II. The Estates (http://www.historywiz.com/estatesgeneral.htm, http://04varvara.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/1-july-2011-the-more-that-things-change-the-third-estate-is-still-paying-for-the-fecklessness-of-the-oligarchs-and-the-clerisy/ pictures)

1.     The First Estate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St%C3%A4ndeordnung.jpg picture)

a.     Comprised of the clergy

b.     Divided into “upper” and “lower” clergy

                                               i.     Upper clergy were clergy nobility(some lived in Versailles)

                                             ii.     Lower clergy were parish priests

c.     Some condemned the privileged

d.     They ran Churches and schools and kept marriage, birth and death records.

e.     They were taxed but usually evaded taxes.

f.      Recorded as 130,000 members in 1789, or 0.5% of the population.

2.     The Second Estate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Troisordres.jpg the second and first estates being carried by the third)

a.     Comprised of nobility and royalty other than the king himself

b.     2% of the population

c.     Exempt from most taxes

d.     Traditional privileges

                                               i.     Hunting, feudal dues, tolls

e.     “Nobles of the Robe” attempted to get power after Louis XIV died.

                                               i.     Parliament had to approve the King’s decision

3.     The Third Estate 

a.     Everyone excluded from the 1^st and 2^nd estates

                                               i.     Middle class, peasants, city workers

b.     Paid the most taxes

c.     Resented the lack of privileges and unpaid services for the landlord

                                               i.     http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/157/ the awakening of the third estate

                                             ii.     http://faculty.smu.edu/rkemper/cf_3333/Sieyes_What_is_the_Third_Estate.pdf “What is the Third Estate?” By Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes.

 

III.           Economic Crisis

IV)       Reform?

1) Louis XVI takes the French throne. Coronation of Louis XVI

a)   Louis is affable but indecisive. He is not very smart and had virtually no faith in himself.

b) The wife of Louis is Marie Antoinette, a young Habsburg princess. She is flippant, inconsiderate, and intrusive.

2) Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot became Louis’s new controller-general of finances. Remonstrances of Parlement of Paris against Turgot’s Six Edicts (1776)

a)   Turgot was an ally of the philosophers. He was an administrative veteran, and a supporter of the laissez-faire system. Turgot wanted to relax restrictions on grain trade and eradicate the guilds.

b) The court at Versailles united against Turgot and he was dismissed by Louis.

3) In 1786, the banks refused to continue to lend funds to France.

a)   This was likely due to the large amount of loans taken by the French government under the control of Jacques Necker.

4) 1787 & 88 saw remarkably poor crop harvests and as a result famine became widespread in France. ECONOMICS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

a)   This was blamed upon Louis.

5) The government began the practice of passing laws via lit de justice. Louis was quoted to say “it is legal because I wish it.”

 

 

V. 1788- Louis XVI summoned the Estates General for the 1^st time since 1614. They met in May 1789

A.   Estates usually met separately and 1st and 2^nd voted down 3^rd

B.    3^rd Estate wanted to meet and vote equally

C.    3^rd Estate takes matters into their own hands and walks out

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sieyes.asp

D.   Tennis Court Oath: pledge not to leave until they had a constitution http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/tennis_oath.html

a.     Some wanted a Republic, others a limited monarchy

b.     July 1789: peasants form militia in fear after Necker’s dismissal

c.     Louis brought troops to Paris

d.     July 14, 1789: Storming of Bastille

                                                1.     Demonstrators wanted weapons and ammunition inside

                                                2.     Destroyed Bastille

                                                3.     Many people died

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/94998/Storming-of-the-Bastille-prison-the-opening-event-of-the

