4. What was France like in the
1770’s?
OLD REGIME= the social and political system
of France
Under this system, the people of France were divided
into social classes, or ESTATES
5. Social Class:
The Privileged Estates
First 2 estates privileged
Privileges:
High offices
Exempt from paying taxes
Didn’t like Enlightenment ideas-
threatened their power
First Estate= Roman
Catholic Church
Owned 10% of land in France
Second Estate= Rich
nobles
2% of the population
Owned 20% of the land
8. Enlightenment Ideas:
New ideas of power
and authority
Third Estate was
inspired by American
Revolution
Questioned the
structure of society and
what government
should be
9. Economic Troubles
By 1780s, France’s
economy was declining…
Burden of taxes
Cost of living was
rising
Bad weather crop
failure (shortage of grain)
price of bread
doubled starvation
11. Weak Leaders
Louis 16th (XVI) Marie Antoinette
•Inherited debt from previous kings
•Borrowed $ in order to help
Americans in revolutionaries in the
war against Britain (France’s chief
rival)
•Lacked ability to make decisions
•Cared little about government
affairs
•Interfered often in politics and would
give bad advice
•Member of the royal family of
Austria (enemy of France) and
wasn’t popular
•Spent larges amounts of $
(nicknamed, “Madame
Deficit”)
13. Estates-General
When Louis tried to raise
taxes on the nobility, the
Second Estate formed him to
call a meeting of the
ESTATES-GENERAL
to approve the tax
=an assembly of
representatives from all 3
estates
First meeting in 175 years
Met at Versailles, May
5, 1789
14. The National
Assembly
Medieval Estates-General
everyone gets one vote from
each estate
Problem: 3rd Estate felt that
they were not represented
Emmanuel-Joseph
Sieyes= clergymen who
suggested the 3rd estate
should assembly their own
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY and
pass laws for France
15. Tennis Court
Oath
Arrived at the Estates-
General and they were
locked out- broke down a
door to an INDOOR TENNIS
COURT
Stayed till they drew up a
new constitution
TENNIS COURT
OATH= pledge of the
National Assembly
16. Storming the Bastille
Rumors started that Louis was
going to use military force to
dismiss the National Assembly
AND that foreigners were coming
to attack Paris
July 14 (Bastille Day)- mob
searching for gunpowder and
arms stormed the BASTILLE
(Paris prison)
Hacked the prison commander
and several guards- putting their
heads on pikes and taking them
around town
SYMBOLIC- revolution of France
20. Great Fear
Great Fear= wave of panic
Armed with pitchforks & farming
tools
Broke into nobles’ manors and
houses and destroyed documents
that bound the to pay feudal dues
Women rioted over rising prices of
BREAD and marched on Versailles
Next, they went after the King
and Queen- broke into
palace, killing guards, demanded
they leave Versailles and return to
Paris- they did
21.
22. Section 2: Revolution, Reform
& Terror
Main Idea: The revolutionary government of
France made reforms but also used terror and violence
to retain power
Why it matters? Some governments that
lack support of a majority of their people still use fear to
control their citizens
23. The Assembly Reforms
France
1789
Most likely motivated by fear, some nobles joined the
National Assembly
What they did? Got rid of the First & Second Estates
the Old Regime was dead
24. The Rights of Man
National Assembly adopted the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen=
a statement of revolutionary
ideas, that reflected the
Declaration of Independence
“life, liberty, property, security, resis
tance to oppression…”
Slogan-
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
Women tried to declare the
“rights of women,” but they were
rejected, saw as enemies of the
Revolution and some were even
executed.
27. Divisions Develop
Limited Monarchy was
created by the new
constitution
Stripped the king of his
authority, but he still held the
executive power to enforce
laws
Legislative
Assembly= created laws
and to approve or reject
declarations of war
28. Factions Split France
Radicals (Left
winged)
Moderates
(Centrists)
Conservatives
(Right winged)
Extreme change Want some
change
Few changes
Emigres San-Culottes
Nobles and others who had
fled France who wanted to
restore the Old Regime
“those without knee
breeches” (aka regular
trousers)
29. War & Execution (Page 658-660)
France at War
•Who attacked France?
•Why did they attack France?
•What are the September
Massacres?
•What is the National Convention?
Jacobins Take Control
•Who are the Jacobins?
•Who is Jean Paul Marat?
•What power did Louis have under
the Jacobins?
•How did Louis die?
Guillotine=
The War Continues
What was the extreme step the Jacobins took to increase their army
size?
