The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

1. The Best of Times, The
Worst of Times
Presented by Karma Accius

2. Three Basic Causes of the French
Revolution
 The American Revolution
– The French saw how
successful the American
colonies were in declaring
independence from
England. Additionally, the
French used the main ideas
in the Declaration of
Independence to support
their desire for freedom

3.  High Taxes – The majority
of the population was
extremely poor and they
were the ones that the
taxes affected the most.
They also were not
represented in government
and felt they should be part
of the decision-making
process if they were going
to be taxed so much.

4.  Enlightenment – During
the Enlightenment, the
philosophers questioned
what had always been
accepted. They questioned
authority. The French
revolutionaries began to do
the same. They questioned
why they couldn’t be
represented, why were they
always the one to suffer,
etc.

5. Three Events that Occurred During
The French Revolution
 Lack of Religious
Freedom – Christians were
not allowed to practice their
religion. Many churches
were destroyed by fire.
Christian priests were
forced to take an oath that
said that France was above
God.

6.  Who Can Vote – The newly
established government
passed laws that seemed
unreasonable to many.
One set of laws established
who was able to vote. The
only people who were
allowed to vote were
property owners. This law
was a step backwards
because once again the
poor didn’t have a say.

7.  The Reign of Terror – The
French Revolutionaries
created the Committee of
Public Safety. This
Committee did not want
anyone to oppose the French
Revolution. If you opposed
the Revolution, you were
given a death sentence.
More often than not, their
heads were decapitated by
the guillotine.

8. Effects of the French Revolution
 Rise of Napoleon –
Napoleon was an officer in
the French Army. France
had been involved in many
wars so when Napoleon
came back to France he
was considered a hero and
looked at with great
respect. Napoleon was
able to overthrow the
government of France and
attain the role of leader.

9.  A New Social Class is
Born – A middle class
emerged from the French
Revolution. These were the
landowners and they began
to make up the majority of
the people. This also
helped contribute to the end
of feudalism.

10.  The Fall of Napoleon –
Napoleon went to war with
Russia, even though the
odds were against France
winning. Many of the French
soldiers were killed during
this war. When Napoleon
came back to France he was
no longer looked at as a
hero. The French colonies in
Europe began to rebel and
this led to Napoleon’s
downfall.