the "incorruptible," He lead France into the Reign of Terror. During this time, about 3,000 people were arrested and 17,000 were executed. The guillotine was used to kill people quickly and efficiently. The Reign of Terror ended when Robspierre was executed. -
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Third Stage of the Revolution
Napoleon BonaparteThe moderates produced another constitution, the Constitution of 1795. It set up a five man Directory and a two-house legislature elected by male citizens of property. The Directory held power for 4 years and faced many threats. As the chaos continued the popular military hero, Napoleon Bonaparte began to take charge. He won many battles and was used to advance the political goals. Over time, Napoleon would become the new ruler of France. -
Spread of Nationalism
France was a country of old social order, but after the French Revolution this changed along with many other things. France was no longer a government controlled by the monarchy or the Church. The new rules allowed everyone to be treated fairly. People became know as "citizen." French people started to attended civic festivals, they sung and danced along to songs about the Revolution. The French Revolution gave people pride and devotion to France. They gained a sense of nationalism.
