Presentation Transcript

1. French Revolution1789 - 1799

2. Four Stages Moderate (1789-1792) Reign of Terror (1793-1794) Reaction (1794-1798) Napoleonic (1799-1815)
3. Class resentments Revolution Financial crisis Bad harvests Enlightenment ideas

4. Before the Revolution

   “Le Ancien Regime” The Old Regime
5. Financial Crisis Economic troubles Louis XIV & XV Wars Outdated tax system Clergy/nobles Exempt from taxes Commoners Indirect taxes taille-produce gabelle-salt 20% increase under Louis XVI Taxes to lords
6. Financial Crisis Wars Seven Years War, American Revolution Lost significant overseas revenue Financed with borrowed money
7. Louis XVI: “Where is the tax money?”
8. Failed financial reforms Strength of Aristocracy and Bourgeoisie State couldn’t declare bankruptcy Attempted reform of tax system in 1787 fails (leads to calling of the Estates General) No central bank France still used gold as currency Couldn’t print money to create inflation
9. Jacques Necker, Minister of Finance
10. Three Estates Divisions based on class and rank First Estate Church Second Estate Nobles Third Estate Bourgeoisie Working poor Rural peasants No Taxes
11. 3rdEstate
12. The Monarchy Careless, spendthrift, foolish Inherited a country on the precipice of bankruptcy Louis XIV: La etat, ces Moi Louis XV: Apres Moi, le deluge Virtuous, but uninterested in government
13. The Monarchy People were starving, but the royal family flaunted their wealth, indulged in excesses, appeared uncaring Widespread criticism of royal excesses undermined the monarchy Marie Antoinette and her scandals
14. Dress Scandal
15. Affair of the Diamond Necklace 647 diamonds 1.8m francs=$8m today Refused many times by the queen Commissioned by Louis XV for Madame Dubarry Trial and scandal
16. Model Peasant Village Gardens of Versailles Escape from court life Milking parlor, pigsty, cowshed, 12 cottages Dressed in rustic costume Supervised peasants at work Performed in plays about country life
17. Marie Antoinette and her children - 1787This is one of the last portraits that Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun painted of the doomed queen. The picture shows Marie Therese Charlotte de France, Madame Royale, and her brother, Louis-Joseph, Le Dauphin, standing. Louis-Joseph died of natural causes early in the year that the revolution began. The next younger child, Louis-Charles, Duc de Normandie, shown on the Queen's lap, then became the second Dauphin. After his father had been guillotined he became known as Louis XVII. This Louis may have been murdered, or may have died of other causes while imprisoned in the temple. In another theory it was thought he may have survived after being exchanged for another sickly child. In April 2000 it was proved by DNA analysis that the body of a boy found in a temple was in fact the body of Louis XVII. He died of malnutrition and neglect. The empty cradle is a reference to Princess Sophie, who was born and died in 1786.This painting still hangs at Versailles.
18. France in the late 18th Century Population around 28 million Grew 10 million in 100 years Over 20 million in the countryside A few large towns, but dominated by Paris with over 600,000 people. 1780s are marked by a series of crop failures and rising food prices Marked with periodic rebellions
19. % of income spent on breadfor the average laborer
20. Enlightenment Ideas Spread Liberty-Natural rights Sovereignty of the people Equality Under the law Bourgeois ambitions and discontent Abbe Sieyes “What is the Third Estate” 1788 Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite!
21. Abbe Sieyes
22. What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been until Now? Nothing. What does it demand? To become something. Abbé Sieyès "What is the third Estate?“ "Qu'est-ce que le Tiers-Etat?" January 1789

