Causes of Revolution

Enlightenment Ideas

Financial Crisis

Starvation/Famine

Enlightenment Ideas•Paris was the center of the Enlightenment•Thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau spread

ideas of equality and natural rights•People in France, especially the bourgeoisie,

began to question the king’s right to rule

Financial Crisis

• France was bankrupt after spending on wars: French and Indian, Seven Years, American Revolution

•Louis XVI spent too much on his lifestyle•Half of France’s income was paid on interest

on it’s debts.

Starvation/Famine•A hailstorm and drought ruins the Harvest of 1788.

•France experiences one of its worst winters in 1788-1789

•People are forced to spend half their wages to buy bread

By 1789, Louis XVI is forced to call a session of the Estates General•The meeting does not go well for Louis XVI.•He locks the Third Estate out of the meeting and bring in soldiers.

•The Third Estate decides to meet in a nearby indoor tennis court and form the National Assembly.•They vow not to leave until France has a new constitution; Tennis Court Oath.

Ask your neighbor . . . 30 seconds

What would you do if you were Louis XVI? How would you deal with the Third Estate and the National Assembly?

Louis XVI will legalize the

National Assembly

Votes are now given by

percentage of population

Louis orders troops to surround

Versailles and Paris

Meanwhile . . .

The Third Estate fears the king will

attack the National Assembly

July 14, 1789 – The Third Estate storms

the Bastille in search of weapons

Taking of the Bastille, 1789

Storming of the BastilleThe Bastille was a prison in Paris for political prisoners.

It is a symbol of the oppression of the king over the

Third Estate

It is a direct attack on the power of

the king.

National Assembly votes to end taxes paid by peasants to the Second Estate

It adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen on August 27, 1789

The Declaration states that men are born equal and remain equal before the law

Louis calls troops to Versailles to protect

his absolute monarchy

Paris reacts by allowing7 000 women to March to Versaille

They capture the king and his family and take

them back to Paris

National Assembly takes church land and sells it to pay off the national debt

They pass the Constitution of

1791, that limits the power of the

king.

Legislative Assembly to replaces the

National Assembly

Outside threats . . . •Marie Antoinette is originally from Austria.•Austria threatens to attack France if the royal family is harmed.•In response, France declares war on Austria and their allies Prussia.

Pressure on the Legislative Assembly . . . •France’s army is weak and unorganized because of the Revolution•Austria/Prussia wins several battles.•War and famine are too much for the Legislative Assembly. They are replaced by the National Convention

End of the Monarchy . . . •National Convention first act is to do away with the monarchy.•Louis XVI is no longer a king.•France becomes a Republic. Known as the First Republic.

Modern Connection . . .•Conservatives (didn’t want a lot of change) sat on the

right side of the room• Liberals (wanted a lot of change) sat on the left side of

the room.• The moderates sat in the middle.• This is where we get the terms “right” and “left” in

our political system.

Death of a King•The liberals in the National Convention demand that Louis XVI be put on trial.•He is tried convicted of treason and sentenced to death.•He will lose his head using a new device called the guillotine.