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Causes of the French Revolution
Following French involvement in the American Revolution, and poor economic decisions by Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI, France was led to the edge of economic collapse. Likewise, the rise of Enlightenment ideals of Locke and Voltaire about government reform grew in the Third Estate. Members of the Third Estate were also barred from holding political office. Years of tyrannical rule from the upper estates paired with a famine that drove millions into poverty became a breaking point. -
The Great Fear
Paranoia spread through the French peasantry as rumors of conspiracies' to starve the Third Estate spread. With the gathering of royal troops outside Paris and the dismissal of Necker, French peasants began burning manor homes and important buildings (The Bastille) and beating aristocrats. While there were very few murders, numerous documents of feudal rights were destroyed. While violent, the feudal regime was abolished and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and The Citizen was created. -
Meeting of the Estates General
France's finance minister Jacques Necker called for a meeting of representatives by each of the three estates of France. This meeting, which had not been called since 1614, was called as a final attempt to resolve the economic issues of France. The 1st and 2nd Estates each had 300 representatives while the 3rd had 600. The decision to have each member be a vote or having one vote for each estate continued for over a month before the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly. -
Creation of the National Assembly
Following weeks of discussions, the representatives of the Third Estate entered a tennis court attached to the Estates General. This presented a new threat to the Government of France as the Third Estate excluded the Nobility from government affairs. These representatives swore to not leave until a new constitution was created (Tennis Court Oath). Louis XVI encouraged the nobility to join the National Assembly while at the same time he gathered troops to disperse the assembly. -
Declaration of The Rights of Man and The Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and The Citizen was created with 17 articles focused around the ideas of Montesquieu and Rousseau, with the idea that all men are free and equal in their lives. While similar to the American Bill of Rights, this was formed in direct defiance to the monarchy. It would later serve as the preamble of the Constitution of 1791. -
October March
Tens of thousands of women marched on the Palace of Versailles to pressure the government due to food shortages and disregard of the reasoning behind the revolution. The King agreed to go with the revolutionaries to Paris after having the Palace broken into and the Queen threatened. The women followed him and the first steps of a new constitution were taken.. -
National Constituent Assembly
This Assembly passed numerous reforms that followed the Enlightenment ideals. Civil equality was developed (with exception to the colonies), over 50% of men received suffrage, and nationalized the lands of the church. While their attempt to form a constitutional monarchy failed, its developments in reforming the church and the country's judicial system presented positive progress. -
Constitution of 1791
Drafted by the National Assembly, The constitution of 1791 was formed in an attempt to created a constitutional monarchy and hold the king as a figurehead. Likewise suffrage was only reserved for citizens who actively payed taxes. The Constitution of 1791 ultimately lasted less than a year due to Louis XVI's opposition to relinquishing power to the revolutionaries. -
Creation of the National Convention
The National Convention created a republic in France while simultaneously abolishing the entirety of the French monarchy. This convention was split between Girondins and Montagnard's. Robespierre was a member of the latter and forced the Girondins out of the convention. The National Convention ultimately determined the fates of the Royals as the trials of Louis XVI and Marie Antionette were held here. They were both sentenced to death by guillotine. -
Execution of the King & Queen
After being tried for treason, both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were sentenced to death by guillotine. Louis XVI was executed on January 21 and Marie Antoinette on October 16. -
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror, orchestrated by Robespierre and the Jacobin Club, executed over 17 thousand French citizens and imprisoned over 300 thousand more. Over time the Jacobins grew more radical, ultimately leading to more deaths. During this time, the enlightenment ideas of the revolution were abandoned. Simultaneously, Robespierre raised an army of over 1 million men, which he used to occupy Belgium. Robespierre was ultimately overthrown and was the last guillotine victim of the Great Terror. -
Olympe de Gouges
Author and playwright Olympe de Gouges was a social reformer for the rights of women in society during the Revolutionary Period. In response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man, she published the pamphlet The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizenas well as many other pieces. She stated that that women reserve the same rights as any man in France, and should be treated like any other citizen. She was found guilty of defending Louis XVI and was sent to the guillotine. -
Thermidorian Reaction
Following the Reign of Terror, the National Convention attempted to form a new constitution as conservative views became more popular compared to the radicalized views of the past. Royalists who tried to reinstate the monarchy in France attempted to seize power, but were swiftly crushed by General Napoleon Bonaparte and Revolutionary Forces. -
The Directory
A new form of government following the Reign of Terror was created in an attempt to avoid a dictatorship. The Directory consisted of a 5 man executive council which held authority over the two chambers of government: The Council of Five Hundred and The Council of the Ancients. Together these chambers were the Corps Legislatif. The ultimate dissolving of the Directory marked the end of the French Revolution and allowed for General Napoleon Bonaparte to usurp power in France and become a dictator. -
Napoleon's Accession to Power
The French Revolution created the necessary political environment for the usurpation of power by Napoleon following the dissolving of the Directory and the end of the Revolutionary Period in France. Napoleon's experience as a general fighting across France and in Belgium provided him with the necessary support from the People of France. The end of the Revolutionary Period in France began a new era under a Napoleon dictatorship.
