Many of the architects of the French Revolution were heavily influenced by a movement known as The Enlightenment The word most associated with enlightenment.

• Many of the architects of the French Revolution were heavily influenced by a movement known as The Enlightenment

• The word most associated with enlightenment is reason.

• People in all sectors of life believed they could use reason to make improvements

The model that enlightened thinkers often depended on to improve things was the scientific method created by Francis Bacon

- steps: hypothesis, experiment, collect data, conclusion

- The Laws of the universe could be found through the scientific Method

A group known as the philosophes were the intellectual thinkers of the enlightenment. Their professions included writers, professors, economists and social reformers

The European center of the Enlightenment was France

The ideas of the philosophes were spread through salons which were social events often organized by wealthy French women where enlightened thinkers exchanged ideas.

Some examples of enlightened thinkers:

- Voltaire was a famous French writer who pointed out the faults in the churches and governments of his time. His method of writing became known as political satire

Adam Smith was an economist who wrote about the natural economic laws. He advocated for a laissez faire meaning government hands off the economy.

Certain political leaders of the day tried to utilize the enlightenment to their advantage

- A king or queen who claimed to use the ideas of the enlightenment were knows as enlightened monarchs. These ideas included religious toleration, freedom of speech, private property rights, and fair enforcement of the laws

Some examples of Enlightened monarchs: Fredrick The Great Prussia, Catherine the Great (Russia) and Joseph II (Austria)

Rousseau and Montesquieu were 2 examples of enlightenment philosophers who influenced the United States government

- Rousseau saw government as a social contract where citizens give up some power and rights in exchange for order and protection of individual rights

Montesquieu wrote about the need for checks and balances (separation of powers) in government

What brought about the need for absolute rulers in Europe?

- Europe in the 1500’s and 1600’s was devastated by revolutions and religious fighting

- The need for a strong central government to protect the nation and keep order was evident

- In some countries absolute monarchs gained power and ruled by the theory of divine right or the belief that their authority came directly from God

In Prussia Fredrick the Great ruled over the strongest of the Germanic states both militarily and economically

- Raised a huge army to protect the state

- Established a large and powerful central government to collect taxes for the army

In present day Austria the Hapsburg rulers controlled a large empire in southeast Europe.

- successfully conquered new lands - ruled over their subjects much like the Ottomans had

In Russia the absolute ruler was know as the czar. This name came from the Roman term Caesar

The first czars established their supremacy by taking power away from the boyars (Russian nobles)

- Ivan the Terrible was the first ruler to be called Czar. He was well known for his brutal treatment of his opponents.

- Czars ruled in Russia until World War I when the Romanov family was executed by the Bolsheviks

In France a powerful monarchy is established with the Bourbon family

Early Bourbon kings were plagued by rebellious nobles and civil wars involving a mixture of religion and politics

As a young king Louis XIV was not an absolute monarch. From his government center in Paris he struggled to hold together his country. His first minister Mazaran made most of the important decisions

Louis XIV was nearly taken prisoner by jealous and power hungry nobles

- To make things safer Louis XIV decided to build his own city called Versailles. The new seat of government took 22 years to build and cost a tremendous amount of taxpayer money.

- His nickname became The Sun King- Some additional numbers- Versailles is a popular tourist attraction today

The building at Versailles as well as the other building projects and wars that France fought during the reign of Louis XIV ruined France financially

At the end of his 72 year reign Louis had established an absolute monarchy in France but he was not pleased with the way things turned out.

Louis XV was a much weaker and indecisive king. During his reign the problems in France got worse. Louis XVI would inherit all these problems and more

Old regime France is defined as France up until the beginning of the French Revolution (1789).

The society was divided into 3 estates (classes)

The first class was the clergy- Clergy lived tax free and made up about .5% of the population

The second estate was the nobles- The nobility lived tax free and made up 2.5% of the population

- The 3rd estate was everybody who paid taxes

Some examples of 3rd estate France: merchants, farmers, lawyers, poor city workers. A powerful, disgruntled part of this estate is the bourgeois (middle class)

- The 3rd estate made up 97% of the population.

