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American Revoltuion
The American Revolution officially began when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, although fighting had begun in 1775. The French saw the possibility of success and formally joined the Americans by declaring war against Britain. By the time the war ended in 1783, France had borrowed 1500 million livres to finance its involvement in it. Interest payments on this money totalled 50% of the French government's total revenue. -
Calling of the Estates General
The French economy was in chaos by the late 1780s. The decades of war had drained the treasury, and the country was nearly bankrupt. To raise maoney, Louis XVI decided that the people, including the French aristocrats, should pay more taxes. But the aristocrats blocked Louis XVI's plan. In desperation, Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General to address the economic crisis. In fact, when Louis called the meeting, the Estates General had not gathered in more than 170 years. -
The Social Classes
There were 3 social classes in France at the time. The 1st estate consisted of the clergy. The 2nd Estate was the nobility. Both the 1st and 2nd estate were privilaged classes. They did not have to pay taxes and yet held most of the power (other than the monarchy. The 3rd estate consisted of the rest of the population in France. -
What is the 3rd Estate?
In January of 1789, the Abbe Sieyes wrote a pamphlet titled "What is the Third Estate?" In it, the abbe denounced the nobility and said that the third estate was the most significant estate, in fact it was the nation. His words became the battle cry of the bourgeoisie. -
Meeting of the Estates
The Estates General was greeted by Louis XVI in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on May 2, 1789. On May 5 the meeting convened with an opening speech from the king. -
National Assembly
There was disagreement amongst the three estates over voting methods in the Estates General. The third estate wished to have a "vote by head" method, whereas the First Estate and Second Estate wanted "vote by bloc" (1 vote per estate). -
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate and some clergy who had joined them went to their meeting hall. But the door was locked. Suspecting a plot, they rushed to a nearby indoor tennis court. There, they swore the Tennis Court Oath, vowing to stay put until they had created a constitution that placed power in the hands of the people. This signified the first time that French citizens formally stood in opposition to Louis XVI. It also inspired a wide variety of revolutionary activity in the months afterwards. -
The Great Fear
Political crisis and rural unrest was present in France. Peasants went hungry, grain prices rapidly increased, and people went broke trying to buy bread. Rumors also sparked the "Great Fear" when rumors led to panic within villages that governemnt troops were taking peasant crops. During hard times, peasants attacked the nobles when nobles tried to reimpose medieval dues by ransacking the castles of the nobles and destrying documents. Peasants fought against the unjust regime. -
Storming the Bastille
Paris erupted on July 14, 1789. The Paris mob was determined to arm itself due to presence of foreign troops in the streets of Paris. They first attacked the Invalides fortress from which they obtained 30,000 muskets. They moved on to the Bastille, an old fortress prison which had long been viewed as a sumbol of the king's absolute authority. The mob attacked the Bastille and released the seven prisoners inside. -
Abolition of Feudalism
The panic of the Great Fear showed the peasants anger with the old, outmoded system of feudal obligations. Landed aristocracy in the National Assembly seized on the idea that the only way to stop the tide of violence in the countryside was to renounce feudal privileges. The aristocracy stripped themselves of their feudal rights and privileges. On August 11, 1789, the Assembly abolished serfdom. -
Declaration of Rights of Man
This declaration abolished traditional privileges enjoyed by the monarch, the clergy, and the aristocracy, sparked a bloody struggle that lead to a create of France based on new principles. It includes the ideas of the Enlightenment philosophes, the English Bill of Rights, and the American Declaration of Independence. It asserted the political and social equality of all men, the sovereignty of the people, and the natural right to liberty, property, security, and resistance to opposition. -
Women march on Versailles
The March on Versailles, was also known as The Bread March of Women. Although the National Assembly had taken the Tennis Court Oath and the Bastille had fallen at the hands of the crowd, the poor women of Paris still found that there was a considerable bread shortage and the prices were very high. Rumors had been spreading in Paris that the royals were hoarding all the grain. A hungry mob of 7,000 largely working-class women decided to march on the Versailles, taking with them weapons. -
Civil COnstitution of the Clergy
The nationalization of Church lands was the first step in state control of the Church. On July 12, 1790 the National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy to bring the clergy under government control. Clergy would now be elected by all citizens and their salaries paid by the state. The clergy were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, essentially it required the clergy to acknowledge the supremacy of the French government over the Pope. -
Louis XVI and the royal family tried to flee Paris
It was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family were unsuccessful in their attempt to escape, disguised as the servants of a Russian baroness, from the radical agitation of the Jacobins in Paris. Their destination was the fortress town of Montmédy in northeastern France, a Royalist stronghold from which the King hoped to initiate a counter-revolution. They were only able to make it as far as Varennes. -
September Massacres
In the fall of 1792, hysteria, uncertainty, and fear gripped the city. Rumors circulated that the 3000 prisoners held in Paris prisons were planning to stage an uprising. News that Verdun was threatened by the Prussian army was the spark that began what are called the "September Massacres". An angry mob led by Jean Paul Marat stormed the prisons and killed about 1600 prisoners. -
King Louis XVI is guillotined
The Convention put Louis XVI on trial for treason, and unanimously pronounced him guilty. As the revolution took hold in France, the ruling elites in other countries watched with growing fear. They were afraid that the events in France might inspire people in their own country to take similar actions. As a result, created threats. In response to outside threats and to ensure that the gains made during the revolution would not be lost, they executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1793. -
Start of the Reign of Terror
Not everyone in France agreed with the way the revolution was being carried out. Many people were horrified by some brutal acts that were taking place and by the execution of the king and the queen. Fearing opposition within the country, revolutionary leaders began a crackdown that became known as the Reign of Terror. This period lasted for 11 months in 1793 and 1794. The constitution was suspended and anyone who critized the revolution was targeted. About 17,000 people were sentenced to death. -
Robespierre is guillotined and signals the end of the Reign of Terror
Robespierre (leader of the radical group Jacobins) was arrested on July 27 and executed, with out trial, the next day. In month of Thermidor in the new French calendar, Robespierre was deserted by his supporters, accused of being a tyrant. Robespierre wanted to extend emergency powers, but others felt that the emergencies were over and wanted to return to regular administration. -
Constitution of 1795
French constitution established during the French Revolution. This constitution was ratified by the National Convention. This constitution established the Directory. It also concentrated on governmental restructuring during this time period. "The Directory would have no legislative power, it would have the authority to appoint people to fill the other positions within the government." -
The Directory
The Constitution of 1795 established this five-man Directory and a two-house legislature elected by male citizens of property. It faced dissatisfaction. The leaders did not always succeed in solving problems. The Directory helped silence riots, like the san-culottes with increasing bread prices. They made a mistake when they turned to Napoleon Bonaparte for help in advancing their ideas when he ended up becoming ruler of France. -
Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the DIrectory
Napoleon overthrows the Directory by coup d'état, trickery, and force. Directory and the French Revolution itself came to an end with the coup d'état in which Napoléon overthrew the Directory and replaced it with the Consulate. Coup d'état is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military.
