Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Section 1 Section 1
Dec 27, 2015
Chapter 20Chapter 20
Section 1Section 1
Key Terms
Old Order Louis XVI Marie-Antoinette First Estate Second Estate Third Estate
Boureoisie Sans culottes Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of Citizen
Radical
Inequalities in Society
Old Order-social and political structure that created inequalities
King was at the top and three groups called estates were under him
King Louis XVI was the king at the time
Lived extravancantly
Inequalities in Society
Lived at Versailles Marie Antoinette was
from Austria (enemy of France)
She was unpopular Frivolous and self
indulgent Wore fancy clothes,
lavish parties
Inequalities if Society
Most people wore rags First Estate
Roman Catholic clergy 1 percent of the population
Clergy had several privileges since the Middle Ages
Only the church courts could try priests or bishops
Inequalities in Society
Did not have to pay taxes
Land that belonged to the church was not taxed
Church owned 10% of France’s land
Bishops and clergy became very wealthy
Many people resented the wealth and priviledge
Second Estate
Made up of nobility Less than 2 percent
of the population Controlled much of
the country’s wealth Paid few taxes Held key positions in
government and military
Second Estate
• Many lived in country estates
• Peasants did all the work
• Charged high fees and rents
• Some lived at the king’s court
• Lived in luxury, jobs ceremonial
Third Estate
• Largest group 97% of the people
• Made up of several groups
• Bourgeoisie- top, city dwelling merchants, factory owners and professionals
• Some very educated and rich
• Did not buy influence of government
Third Estate
Next were artisans-shoemakers, bricklayers, dress makers laborers
If they had no work they went hungry
Sans culottes-”without knee beeches
Third Estate
• At the bottom peasants who farmed
• Paid rents and fees to landowners
• Paid 1/10 of income to the church
• Performed labor like working on the roads without pay
• Peasants were miserably poor with no hope of a better life
Enlightenment Ideas
Social inequality driving people to revolt
Enlightenment ideas were inspiring revolution
Bourgeoisie- knew of Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu
Great Britain limited the kings power
Enlightenment Ideas
American colonists had rebelled against the king
A Financial Crisis
Third cause for revolution
France was deeply in debt
Borrowed huge sums of money
Some for American Revolution
King spent lavishly
A Financial Crisis
1787 King Louis XVI tried too tax the Second Estate
Nobles refused to pay
King backed down Year later country
faced bankruptcy Half the taxes
covered the debt
Financial Crisis
Winter of 1788 was the worst in years
Frozen rivers could not turn mill wheels
Food and firewood were scarce
Hunger and cold made life wretched for thousands
Financial Crisis
Country was broke People were hungry Eliminating tax
exemptions for the First and Second Estate would have helped
Clergy and nobility resisted all efforts
Meeting of the Estates General
Estates General made up the three estates
Wanted to approve new taxes on the third estate
August 1788 Louis agreed to the meeting
Had not met in 175 years
Wrote notebooks to document grievances
Meeting of the Estates General
People wanted the Estates to pass sweeping reforms
Each Estate had one vote
First and Second usually voted together
Enlightenment philosophers gave Third Estate feeling of importance
Meeting of the Estates General
King went over voting rules
Third Estate which had more representatives refused the king’s order
June 1789 Third Estate proclaimed themselves legislature
National Assembly had the right to make laws
Meeting of Estates General
King locked the Third estate out of the meeting
Third Estate met indoors at a tennis court
Swore the Tennis court Oath
Would not leave the court till they wrote a constitution
Louis allowed each representative a vote
The Storming of the Bastille
Louis ordered troops to Paris and Versailles
National Assembly feared the king would use violence
Paris had sympathy for the national Assembly and started to arm themselves
Storming the Bastille
July 14, 1789 a mob went to the Bastille looking for weapons
Mob tried to negotiate with the commander
Mob and prison guard exchanged fire
Mob killed the commander and put his head on a stick
The Spread of Fear
Storming the Bastille was a powerful symbol of the French Revolution
They feared the king would punish them
Spread rumors the king had hired foreign soldiers
The Spread of Fear
Great Fear swept France
Rumors of massacres spread
Peasants took revenge on landowners
Destroyed records listing feudal dues and rents
Burned nobles homes
Legislating New Rights
1789 National Assembly eliminated al feudal dues and services
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen-basic principles Equality Liberty Fraternity
(brotherhood)
Legislating New Rights
Inspired by English Bill of Rights
American Declaration of Independence
Writings of Enlightenment philosophers
All men are born equal and remain equal
Restrictions on Power
Louis called troops to Versailles to protect his throne
Angered the common people of Paris
7,000 women march on Versailles demanding bread
Mob broke into the palace
Restrictions on Power
Seized the royal family National Assembly
seized church lands Sold them off to pay
France’s debt All religious orders
were disbanded Turned the clergy into
public employees
Formation of New Government
1791 National Assembly complete constitution
New legislative body- Legislative Assembly
Citizens gained broad voting rights
Taxpaying men at least 25 years
Kept monarchy severely restricted
Formation of a New Government
June 1791 king and queen try to flee
Put on disguises fled Paris
Recognized and brought back Tuileries Palace
Intervention of Foreign Powers
July 1792 Austria and Prussia warn against harming French Monarchs
Hinted at war Austria sent 50,000
troop to the French border
Legislative Assembly declared war
Intervention of Foreign Powers
Financial strain, food shortages, high prices
Foreign troops marching toward the city led to unrest
Blamed the army’s defeat on the king
Parisians feared gains of revolution would be undone
The End of the Monarchy
August 1792 mob slaughters the guards of Tuileries castle
Louis, Marie and her children demoted to commoners
Legislative Assembly voted itself out of existence
August radical faction
The End of the Monarchy
National convention abolishes the monarchy
Makes France a republic
National Convention met
France won a victory French Republic held
its ground against the old order