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The National Assembly turned France into a constitutional monarchy.
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The Third Estates wanted votes to be counted by head instead of by the Estates(3votes). The Third Estate, claiming to represent the people of France, declared themselves to be the National Assembly. The National Assembly found its meeting hall locked and guarded-not wanted to be dismissed by the king, they went to a nearby indoor Tennis Court. Later Reform-Minded Clergy and Nobles joined the Assembly. Louis XVI grudgingly accepted the National Assembly.
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France was still clinging to an outdated social system, that was created in the Middle Ages.
France was under old order(Acien Regime). Old order was the 3 social classes/estates.
1. Clergy 2. Nobility 3. The vast majority of the population>Peasants/Poor -
One of the causes for the economic troubles was a mushrooming financial crisis. This was due in part of years of deficit spending.
By late 1789, half of the government's income from taxes went to paying the interest on the debt.
The late 1780's, bad harvest send food prives skyrocketing. This brought hunger to poorer peasancts and city dwellers. To solve the crisis, the government will have to increase taxes/reduce expenses, or both. -
The Bastille was a symbol representing years of abuse by the monarchy. Since 1880, the French have celebrated Bastille Day as their national independence day.
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The city of Paris siezed the spotlight from the National Assembly meeting in Versailles. More than 800 parisians assembled outside the Bastille(a midieval fortress used as a prison for political and other prisoners). The Commander(in charge of Bastille), refused to open the gaits and opened fire upon the crowd. Enraged, the mob broke through defenses, killed the comander, and 5 other guards. The mob released a handful of prisoners, but found no weapons.
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Louis XVI chose Jacques Necker(Financial Expert) to help decrease the debts of France. Louis XVI late executed Necker because he became popular, and an icon in the revolution.
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Nobles in the National Assembly agreed(voted) to end their special privilages. Old manorial dues, exclusive hunting rights, special legial status, exemption from taxes.
~Declaration of the Rights of Man~
As a first step toward writing a constitution, the Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Which was modeled after the Declaration of Independence, written 13 years earlier. -
~Estates Prepare Grievance Notebooks~
Louis XVI had 3 Estates prepare cashiers, or notebooks listing their grievances.
Most cashiers called for reforms-fairer taxes, freedom of the press, regular meetings of the Estates General.
Cashiers testified to boiling class resentments.
~Delegates Take The Tennis Court Oath
Delegates to the Estates-General from the 3rd Estate were elected, only propertied men could vote
The delegates were mostly lawyers, middle-class officials, and writers. -
Delegates to the Estates-General went to Versailles to solve the financial crisis, and to insist on reform.
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The Political Crisis of 1789 concided with the worst famine in histroy. Grain prices soared, even people with jobs had to pay about 80% of their income on bread.
Rumors spread causing "The Great Fear." Peasants angered by famine and fear began to attck Nobles that tried to reimpose medieval dues.
~Paris Commune Comes to Power~
A variety of dissenting groups of people competed to gain power. -
Many San-Culottes demanded a Republican government ruled by elected representatives instead of a monarch. They found support among radicals in the Legislative Assembly.
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The failed escape of the kind brought further hostile rumblings from Abroad. The King of Prussia and the emperor of Austria(French Queen's Brother) issued the Declaration of Pilnitz. However the document was mostly a bluff. Revolutionaries on the other hand took it seriously and prepared for war.
~Radicals Fight for Power and Declare War~
Newly elected Legislative Assembly took office, and only lasted for a year. San-Culottes pushed the Revolution further into radical action. -
Louis XVI didn't want to accept th reforms of the National Assembly. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Woman met resistance, they were imprisoned, and executed.
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In October 1791, the newly elected Legislative Assembly took office. It only lasted for about a year. San-Culottes pushed the revolution into further radical action. By 1791, many san-culottes demanded a republic government ruled by elected representatives instead of a monarchy. Opposing the radicals were moderate reformersand political officials, who wanted no more reforms at all.
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Escalating violence led to the end of the monarchy and a Reign of Terror.
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A crowd of Parisians stormed the royal palace of the Tuileries and slaughted the king's guards. Citizens attacked prisons that held nobles and priests accused of political offenses.
~Radicals Take Control and Execute the King~
Radicals called for the election of a new legislative body called the National Convention. The convention was a more radical body than earlier assemblies, it voted to abolish monarchy and establish a republic. -
Jacobins controlled the convention, and set out to erase all traces of the old order. Siezed the lands of the Nobles and abolished titles of Nobility. Louis XVI was put on trial as a traitor of France, and sentenced to death. His wife was also tried and beheaded.
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Nationalism spread through France. By 1793 France was a nation in arms. Troops marched to a rousing song, "La Marseillaise," this soon became the French National Anthem.
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Danger threatened France on all sides, they were at war with much of Europe. The convention was divided between the Jacobins and a rival group, the Girodins. The convention created the Committee of Public Safety to deal with the threats to France. The committee prepared for all-out war, all citizens of France had to contribute to the war effort.
~Robespierre "The Incorruptible"~
Robespierre was one of the chief architects of the Reign of Terror. -
In a speech, Robespierre explained why terror was key in achieving the goals of the Revolution. Those who resisted the revolution were considered a suspect. 300,000 were arrested during the Reign of Terror. 17,000 people were executed. Many were victims of mistaken identity, or falsely accused by their neighbors. The engine of terror was the Guillotine, and quickly became a symbol of horror.
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July 27, 1794, Robespierre was arrested, and executed the next day. After Robespierre's execution, beheadings slowed dramatically.
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Moving away from the excesses of the Convention, they created another constitution. The third since 1789. The constitution of 1795 set up a 5man Directory, and a two-house legislature. Elected by male citizens of property. Weak but Dictatorial, the Directory faced growing discontent. France was still at war with Austria, and Great Britain. Rising bread prices stirred hungry san-culottes to riot, the Directory quickly suppressed them.
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In the election of 1797, supporters of a constitutional monarchy won the majority of seats in the legislature. Politicians turned to Napoleon Bonaparte, a popular young war hero. Politicians planned to use him for their own gain/goals. Napoleon outwitted them, and soon became the ruler of France.
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