23. Moderate Stage

    1789-1792
24. Estates General at the palace of Versailles
25. Calling of the Estates General Called in July 1788 to meet in 1789 First time since 1614 End of Absolutism Parlements decides EG will be conducted in the same way as before One voter per Estate This disgusts the Third Estate
26. Cahiers de doleances
27. Cahiers des Doleances Objections to the current system Main Demands Eliminate Lettres de Cachet (i.e. demands due process) Nation decides its own taxes Estates General every 4 years Equal taxes on all classes Third Estate representation in Parlements
28. At the Estates General May 5th 1789 Background of rising bread prices Third Estate urges reform, relief, equal voice (vote by head, not estate) Third Estate declares the “National Assembly” on June 17th 1789 after weeks of arguing and stalemate Locked out of meeting place, convenes on the King’s tennis courts
29. Tennis Court Oath
30. The Tennis Court Oath June 20th 1789 Will not disband until a constitution is drafted Conservatives on right, Liberals on left Starts making laws in the name of the French people
31. Rising Tensions June 27th Louis orders nobles and clergy to join the Third Estate- they refuse Louis orders army near Paris & Versailles Soaring bread prices Fear of aristocratic plot against Assembly Storming of the Bastille, July 14th Aristocrats flee Louis withdraws troops
32. Storming of the Bastille July 14th 1789
33. Chain Reaction Peasants in the countryside hear of the success of the Paris riots Triggers riots throughout France The Great Fear Looting (food) Burning (houses of Lords, records of obligations) Louis acts indecisively People begin to demand his removal
34. The Great Fear
35. The Pathof theGreatFear
36. The awakening of the Third Estate—the nobility and clergy recoil in fear
37. August 4th 1789 Emergency night session called in response to “Le Grande Peur” National Assembly ends serfdom, feudalism, all class privilege (August Decrees) “Liberty, equality, fraternity” Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen Calls for a constitutional monarchy like that of Britain
38. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen Adopted August 26, 1789
39. Women’s march to Versailles, October 5, 1789 We want the baker, the baker’s wife and the baker’s boy!
40. October Days Louis had not accepted the August 4 decrees or the Declaration Women (and men) march on Versailles to demand bread Joined by 20,000 Paris Guards Louis promises bread Royal family forced to Paris Remove Louis from the influence of his corrupt ministers
41. The National Assembly & Reforms Subordination of Church to State Confiscates Church property (Nov. 1789) Sells land to pay public debt Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) Reduces power of bishops Clergy selected and paid by the State Oath of Allegiance
42. Confiscation of Church Lands
43. Caricature showing the jubilation of the clergy after the reforms
44. Print Assignats Issued by the National Constituent Assembly. Interest-bearing notes with church lands as security.
45. The National Assembly & Reforms Administrative reforms 83 new administrative units replace the uncoordinated provinces Standardized system of courts Abolition of torture and sale of judicial offices Citizen juries created
46. Re-Division of France, 1790 83 administrative units of roughly equal size
47. The National Assembly & Reforms Economic reforms Uniform system of weights and measures Abolition of guild restrictions Elimination of taxes on goods transported within the country
48. The National Assembly & Reforms Constitution of 1791 (Sept.) Louis forced to accept the Constitution
49. Constitution of 1791
50. Flight to Varennes Louis tries to escape Paris (June 20, 1791) Planned to mobilize troops with help from Leopold II of Austria The royal family is captured just a few miles from the border and returned to Paris. Now the King is viewed with deepening suspicion.
51. Declaration of pillnitz Austria and Prussia issue the Declaration of Pillnitz States intention to intervene in France under certain situations Response of the Assembly “we will incite a war of people against kings”
52. Olympe de Gouges (1745-1793) Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Citizen (1791) Against the execution of the King Guillotined in 1793 as a reactionary royalist
53. End of the Revolution? By the end of September 1791, the National Assembly announces that its work is done All goals seem to have been achieved Only a radical minority clamor for more Things seem to be settling down HOWEVER…
54. La Marseilles
55. The Tricolor (1789) The WHITE of the Bourbons + the RED & BLUE of Paris. Citizen!
56. The “Liberty Cap”: Bonne Rouge
57. The “Second” French Revolution The National Convention: Girondin Rule: 1792-1793 Jacobin Rule: 1793-1794[“Reign of Terror”] Thermidorian Reaction: 1794-1795 The Directory  1795-1799
58. Attitudes & actions of monarchy& court Fear ofCounter-Revolution Religiousdivisions The Causes of Instability in France1792 - 1795 Politicaldivisions EconomicCrises War