Each estate was represented by an elected assembly known as the Estates General

The representation and voting power of each estate

- Estate 1 has 300 elected marshals and gets 1 vote on each bill

- Estate 2 has 300 elected marshals and gets 1 vote on each bill

- Estate 3 gets 600 elected marshals and gets 1 vote on each bill

Traditionally estates 1 and 2 would vote together against the interests of estate 3. Why would this be a big problem?

Louis XVI inherits huge debts and a bankrupt French treasury

Things get worse for Louis and France when France has a poor harvest and the price of food and other goods starts to increase. As a result many French citizens lived in poverty

Louis XVI was also unpopular because his wife Queen Marie Antoinette was seen as lavish spender with ill morals. She was nicknamed madam deficit.

Louis decides to call the Estates General into session. The Estates General had not been in session for 175 years.

- The king wants to get more tax money and hopes the 1st and second estate might agree to pay taxes. They do not agree to this

- The 3rd estate comes to Versailles and demands that France write a new constitution that changes the voting procedures of the Estates General

- The King tells the 3rd estate that he will not agree to their demands and locks them out of further talks

- The 3rd estate gathers on an indoor tennis court. They swore not to leave Versailles until the king comes to terms. This event was known as the Tennis Court Oath.

- The king backs down and plans are made to write a new Constitution

To show that he is still in charge Louis sends troops into the streets of Paris

The supporters of the 3rd class believe this is a threat to the new government

In response the citizens of France sack the Bastille.

- The Bastille was an old French prison with an armory

- The French soldiers join the crowds and the king is forced to back down. Small number of people killed

- The prisoners in the Bastille were set free- This day was July 14, 1789 and is now a national holiday in France known as Bastille Day

A month after the Tennis Court Oath the members of the 3 Estates joined into a single governing body know as the National Assembly. They decide to:

- limit the power of the king- Make a statement of their goals and principles knows as the Declaration of the Rights of Man

- Finally in 1791 a new constitution is written

Following the Constitution of 1791 the legislative assembly becomes the new elected body of France

- Contained 745 members elected for 3 yr. terms- To vote in the elections for the L.A. a citizen had to be male, age 25 or more, and be paid at least 2 days wages.

- These voting requirements were a clear violation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man

- The King shared power with the L.A. – he could veto any bill unless it dealt with constitutional or financial matters

Despite having a new government many problems persist in France

- The high price of food especially bread causes hunger and poverty

- France goes to war with other European nations who wanted to see the monarch restored to power. The fighting does not go well for France and fear spreads that a coalition of powers may destroy the new government in its infancy

- Many French nobles known as Emigres flee the countries and help other countries trying to restore the Monarchy to absolute power

As problems get worse in France the more radical party knows as the Jacobins gain power. They want to see the following:

- The king should be totally removed from power

- Universal suffrage meaning everybody can vote

- Government should set price controls making it possible for the poor to afford necessities

Maximillian Robespierre was the leading Jacobin

The Jacobins gain the majority and form a new government known as the National Convention

- The slogan of the new government becomes liberty, equality, fraternity

- Louis XVI tries to flee France. He is caught and he and his wife Marie Antoinette are executed

- The National Convention disbands and a new stage of the revolution known as the terror begins

In place of the National Convention the Committee of Public Safety led by Robespierre establishes martial law

- Price controls are placed on products

- Seizure of private property with which are then transferred to the French military

- A system is put in place to get rid of any internal enemies with little or no trial

The enemies of the state were identified mainly as royalists, clergy and those responsible for creating high prices

- Over a 10 month period 40,000 French citizens are executed mainly by the guillotine

- The Radicals successfully got poverty under control, led the French military to victories and prevented the enemies of France from crushing the revolution

Robespierre eventually goes to far and the people demand his arrest. He is executed which then ends the terror

A new French government known as the Directory is established. History records this new government as being very weak which helped bring about yet another dictator Napoleon Bonaparte who took power from the Directory in a Coup de tat