French Revolution

  • Tennis Court Oath

    Tennis Court Oath
    What best describes the Tennis Court Oath?
    The Tennis Court Oath was a vote of solidarity among the members of France's Third Estate. The members swore to stay united until a constitution was adopted that protected the rights of French citizens.The Oath signified for the first time that French citizens formally stood in opposition to Louis XVI.It was foreshadowed by and drew considerably from the 1776 United States Declaration of Independence, especially the preamble.
  • Louis XVI calls the Estates General

    Political and financial situation in France had grown rather bleak, forcing Louis XVI to summon the Estates General.This assembly was composed of three estates that being the clergy, nobility and commoners who had the power to decide on the levying of new taxes and to undertake reforms in the country. Louis XVI proposed solutions to France's financial problems. It ended when the Third Estate formed into a National Assembly, signaling the outbreak of the French Revolution.
  • Writing of the Declaration of the Rights of Men

    Writing of the Declaration of the Rights of Men
    The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen helped to form the foundation of the French Revolution,in hopes of ending the monarchy and establishing a democracy in France.Nature made men free and equal; the distinctions between them are based on general utility.It sets out the “natural and inalienable” rights,which are freedom, ownership, security, resistance to oppression; it recognizes equality before the law and the justice system,and affirms the principle of separation of powers.
  • Parisians storming the Bastille

    Parisians storming the Bastille
    The Storming of the Bastille was when a mob of angry French citizens and rebellious soldiers attacked the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The fortress capitulated after the revolutionaries aimed cannons at its gate.The capture of the Bastille symbolized the end of the ancient regime and provided the French revolutionary cause with an irresistible momentum. In 1792, the monarchy was abolished and Louis and his wife Marie-Antoinette were sent to the guillotine for treason in 1793.
  • March on Versailles

    The Women's March on Versailles was a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution. It was spontaneously organized by women in the marketplaces of Paris, on the morning of October 5, 1789.It concerned over the high price and scarcity of bread, women from the marketplaces of Paris led the March on Versailles on October 5, 1789. This became one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, eventually forcing the royals to return to Paris.
  • Establishment of the New French Constitution

    Establishment of the New French Constitution
    During the French Revolution, the French Constitution of 1791 created a new structure for the Government of France. Specifically, it limited the powers of the monarchy of France.
    The French constitution was created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting.
  • Execution of the King and Queen

    Execution of the King and Queen
    Louis' execution would profoundly affect the course of European history, marking a point of no return for the French revolutionaries. The first and only execution of a French king by his subjects. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine.
  • Reign of Terror

    Reign of Terror
    The Reign of Terror instituted the conscripted army, which saved France from invasion by other countries and in that sense preserved the Revolution. The Reign of Terror was a period of the French Revolution. When following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, anticlerical sentiment, and accusations of treason by the Committee of Public Safety.
  • Napoleon Overthrows the Directory

    Napoleon Overthrows the Directory
    Coup of 18–19 Brumaire overthrew the system of government under the Directory in France and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon Bonaparte. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. The event is often viewed as the effective end of the French Revolution. The Directory was replaced with a three-member Consulate, and 5'7" Napoleon became first consul, making him France's leading political figure
  • Napoleon builds an Empire

    Napoleon builds an Empire
    He wanted to control the rest of Europe and to reassert French power in the Americas. He envisioned his western empire including Louisiana, Florida, French Guiana, and the French West Indies. Napoleon built his empire through conquest of territories belonging to his enemies. Napoleon greatly assisted in defeating the First Coalition in 1792–1797, in which the newly formed French republic annexed a part of the Rhine and also the formerly Austrian Netherlands, in addition to client states.
  • Napolean Invades Russia

    Napolean Invades Russia
    Led by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, crossed the Neman River, invading Russia from Poland.The result was a disaster for the French. The Russian army refused to engage with Napoleon's Grande Army of more than 500,000 European troops.Although during the 1812 Invasion of Russia Napoleon achieved tactical victories and entered Moscow,the campaign exhausted the French forces, weakening the French strategy, shaking Napoleon's reputation, and dramatically weakening French hegemony in Europe.
  • 6th Coalition Occupies Paris

    6th Coalition Occupies Paris
    The allies drove Napoleon out of Germany in 1813 and invaded France in 1814.The Allies defeated the remaining French armies, occupied Paris, and forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.A battle fought on March 30–31, 1814 between the Sixth Coalition consisting of Russia, Austria, and Prussia and the French Empire. After a day of fighting in the suburbs of Paris, French surrendered on March 31, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition and forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.
  • The Congress of Vienna Meets

    The Congress of Vienna Meets
    The goal was to provide a long term peace plan for Europe by settling critical issues from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Each major delegate had their own agenda and goals.The goals were to create a needed balance of powers throughout Europe after the reign of Napoleon,enclose France within its borders,install a conservative order,and exist peacefully in the long term.Both Wars disturbed the administration because there were many critical issues that arose.
  • King Louis XVIII Begins His Reign

    King Louis XVIII Begins His Reign
    Louis XVIII's reign saw France's first experiment in parliamentary government since the Revolution. The King was invested with executive powers and had “legislative initiative,” whereas a largely advisory parliament voted on laws and approved the budget.He became king with the Bourbon Restoration of the monarchy after the overthrow of Napoleon I. He ruled a constitutional monarchy, meaning he was not the main leader of his government.
  • Napoleon Defeated at Waterloo

    Napoleon Defeated at Waterloo
    The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 between Napoleon's French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. It ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon's imperial power forever. It concluded a war that had raged for 23 years.Napoleon's defeat meant the victory of the nation state over other concepts such as Napoleon's French Revolutionary Empire and Holy Roman Empire before it.