1. THERMIDORIAN REACTION
AP European History
St. Anne’s-Belfield
Tuesday, January 22, 13

2. Tuesday, January 22, 13

3. French Revolution
Tuesday, January 22, 13

4. French Revolution
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
(republican)
Tuesday, January 22, 13

5. French Revolution
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

6. French Revolution
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

7. French Revolution
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

8. “Thermidorian Reaction”
French Revolution
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

9. “Thermidorian Reaction”
French Revolution
•Success in war
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

10. “Thermidorian Reaction”
French Revolution
•Success in war
•Decreased sense of crisis
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

11. “Thermidorian Reaction”
French Revolution
•
Success in war
•Decreased sense of crisis
•Execution of Robespierre
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

12. French Revolution
Liberal Reactionary
Radical Conservative
Tuesday, January 22, 13

13. “The Directory”
Tuesday, January 22, 13

14. “The Directory”
•What steps were taken by the National Convention to shift
France to the “right”?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

15. “The Directory”
•What steps were taken by the National Convention to shift
France to the “right”?
•What were the guiding principles of Thermidorian Reaction
and the Directory?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

16. “The Directory”
•What steps were taken by the National Convention to shift
France to the “right”?
•What were the guiding principles of Thermidorian Reaction
and the Directory?
•What was the structure of government called for by the
Constitution of 1795?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

17. “The Directory”
•What steps were taken by the National Convention to shift
France to the “right”?
•What were the guiding principles of Thermidorian Reaction
and the Directory?
•What was the structure of government called for by the
Constitution of 1795?
•What did the squelching of a insurrection in Paris by the
army illustrate about the Directory?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

18. “The Directory”
•What steps were taken by the National Convention to shift
France to the “right”?
•What were the guiding principles of Thermidorian Reaction
and the Directory?
•What was the structure of government called for by the
Constitution of 1795?
•What did the squelching of a insurrection in Paris by the
army illustrate about the Directory?
•Who opposed the Directory? Left and Right?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

19. “The Directory”
•What were the guiding principles of Thermidorian Reaction
and the Directory?
•What steps were taken by the National Convention to shift
France to the “right”?
•What was the structure of government called for by the
Constitution of 1795?
•What did the squelching of a insurrection in Paris by the
army illustrate about the Directory?
•Who opposed the Directory? Left and Right?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

20. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1795
Directory
Council of Elders Council of 500
(married or widowed
over 40)
Electors (owners or renters of property worth 100-200 days labor)
Active Citizens (male tax-payers over 21)
Tuesday, January 22, 13

21. Memoirs: Napoleon's Appeal- Madame de Remusat
Napoleon was neither the candidate of those longing to turn France to a more revolutionary course or the
favorite of those who wanted to return France to the legitimacy of the Ancien Regime. He came to power
promising to uphold both revolutionary principles and order. Scholars have analyzed the question of why he
was able to rise to power. Some see him as a military and political genius; others argue that he was an
opportunist who took advantage of circumstances as they arose. One of the earliest analyses of Napoleon's
rise to power was written by Madame de Remusat (1780-1821). As a lady in waiting to Empress Josephine
and wife of a Napoleonic official, she observed Napoleon firsthand and described him in her Memoirs.
I can understand how it was that men worn out by the turmoil of the Revolution, and afraid of that liberty
which had long been associated with death, looked for repose under the dominion of an able ruler on fortune
was seemingly resolved to smile. I can conceive that they regarded his elevation as a degree of destiny and
fondly believed that in the irrevocable they should find peace. I may confidently assert that those persons
believed quite sincerely that Bonaparte, whether as Consul or Emperor, would exert his authority to oppose
the intrigue of faction and would save us from the perils of anarchy.
None dated to utter the word “republic” so deeply had the Terror stained that name and the government of
the Directory had perished in the contempt with which its chiefs were regarded. The return of the Bourbons
could only be brought about by the aid of a revolution; and the slightest disturbance terrified the French
people, in whom enthusiasm of every kind seemed dead. Besides, the men in whom they had trusted one after
the other deceived them; and as, this time, they were yielding to force, they were at least certain that they
were not deceiving themselves.
The belief…that only despotism could at that epoch maintain order in France was very widespread. It
became a mainstay of Bonaparte; and it is due to him to say that he also believed it. The factions played into
his hands by imprudent attempts which he turned to his own advantage. He had some grounds for his belief
that he was necessary; France believed it too; and he even succeeded in persuading foreign sovereigns that he
constituted a barrier against republican influence, which, but for him, might spread widely. At the moment
when Bonaparte placed the imperial crown upon his head there was not a king in Europe who did not believe
that he worse his own crown more securely because of that event. Had the new emperor granted a liberal
constitution, the peace of nations and of kings might really have been forever secured.
Tuesday, January 22, 13