32. Terror Grips France
Jacobins had many enemies:
peasants, foreigners, church leaders
Maximilien Robespierre=
Jacobin leader, governed as a dictator
Set out to build a “ republic of virtue” by wiping out
every trace of France’s past
Reign of Terror= period of
Robespierre’s rule
“enemies” were tried and guillotined
Enemies went against Robespierre, radicals
Justified that he was returning France to a virtuous
state
Famous victims: George Danton
(member of National Convention), Marie
Antoinette
40,000 killed during the reign of terror
36. End of Terror
Fearing for their own
safety, many turned on
Robespierre- he was
guillotined
New
Government:
Power went to the upper
middle class
2 house legislative and an
executive body of 5 men
(Directory)
40. Historical Misconception:
Napoleon is short?
After his death, he was measured 5’2 according to
French height, which would’ve made him 5’6 according
to British standard
41. Napoleon Bonaparte
Coup d’Etat (“blow to the state”)
Plebiscite
Lycees
Concordat
Napoleonic Code
Crowned as Emperor
45. Section 4: Napoleon’s Empire
Collapses
Main Idea: Napoleon’s conquests aroused
nationalistic feelings across Europe and contributed to
his downfall
Why it matters? In the 1990s, nationalistic
feelings contributed to the breakup of nations such as
Yugoslavia
49. Mistake #2: The Peninsular
War (1/2)
Why did it start? Napoleon
attempted to force Portugal to accept
the Continental System, by sending
an invasion force
through Spain
Result:
Napoleon removed the Spanish king
and put his brother in charge
Spanish people felt more nationalism
and fought back
Spanish worried that the French
would weaken the Catholic Church
because of what they saw in the
French Revolution
50. Mistake #2: The Peninsular
War (2/2)
Peninsular War= named
because Spain lies on the
Iberian Peninsula
How long? 6 years
Guerillas= Spanish peasant
fighters, worked in small groups
and ambushed French troops
while hiding
British sent aid to the Spanish
Napoleon lost 300,000 men
Lesson learned Nationalism
can win wars
51. Mistake #3: The Invasion of
Russia-1812 (1/2)
Why did it start? The Russian czar refused to
stop selling grain to Britain AND both Russia and France
had competing claims on Poland
Start of Invasion:
Napoleon invaded with 420,000 troops
Alexander retreated
While the Russian retreated, they used the
SCORCHED-EARTH POLICY, leaving nothing for the French
to eat
56. Napoleon Suffers Defeat
Napoleon was able to raise
another army
Problem: his army was untrained
and ill prepared for battle
All the allies against France, team
up and easily defeated Napoleon
Russia & Prussia’s leaders led a
victory parade through Paris
Napoleon wanted to fight on, but his
generals did not
Napoleon was banished to
Elba (a tiny island off the coast of
Italy)
58. 100 Days (1/2)
Many Frenchmen thought
the new king (Louis XVIII)
wanted to do some of the
French Revolution’s
progress
Napoleon escaped from
Elba and received by
joyous crowds who
marched him to Paris
Within days, Napoleon was
the emperor of France
60. 100 Days
(2/2)
In response, European allies
gathered an army and prepared
for a Battle at
Waterloo (village of
Belgium)
French vs. British (Duke of
Wellington) & Prussia
Result: after a few days, the
French had to retreat
100 Days= Napoleon
last effort for power, disposing
the king and becoming emperor
63. Section 5: Congress of
Vienna
Main Idea: After exiling Napoleon, European
leaders at the Congress of Vienna tried to restore order
and reestablish peace
Why it matters now? International bodies
such as the United Nations plays an active role in trying
to maintain world peace and stability today
66. Metternich’s Plan for Europe
Metternich’s
Plan
Balance of
Power
Containment
of France
Legitimacy
•Didn’t want to leave
France powerless
•Afraid if they split
France up than other
Powers would do what
France did
•Made countries around
France stronger
How? Some united, some
Were recognized as
Independent countries
= those who had lost
Power under Napoleon
Should be restored to
power
Was it a
success? YES
1. For the first time, the nations of
an entire continent had
cooperated to control political
affairs
2. Did not lead to a future war
3. Balance of Power/allies formed
4. Time of peace in Europe
67. Political
Changes
AFTER
Vienna
Conservative Europe
•Many were worried about the French
Revolution spreading
•HOLY ALLIANCE= signed agreement
between Kings of Prussia and Austria,
pledging to relations with other Christian
nations
•CONCERT OF EUROPE= series of
alliances formed by Metternich, ensuring
that nation’s would protect each other
•Despite their best efforts, the French
Revolution had made it’s impact and
given Europe it’s first dose of democracy
69. Long-Term Legacy of the
Congress of Vienna
1. Diminished the power of France, increased the
power of Britain and Prussia
2. Nationalism spread (some exploding into
revolutions, leading to new nations forming)
3. Many colonies broke off from Europeans
4. More people saw democracy as the best way to
ensure equality and justice for all
70. What are the lessons learned
through the French
Revolution???
