French Revolution
Financial Crisis
 By
the end of the 18th Century,
France was spending more than it
brought in through taxes
 By 1788, 50% of the budget went
to pay for the interest on the
national debt; 25% for military; 6%
for king & court life-styles
 Taxes were raised; but tax burden
on peasants not clergy or nobility
Meeting of the Estates General
 1789--To
solve financial crisis
and raise taxes, King Louis XVI
called for the Estates General to
meet
 3 Estates (classes of society):
–First Estate—Clergy
–Second Estate—Nobility
–Third Estate—Commoners
The First Estate
1st ESTATE – consisted of
officials of the Catholic Church.
- They owned 10% of land, but
were less than 1% of
population.
- They were very rich (except
for the priests).
- They did not have to pay
taxes, but gave a gift of 2% to
the government.
 The
The Second Estate
The 2nd Estate – consisted of
nobility, who made up 2% of the
total population.
- Owned 20% of the land.
- They held all of the
important political, military,
and religious positions in
society.
The Third Estate
The 3rd Estate – consisted of the
middle class, urban lower class,
and peasant farmers.
- The 3 groups made up 98% of
population. Forced to pay ½ of
income to taxes.
- Bourgeoisie (middle class) –
were educated and wealthy.
And they wanted more status
and political power.
Meeting of the Estates General
 Estates
General voted as
separate orders instead of
individual votes.
 The Third Estate refused to
conduct business until they could
meet as a single representative
body.
• This never happened.
Meeting of the Estates General
3rd Estate broke away and
adopted the title National
Assembly and said they were
the “true” representative body of
France.
 July 20, 1789 National
Assembly swore Tennis Court
Oath—will not disband until new
constitution is written
 The
The Tennis Court Oath
 On
June 20, 1789, the National
Assembly was excluded from
Versailles because of “repairs” so
they met in an indoor tennis
court.
 There they swore the famous
“Tennis Court Oath”, pledging
never to disband until they had
written a new constitution for
France.
National Assembly
 Established
constitutional
monarchy which king accepted in
July 1791.
 National Assembly had power to
make laws, but king remained head
of the state and could veto any law.
 King vetoed many laws; National
Assembly had very little “real”
power
Storming of the Bastille
 By
July 1789, 25% of people were
unemployed, bread prices high, many
people without food.
 Rumor spread that the kings troops
were coming to sack Paris, so angry
crowds seized arms to defend the
city.
 July 14, 1789 hundreds marched to
the Bastille , a medieval fort and
political prison, to find gun powder
Storming of the Bastille
 The
commanding officer
refused to give up the
gunpowder and fired on the
crowd. Killed 98 people.
 Revolutionary crowds took
Bastille—symbolized beginning
of French Revolution
March on Versailles
 Unemployment
and hunger
increased
 October 5, 1789 7,000 women
marched to palace of Versailles to
demand bread
 Women invaded palace and killed
guards
 Bread was given and Louis never
returned to Versailles.
Execution of Louis XVI
 The
King and his family were
caught trying to flee the country.
 He agreed to sign the
Constitution of 1791, then
proceeded to veto revolutionary
decrees. (King no longer has
absolute power.)
 A new, more radical gov’t was
elected in 1792
– the National Convention.
Execution of Louis XVI
 In
November 1792,
incriminating documents were
found that proved the king was
negotiating secretly to restore
his authority and dismiss the
Constitution.
Execution of Louis XVI
 National
Convention
overwhelmingly convicted
Louis of treason but
sentenced him to death by
one vote in 1793
 Queen Marie Antoinette
executed too
Reign of Terror
 National
Convention led by
Maximilien Robespierre; called for
“drastic measures” to save
France from other “enemies of the
state”.
 In France, Robespierre tried
citizens for treason against the
Revolution
Reign of Terror
 In
two years, 40,000 people
killed
 July 1794, Robespierre was
executed by the guillotine; his
execution ended Reign of
Terror
Napoleon Bonaparte
 After
Robespierre, France run by
a 5-man board called
the Directory—was
disastrous
 Napoleon seized
power from Directory; ruled
France as emperor & dictator
(1799-1814)
Estates General
Meeting of 3 Estates to fix France
1789
National Assembly
Limited Monarchy; but King vetoed all laws
Execution of the King
National Convention
Radical; Led by Robespierre
Directory
5 Men Ruled France for 5 Years
Napoleon
Dictator of France
1799