Warm Up

• What is a Revolution?

A word about the tests…

•Abominable.

French Revolution Phase 1• 1700’s – French society is divided into 3

estates:1) Roman Catholic Clergy – 1%2) Nobility – 2%3) The Rest (bourgeoisie) – 97%

• 1774 – Louis XVI takes the throne; France has tremendous debts from war and corrupt leaders… Louis wants to collect taxes from everyone to pay off the debt, they say no.

Questions

1) What was the social structure of the old regime in France?

• 1786 – Banks refuse to loan money to the French government

• 1789 – With the nobles still refusing to pay taxes, Louis calls an Estates General meeting:

At the meeting…

1) Each of the three estates attend and get one vote2) The 3rd estate fears that the first two estates will “gang up” on them and control the vote in their favor.3) The 3rd estate decides to meet on their own = The National Assembly, where (with some clergy) they attempt to voice some of their complaints

Questions

2) What economic troubles did France face in 1789, and how did they lead to further unrest?

3) What actions did delegates of the Third Estate take when the Estates-General met in 1789?

Things continue to deteriorate for Louis…

• July 14, 1789 - The 3rd estate, fearing an attack against the national assembly, storms the Bastille for weapons.- This starts a wave of violence known as the Great Fear. Rumors spread that nobles had hired robbers to kill peasants in the countryside = peasants armed themselves and swore never again to pay feudal dues.

Bastille Prison

5 of 6

Questions

4) What was the significance of the storming of the Bastille?

People and vocabualry to know

• Ancien regime• Estate• Bourgeoisie• Deficit spending • Estates-General• Cahier• Tennis Court Oath• Bastille

• Louis XVI• Jacques Necker

Warm Up

• Come in and study for the quiz you are about to take.

• Pay special attention to the Ancien Régime, financial problems, Estates-General, and the forming and actions of the National Assembly.

• The political field now consisted of:1) Those wanting a new French government2) Those supporting Louis XVI and his “God- given right to rule”3) Nobles still refusing to give up rights

*All of these different factions were competing to gain power.

Rights of Nobles

• Manorial dues• Exclusive hunting rights• Special legal status• Tax exemptions

Factions- dissenting groups of people

1. National Guard– Headed by Marquis de Lafayette– Middle-class militia organized in response to royal

troops in Paris– Tricolor (red, white, blud)

• Moderates supported by Marquis de Lafayette

2. Paris Commune- replaced royalist government in Paris- mobilize whole neighborhoods for protests or

violence3. Newspapers and Protest clubs- Many more radical than the Commune- Demanded an end to the monarchy and spread

scandalous stories about the royal family and members of the court

Questions

1) What Caused French peasants to revolt against the nobles

• August 4, 1789 - Continuing violence in the countryside convinced the nobles to finally give up their privileges…

IN RESPONSE TO UPRISINGS…

The National Assembly then made reform after reform; ending feudalism in France.

1) Abolished feudal dues and tithes owned by peasants2) Nobles agreed to be taxed3) All male citizens could hold govt., army, or church positions

August 1789 – Inspired by the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, and the English Bill of Rights, the National Assembly composed the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

1) All people are equal before the law2) Guaranteed freedom of speech, press, religion, and arbitrary arrest and punishment.3) All people had the right to hold public office4) These principles did not include women