2. OVERVIEW
• The end of the American Revolution brought about Frances revolt
against the monarchy due to a corrupt social order as well as a
crumbling economy.
• This long term deviation regarding the three estates(or social
groups)came to pass when the tides between the 13 colonies and
Britain ultimately led to the King of France increasing the taxes after
they assisted the colonists with funds even though Frances economy
couldn’t sustain such a thing.
• The French revolution was also more violent because the French had to
decide what to do about the king who, instead of being separated by the
Ocean, was their next door neighbor.
• One of the most significant ideas that floated up from the revolution
was that the people are the nation.

3. The First Estate: Clergy
The Second Estate: Nobles
The Third Estate: Everyone else(bourgeoisie, peasants, artisans, masons, etc.)
• The First Estate had a population of about 130,000 out of a total of 27 million and owned
about 10% of the land.
• The Second Estate had a population of 350,000 and owned 25-30% of land. They play a
crucial role in society by having leading positions in government, military, law
courts, and the Roman Catholic Church. They controlled most of the wealth in the
kingdom.
• An important note is that the clergy and nobles did not have to pay the chief tax, taille.
• The peasants made up 75-80% of the third estate, and owned 35-40% of the land where
as the middles class owned the rest. The peasants could not afford the land so on a
general basis they did not have any.
• The middle class and nobles disliked the social economy so there came tension
between them and the king. This led to an increases in nobles as middle classmen were
appointed new titles and led to the opposition towards Louis XVI.
*ACTIVITY*

4. • The causes of the revolution was the near collapse of the French
budget.
FINANCIAL CRISIS
• Bad harvests in 1787 and 1788 and a slowdown in manufacturing led to
food shortages and rising prices for food.
• Even with these problems, the government continued to spend their
capital and the budget crisis went into overdrive once the king and the
ministers aided the colonists.
• Louis XIV was forced to call a representative of the Estates-General, or
all 3 estates meeting to raise new taxes.