1. The French Revolution
and Napoleon
By: Presley Davis

2. Section One: The French Revolution Begins
Since the Middle Ages France's population
had been divided into 3 estates. The First
estate consisted of the clergy, the Second
Estate the nobles, and the Third estate the
everyone from the lowliest peasant to the
wealthiest merchant.
This picture depicts
the third estate as a
man in chains, who
supports the clergy
and nobility on his
back.

3. King Louis the 16th became
king in 1774. He was a weak
leader and had trouble making
decisions. His wife, Marie
Antoinette, was despised just
as much as her husband. King
Louis created a lot of debt by
helping the Americans beat
Britain. In 1786, the banks
refused to lend the king any
more money. This caused the
government serious troubles.
Louis then called a meeting of
the Estates-General on May
5, 1789 to try and solve the
money problem. This decision
set the path to the French
Revolution.

4. The First and Second Estates
both had around 300
representatives, while the
Third had about 600.Most of
the Third Estate wanted to
establish a constitutional
government so that the
clergy and nobility would pay
taxes as well. On June
17, 1789 the Third Estate
declared it was the National
Assembly and would draft a
constitution. Three days later
they swore an oath known as
the Tennis Court Oath. Louis
XVI then prepared to use
force against the Third Estate.

5. Anticipating an attack by the king's forces, commoners then stormed the
Bastille prison, marking the start of the French Revolution. The new
Assembly took control of the Catholic Church and adopted the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

6. Inspired by the
English Bill of Rights
of 1689 and by the
American
Declaration of
Independence and
Constitution.
Began with “the
natural and
imprescriptible
rights of man”
to
“liberty, propert
y, security, and
resistance to
oppression.”
Proclaimed that
all men were free
and equal before
the law, that the
appointment to
public office
should be based
on talent, and
that no group
should be exempt
from taxation.
Freedom of
speech and
of the press
were
affirmed.

7. Louis XVI refused to accept National Assembly’s decrees. Louis XVI and
his family was taken captive. The Assembly then wrote the Constitution
of 1791 establishing a limited monarchy and a Legislative Assembly. The
“ancien regime” had been destroyed, but the government did not have
universal support. France was soon at war with Austria, where some
feared the revolution might spread. Members of the rising Paris
Commune took the king captive. They forced the Legislative Assembly to
suspend the monarchy and called for a National Convention This forced
the revolution into a more violent phase.

8. • During the first years of the revolution, a republic
was established, Louis XVI was executed, and
thousands of people were killed on suspicion of
opposing the revolution.
• While factions fought over control within
France, European states fearing the spread of
revolution made plans to invade France.

9. The National Convention responded by forming a Committee of Public
Safety. The committee led a 12-month Reign of Terror and also raised
the largest army in European history and repelled the invading armies.

10. After the death of Louis XVI in 1793, the Reign of Terror began. The first victim
was Marie Antoinette. She had been imprisoned with her children after she was
separated from Louis. First they took her son Louis Charles from her. He
disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Then she led off a parade of
prominent and not-so-prominent citizens to their deaths.
The guillotine was put to work. Public executions were considered educational. Women
were encouraged to sit and knit during trials and executions. The Revolutionary
Tribunal ordered the execution of 2,400 people in Paris by July 1794. Across France
40,000 people lost their lives.

11. With the crisis past, the National Convention ended the Reign of
Terror and executed its zealous leader, Maximilien Robespierre.
Power shifted into the hands of more moderate middle-class leaders
who produced a constitution in 1795.

12. The constitution called for a two-house
legislative body and an executive
committee, called the Directory. The Directory
faced mounting problems. In 1799 a popular
General, Napoleon Bonaparte, seized power in
a coup d'état.

13. Napoleon formed a new government, the
consulate, in which he held absolute power. In
1802 he was crowned emperor and signed a
peace treaty with Russia, Great Britain, and
Austria.

14. At home, he made peace with the Catholic
Church and created a functioning bureaucracy.
His Napoleonic Code preserved many of the
rights gained in the revolution. War was soon
renewed. By 1807, Napoleon had created a
French empire.

15. In parts of the empire, Napoleon sought to
spread the revolution. However, his invasions
had contributed to the spread of nationalism
as well. This, along with British sea
power, would spell his defeat.

16. fter a disastrous invasion of Russia, other
European nations attacked Napoleon's army
and captured Paris. Napoleon was exiled from
France, and the monarchy was restored.

17. Napoleon returned to power briefly, only to
face final military defeat against a combined
Prussian and British force at Waterloo and to
be exiled once again.