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Causes of Rebellion
The four reasons the French wanted to rebel were
Social Stratification- Most people didn't get a say in what went on in France.
America Revolution & the Enlightenment- America's revolution showed the French that it was possible to do.
Economic Failure- Government spending caused food prices to soar
Weak Government- The government was weak enough to be overthrown. -
Louis XVI calls the Estates-General
Louis XIV calls the Estates-General to Versailles, and hoped that the General would approve of new taxes. -
The Tennis Court Oath
After being locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General, the delegates of the Third Estate gathered on a tennis court. These delegates started to call themselves the National Assembly on June 17, 1789. The oath was that they wouldn't seperate, and they would regroup whenever necessary, until the kingdom established a constitution. -
The Storming of the Bastille
Many Parisians assumed to be Louis' acts as acts against the National Assembly, they began to riot. They targeted the Bastille, a symbol of royal power, and its large stock of weapons and ammunition. The Bastille fell to the rioters only hours afterwards. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was heavily influenced by the ideas that were a result of the Enlightenment. Such ideas included the seperation of the government into three equal parts, and John Locke's proposal that every man has three unalienable rights. These were the rights to life, liberty, and to own property. -
Monarchy is Abolished
The Legislative Assembly voted to abolish monarchy. This happened because Louis XIV approved of a constituion of his power too reluctantly. -
Reign of Terror
During the Reign of Terror, at least 16,594 people were beheaded by the guillotine. The head of the Reign of Terror was Maximillian Robespierre, who was a lawyer, as well as the new leader of the Commitee of Public Safety. It was under his influence that "enemies to the revolution" were mercilessly beheaded, sometimes even without trial. -
The Third Stage
During the Third Stage, the French came into their third Constitution. This Constitution stated that there was to be a 5-man Directory. This Directory controlled the nation through the use of military, and ultimately became corrupt. Also during the Third Stage, the French Army commander Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power. He did this by staging the coup of 18 Brumaire, which led to his dictatorship -
Rise of Nationalism
After the French Revolution, French nationalism became a movement. Napoleon widely promoted nationalism, and based it on the ideas of equaltiy and liberty. Through his various invasions of other countries, Napoleon helped spread the ideas of nationalism.