22. NAPOLEON’S APPEAL
Why trade liberty and natural rights for despotism?
Republicanism?
Bourbon Monarchy?
Foreign Support?
Tuesday, January 22, 13

23. Reconciling the Aspects of Napoleon
Tuesday, January 22, 13

24. Reconciling the Aspects of Napoleon
In the following letter (April 22, 1805) to Joseph Fouche, minister of police, Napoleon reveals his
intention to regulate public opinion.
Repress the journals a little; make them produce wholesome articles. I want you to write to the editors
of the. . . newspapers that are most widely read in order to let them know that the time is not far away
when, seeing that they are no longer of service to me, I shall suppress them along with all the
others. . . . Tell them that the. . . Revolution is over, and that there is now only one party in France;
that I shall never allow the newspapers to say anything contrary to my interests; that they may publish
a few little articles with just a bit of poison in them, but that one fine day somebody will shut their
mouths. 1805
Tuesday, January 22, 13

25. Reconciling the Aspects of Napoleon
In the following letter (April 22, 1805) to Joseph Fouche, minister of police, Napoleon reveals his
intention to regulate public opinion.
Repress the journals a little; make them produce wholesome articles. I want you to write to the editors
of the. . . newspapers that are most widely read in order to let them know that the time is not far away
when, seeing that they are no longer of service to me, I shall suppress them along with all the
others. . . . Tell them that the. . . Revolution is over, and that there is now only one party in France;
that I shall never allow the newspapers to say anything contrary to my interests; that they may publish
a few little articles with just a bit of poison in them, but that one fine day somebody will shut their
mouths. 1805
A letter from Napoleon to his brother Jerome, King of Westphalia, illustrates Napoleon's desires.
To Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia Fontainebleau, November 15, 1807.
I want your subject to enjoy every degree of liberty, equality, and prosperity hitherto unknown to
German people. I wish this liberal regime to produce one way or another, changes which will be of the
utmost benefit to the system of the Confederation, and to the strength of your monarchy. Such a
method of government will be a stronger barrier between you and Prussia than the Elbe, the fortresses,
and the protection of France. What people will want to return under the arbitrary Prussian rule, once it
has tasted the benefits of a wise and liberal administration. 1807
Tuesday, January 22, 13

26. Reconciling the Aspects of Napoleon
In the following letter (April 22, 1805) to Joseph Fouche, minister of police, Napoleon reveals his
intention to regulate public opinion.
Repress the journals a little; make them produce wholesome articles. I want you to write to the editors
of the. . . newspapers that are most widely read in order to let them know that the time is not far away
when, seeing that they are no longer of service to me, I shall suppress them along with all the
others. . . . Tell them that the. . . Revolution is over, and that there is now only one party in France;
that I shall never allow the newspapers to say anything contrary to my interests; that they may publish
a few little articles with just a bit of poison in them, but that one fine day somebody will shut their
mouths. 1805
In a single paragraph, explain how these seemingly
contradictory aspects of Napoleon might be reconciled.
A letter from Napoleon to his brother Jerome, King of Westphalia, illustrates Napoleon's desires.
To Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia Fontainebleau, November 15, 1807.
I want your subject to enjoy every degree of liberty, equality, and prosperity hitherto unknown to
German people. I wish this liberal regime to produce one way or another, changes which will be of the
utmost benefit to the system of the Confederation, and to the strength of your monarchy. Such a
method of government will be a stronger barrier between you and Prussia than the Elbe, the fortresses,
and the protection of France. What people will want to return under the arbitrary Prussian rule, once it
has tasted the benefits of a wise and liberal administration. 1807
Tuesday, January 22, 13

27. 1 II
III
IV
Tuesday, January 22, 13

28. 1 II
III
IV
Tuesday, January 22, 13

29. 1 II
III
IV
Tuesday, January 22, 13

30. 1 II
III
IV
Tuesday, January 22, 13

31. Tuesday, January 22, 13

32. Tuesday, January 22, 13

33. Tuesday, January 22, 13