a.     Summer of 1789: the Great Fear

                                                1.     Peasant uprisings caused by rumors of armed men destroying crops

B.    National Assembly (1789)

a.     August

                                                1.     Serfdom and taxes

                                                2.     All males eligible for church positions

                                                3.     Adopted Rights of Man

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp

C.    October 1789: March on Versailles

a.     Women outraged at high food prices

b.     Suspected Louis and Marie Antoinette of plotting against them

c.     Demanded they return to Paris with them

d.     Louis agrees out of fear

e.     On return march, Louis wears the tri-color

f.      The mob is now in control

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/473/

D.   Religious Freedoms-1790: Civil Constitution of the Clergy

a.     Abolish Catholic Churches privileges

b.     Church lands were sold

http://history.hanover.edu/texts/civilcon.html

E.    Constitution of 1791

a.     Limited Monarchy

                                                1.     King-Executive Branch

                                                2.     Locally elected legislature branch: 83 regions

                                                3.     Judicial Branch

http://sourcebook.fsc.edu/history/constitutionof1791.html

b.     All feudal laws abolished

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/august4.html

 

VI. Responses

            A. Few people were satisfied

                        1. Some wanted a republic

                        2. Nobles though the constitution went too far

http://sourcebook.fsc.edu/history/constitutionof1791.html (Consitution)

            B. Nobles fled France: émigrés

                        1. Émigré means a person who “migrated out”

                        2. Aristocratic French refugees who fled in self-exile

            C. Royal family tries to flee to Austria

                        1. Recognized and arrested near the Austrian border

            D. October 1791: Legislative Assembly meets for the first time, after the failure of the Constitution

                        1. Moderates sat on the right

                                    a. Wanted constitutional monarchy

                        2. Radicals sat on the left

                                    a. Believed king was not trustworthy

                        3. Assembly tried to pass legislation to massacre émigrés, but vetoed by king

            E. Radical group soon gains conrol in the Assembly

                        1. Radical group members of Jacobin Club

                                    a. Jacobin Club: famous and influential political club consisting of radicals against the monarchy

                        2. Led by Maximilien Robespierre

                                    a. Politician, orator, contributed to Declaration of the Rights of Man

                       

 

VIII.               National Convention

a.     Context

                                               i.     August 10, 1792, King Captured by Parisian Mob

                                              ii.     Louis XVI held no power

                                            iii.     Made former constitution illegitimate

b.     September Massacres

                                               i.     Radicalists worried about political prisoners held in jails

                                              ii.     Parisian Mob stormed jails and tried prisoners

1.     “Popular tribunals set up”

2.     Prisoners slaughtered

3.     Excerpt from Les Nuit de Paris, by Nicolas-Edme Restif

c.      Convened from September 20^th, 1792 to 1795               

                                               i.     Succeeded by Directory

                                              ii.     749 Deputies

                                            iii.     Three factions

1.     Girondins-Radicalists           

2.     Mountain-Radicalists           

3.     Plain-Centralists

d.     Elections Held

                                               i.     Universal Suffrage

1.     For all adult Males

2.     First election of that kind

e.     September 21 and 22 1792

                                               i.     Abolished Monarchy

                                              ii.     Officially created republic

                                            iii.     Minutes from September 21st Meeting of the National Convention

                                            iv.     Voted Louis XVI to be put to death by only fifty-three votes.

f.      Execution of Louis XVI

                                               i.     Put to death on January 21^st, 1793

                                              ii.     Beheaded by the guillotine

1.     Convention wanted Louis equal to all other citizens in death

                                            iii.     Louis pleaded innocent even until his execution

                                            iv.     Eyewitness account of Henry Edgeworth, Catholic Priest

                                              v.     Day 21 january 1793 death of Louis Capet on the Place de la Revolution...

 

IX. Attacks on the Revolution

A.     Europe’s response- 1793

1.     At war with many countries- the Convention declares war with the following countries:

a.     Austria

i.                France declares war on April 20, 1792.

ii.              March 1, 1793- Battle of Aldenhoven- Austrian victory

iii.             March 21, 1793 Battle of Louvain- Austrian victory

iv.             March 23- July 28, 1793- Siege of Valenciennes

b.     Netherlands

i.              French declare war February 3, 1793

c.      Prussia

i.                 August 23, 1792- Prussia takes Longwy

d.     Great Britain

a.     French declare war February 3, 1793

b.     Britain declares war on France February 17, 1793

e.     Spain

f.      i. March 7, 1793- declare war on France

                     f.   Napoleonic satires: http://library.brown.edu/cds/napoleon/

http://content.lib.washington.edu/napoleonweb/index.html

g.     Wartime maps:

(1789)- http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/central_europe_1789.htm

(1792)- “Battles of Mons and Tunai”

http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/eastern_france_1792.htm

h.     The “National Convention”- http://history.hanover.edu/texts/natcon.html

i.       The “Levee en Masse”- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1793levee.asp

j.            

B.       France in trouble

1.     Economic

a.     After trials of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, paper money-assignants- value was decreasing= inflation.

b.     Food shortages, leading to angry mobs; on verge of civil war

c.      Girondins in power at this point; they opposed interference in the economy by the government.

d.     Several factional disputes were taking place.

e.     June 22, 1793- power taken away, given to Jacobins- head of which is Robespierre.

f.      “Le Chapelier Law”- http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/370/

g.     Chart on “Economics of the French Revolution”- http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/frrevdocuments.html#anchoreconomics

2.     Counterrevolution

a.     In France, people in favor of the counterrevolution were generally nobles, upperclassmen, or bourgeois.

b.     The Committee of Public Safety was in charge of arresting any counterrevolutionaries or people who were suspected of being one- sign of the Terror.

c.       Many French counterrevolutionaries left their country and became emigres (emigrants) usually establishing themselves close on the other side of the border. They asked for help from officials of other countries.

d.     Februrary 1793- counterrevolutionary revolt arising in the Vendee

e.     Robespierre- “Justification of the Use of Terror”- http://www.historywiz.com/primarysources/justificationterror.htm

X. X.  The Reign of Terror

A. Committee of Public Safety/Constitution of 1793

    1. April 6, 1793 National Convention created Committee of Public Safety

            a. effort to restore peace and maintain order in France

            b. protect country from external threats

            c.  composed of nine then twelve members

            d.  supervisory powers over legislative, judicial and military

            e. headed first by Georges Danton, as of July by Robespierre

    2. Constitution

            a. inspired by Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

            a. adopted by assembly on June 24, 1793

            b. ratified by referendum of male voters

            c. set aside until “circumstances permitted”

            d. never implemented

B. Brutal Campaign July 1793-July 1794 led by Robespierre

    1. Committee targeted “enemies”

            a. many had committed no crimes

            b. their social or political views were different

            c. some even had Jacobin views, but more radical or more conservative

    2. Numerous Decrees and Laws Passed

            a. Aug 23, 1793 – Levee en Masse – conscription order for men 18-25

            b. Sept 17, 1793 – Law of Suspects – creation of Revolutionary Tribunals

            c. Sept 29, 1793 – Law of Maximum – fixing prices of goods

            d. Dec 4, 1793 – Law of Revolutionary Government - power centralized

            e. June 10, 1794 – Law of 22 Prairial – judicial process changed to

                        indictment and prosecution, limits on defense

    3. Replaced Gregorian calendar

            a. ten day weeks, no Sundays

            b. new holidays

            c. names and days in keeping with spirit of reason

    4.  Catholic Church Stripped of Power

            a. churches closed or converted to Temples of Reason or museums

            b. lands confiscated

            c. destruction or removal of icons – crosses, statues, bells

            d. law of Oct 21, 1793 – death for priests and supporters

            e. May 7, 1794 – Cult of Supreme Being proclaimed official religion

C. Daily Trials and Executions: 20,000 – 40,000 killed

    1. daily executions for 9 month period

            a. victims dragged to public squares in carts

            b.  citizens beheaded at the guillotine

    2. Marie Antionette executed Oct 16, 1793

    3. Georges Danton – becomes victim by questioning Robespierre’s actions

D. Wars Costly – Draft Formed

    1. Expense of war

            a. fighting on many fronts – Austria, Netherlands, Great Britain

            b. maintaining troops, provisions, arms

    2. fear of invasion – increased preparation for international war

    3. military draft – conscription drive of 1793

            a. reorganized and strengthened army – 13 principal field armies

            b. expanded size of army – approx 800,000 frontline troops

            c. aristocratic officers emigrated or resigned,

                        replaced with citizen soldiers

E. Food Shortages – “equality bread”

    1. bad weather in winter of 1788-1789 – poor harvest

            a. distribution slowed

            b.  inflation - prices increased beyond affordability

    2. Feb 25, 1793 – food riots in Paris

            a. rich had plenty

            b. poor and peasant class starved or had inferior bread

    3. bakers instructed to make only one kind of bread

            a. ¾ wheat, ¼ rye with bran included

            b. white flour banned

    4. rationing introduced

F. Spring 1794 – Armies doing well

    1. French victories in the Rhineland, Spain and Savoy

    2. June 26 - Battle of Fleurus – victory over Austrians gave Belgium to France

    3. July 13 Battle of Platzberg – victory against Prussians

    4. July 13 - Battle of the Vosges – France defeats coalition

            of Prussian, Austrian and Saxon troops  

Weblinks:

 

Reign of Terror Timeline

http://www.pbs.org/marieantoinette/timeline/reign.html

The Reign of Terror 1792-1795

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/section5.rhtml

 

Reign of Terror French Revolution

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/france/reign-of-terror-french-revolution/998

 

The French Revolution and Under Napoleon Bonaparte

Chronology of Civil and Military Events

http://users.idworld.net/rrichard/napoleo1.htm

 

French Revolution

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13009a.htm

 

The French Revolution

http://history-world.org/french_revolution1.htm

 

French Revolution A Chronology

http://faculty.unlv.edu/gbrown/hist462/resources/chrono.htm

 

A Chronology of the French Revolution

http://www.historyhome.co.uk/c-eight/france/frevchro.htm

 

Voting and the Constitution: The referenda of 1793

http://books.google.com/books?id=2za9R0N0RIYC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=French+Constitution+set+aside+National+Assembly+1793&source=bl&ots=TXTSt0U4-f&sig=pePg3Yg33ywYWWPEN3yXeC9WWd8&hl=en&ei=HqflTs2NBuLliAK5nYW5Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=French%20Constitution%20set%20aside%20National%20Assembly%201793&f=false

 

Revolution, Napoleon and French Bread

http://www.lepetitfrancais.com/history.html

 

The Radical Revolution

http://ap_history_online.tripod.com/apeh8b.htm

 

The French Revolt and Empire, A Napoleonic Wars Summary

http://www.wtj.com/articles/napsum1/

 7. National Convention tried to stop all the trials
    - Enough blood was spilt and the remaining trials were minuscule

    a. July 1794- Robespierre made a threatening speech to the members of The National Convention. Members feared that anyone of them could be executed. Removed Robespierre from power, arrested him and his allies and was beheaded the next day.

http://www.romanticism-in-art.org/The-Arrest-of-Robespierre,-The-Night-of-the-9th-to-10th-Thermidor,-Year-II,-27th-July-1794.html

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/441/
 
    b. With Robespierre’s death, the Reign of Terror ended. Before he was executed, he was accused of tyranny and dictatorship. Since he was the main figure pushing for more blood without cause(the Reign of Terror), the act of beheading ended thus the Reign of terror ended.

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/442/

 

8) 1789-1794’s Impact on France

            a)  King Louis XVI did not take care of France’s economy, and many people were starving and dying, due to Louis and Marie’s luxurious life off France’s Money. 

- Result, angry mobs step up and overthrew King Louis XVI along with Marie Antoinette.

- King Louis XVI of France is executed along with his wife, Marie Antoinette much after his death.

- Marie did not receive a loyal carriage to the executioner as Louis XVI did. The end of his reign marked a new beginning for France.

            b) A Democracy is established after King Louis XVI’s death.

- National Assembly face many problems, assignats (money used back then) fall by 50%, inflation, food shortages, and rebellion.

- Girondins were men that favored a more decentralized government, and promoted a program of safety system.

- National Assembly form a democracy in France, later this contributes to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

            c) All the Feudal Laws, traditions, and customs are gone.

- Decree of the French National Assembly Abolishing the Feudal System, passed to remove all feudal laws.

            d) Styles are changed

- Due to the feudal system, traditions, and customs gone, many cultures and styles        are changed and recreated.

            e) The Metric system established

- established by Gabriel Mouton, the vicar of St. Paul's Church.

- had a large influence on society and on Science, spread around the world very quickly.

 

IX. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

From Robespierre to Bonaparte

A.   The Thermidorian Reaction (1794-1795)

-       National Convention repudiated Terror and executed 21 leaders under Robespierre (Chambers 616)

a.     Robespierre accused as murderous outlaw who depopulated France

b.     Ease in need for patriotic unity

Execution of Robespierre

-       The Paris Jacob Club diminished in power and arrest were placed on leading deputies of the Mountain (Chambers 617)

-       Thermidorian Reaction: period between fall of Robespierre and establishment of Directory (Chambers G-9)

a.     Toleration of luxury and self-indulgence

b.     Markets ruled by supply and demand and suffered mediocre harvest in 1795 (Chambers 617)

Harvest of 1795

B.     Constitution of 1795

-       With the slogan “Bread and Constitution of 1793” the sans-culottes demonstrate in Paris

Constitution of Year III (1795)

-       Organized revolt of Prairial year III resulting in execution of 36 sans-culottes

Day 1 of Prairial year III

C.    The Directory (1795-1799)

-       Establishes five man executive known as the Directory (constitutional republic)

a.     Two house legislature to moderate politics while Directory was to prevent rise of dictator (Chambers 618)

b.     Directory wished “the mirage of moderates” the center of political spectrum (Chambers 618)

c.     Problems with the Directory

1.      High food prices Pacte de Famine (Wiki)     Actual Pacte de Famine

2.     Expensive Military Invasion of France

3.     Riots Levy riots

-       Political spectrum split into ultraroyalists (wanted to overthrow Republic), Neo-Jacobins (activism through clubs, newspapers and petition drives) and radicals

Ultraroyalist leader, Jean-Baptiste de Villele

-       Only landowners who could read were allowed to vote

a.     Republic should “be governed by the best citizens, who are found among the property-owning class” declared by proponents of the Directory (Chambers 617)

Voting in the Directory

D.   Napoleon Bonaparte

-       During 1798, France ruled small states and territories called sister republics

Sister Republics

-       Born in Corsica in 1769, second child of a small noble family

Napoleon Bonaparte

a.     Had fantasies of freeing Corsica from France

-       At age ten, he was enrolled in a military academy

a.     Was diligent student at French military academies and expert on artillery (Chamber 619)

b.     At age 24 he became brigadier general

c.     Driven off Corsica due to conflict among local factions

 

 

A.    Napoleon Invades Russia

a.     “Grand Army” of 600,000 men to Russia

b.     Russian nobles and army burn crops and buildings

                                      i.         Russians retreat in organized fashion, burns houses

                                     ii.         French army has no food or winter quarters

c.      Borodino – first battle, Napoleon loses 35,000

                                      i.         A first-hand recollection of the Battle of Borodino by Baron Lejeune

                                     ii.         French advancement into Borodino

d.     Gets to Moscow (9/14/12), all buildings burned, nowhere to stay

                                      i.         A map showing the rate of losses that Napoleon’s army experienced during its advance to Moscow. Scroll down to see translation.

                                     ii.         A retelling of the experiences in Moscow by Karl von Clausewitz, in addition to maps detailing the advances.

e.     Order for retreat comes too late

                                      i.         Napoleon thinks that he can survive and his army can win despite hardships

                                     ii.         No supplies, food shortages, guerillas weaken GA further

1.     This image shows image of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, scattered, weakened, and being attacked by Russian guerilla forces

f.      No more than 100,000 out of 600,000 survive

g.     Napoleon is weakened

                                      i.         Russia, Austria, Prussia form last coalition offers conditional surrender – normal frontiers and keeping of throne

                                     ii.         Napoleon refuses, Paris captured in March 1814

1.     Reluctantly because they expected him to comply to conditional surrender

2.     Collection of primary documents and pictures of the coalition entering Paris

3.     Tries to draft more

4.     Had drafted total of 2.5 million, 1 million dead

h.     Napoleon exiled to island of Elba, Louis XVIII installed to throne