59. The Jacobins Jacobin Meeting House They held their meetings in the library of a former Jacobin monastery in Paris. Started as a debating society. Membership mostly middle class. Created a vast network of clubs.
60. The Sans-Culottes:The Parisian Working Class Small shopkeepers. Tradesmen. Artisans. They shared many of the ideals of their middle class representatives in government!
61. The Sans-Culottes Depicted as Savages by a British Cartoonist.
62. The National Convention(September, 1792) Its first act was the formal abolition of the monarchy on September 22, 1792. The Year I of the French Republic. The Decree of Fraternity it offered French assistance to any subject peoples who wished to overthrow their governments. When France sneezes, all of Europe catches cold!
63. The Political Spectrum TODAY: 1790s: The Plain(swing votes) Montagnards(“The Mountain”) Girondists Monarchíen(Royalists) Jacobins
64. The Politics of the National Convention (1792-1795) Jacobins Girondists Power base in Paris. Main support from the sans-culottes. Would adopt extreme measures to achieve their goals. Saw Paris as the center of the Revolution. More centralized [in Paris] approach to government. Power base in the provinces. Feared the influence of the sans-culottes. Feared the dominance of Paris in national politics. Supported more national government centralization [federalism].
65. The “Purifying” Pot of the Jacobin
66. Louis XVI as a Pig For the Montagnards, the king was a traitor. The Girondins felt that the Revolution had gone far enough and didn’t want to execute the king [maybe exile him].
67. Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793) The trial of the king was hastened by the discovery in a secret cupboard in the Tuilieres of a cache of documents. They proved conclusively Louis’ knowledge and encouragement of foreign intervention. The National Convention voted387 to 334 to execute the monarchs.
68. The Death of “Citizen” Louis Capet Matter for reflectionfor the crowned jugglers. So impure blooddoesn’t soil our land!
69. Marie Antoinette as a Serpent The “Widow Capet”
70. Marie Antoinette on the Way to the Guillotine
71. Marie Antoinette Died in October, 1793
72. Attempts to Controlthe Growing Crisis Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris trysuspected counter-revolutionaries. Representatives-on-Mission sent to the provinces & to the army. had wide powers to overseeconscription. B. Watch Committees [comité de surveillance] keep an eye on foreigners & suspects. C. Sanctioned the trial & execution of rebels and émigrés, should they ever return to France.
73. Attempts to Controlthe Growing Crisis The printing of more assignats to pay for the war. Committee of Public Safety [CPS] to oversee and speed up the work of the government during this crisis. Committee of General Security [CGS] responsible for the pursuit ofcounter-revolutionaries, thetreatment of suspects, & other internal security matters.
74. Committee for Public Safety Revolutionary Tribunals. 300,000 arrested. 16,000 – 50,000 executed.
75. Maximillian Robespierre(1758 – 1794)
76. Georges Jacques Danton(1759 – 1794)
77. Jean-Paul Marat(1744 – 1793)
78. “The Death of Marat”by Jacques Louis David, 1793
79. The Assassination of Maratby Charlotte Corday, 1793
80. The Assassination of Maratby Charlotte Corday Paul JacquesAimeeBaudry, 19c[A RomanticView]
81. The Levee en Masse:An Entire Nation at Arms! – 500,000 Soldiers An army based on merit, not birth!
82. Legislation Passed by the National Convention Law of General Maximum September 5, 1793. Limited prices of grain & other essentials to 1/3above the 1790 prices & wages to ½ of 1790figures. Prices would be strictly enforced. Hoarders rooted out and punished. Food supplies would be secured by the army! Law of Suspects September 17, 1793. This law was so widely drawn that almost anyonenot expressing enthusiastic support for the republic could be placed under arrest!
83. The Reign of Terror Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible. -- Robespierre Let terror be the order of the day! The Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris alone executed 2,639 victims in 15 months. The total number of victims nationwide was over 20,000!
84. The Guillotine:An “Enlightenment Tool”? Oh, thou charming guillotine, You shorten kings and queens;By your influence divine,We have re-conquered our rights.Come to aid of the CountryAnd let your superb instrumentBecome forever permanentTo destroy the impious sect.Sharpen your razor for Pitt and his agentsFill your divine sack with heads of tyrants.
85. Different Social Classes Executed 7% 8% 28% 25% 31%
86. The “Monster” Guillotine The last guillotine execution in France was in 1939!
87. War of Resistance to the Revolution:The Vendee Revolt, 1793
88. Vendee Revolt, 1793 Vendee Symbol:For God & the King! Drowning the Traitors!
89. Why was there a Revoltin the Vendee? The need for 300,000 French troopsfor the war effort. Rural peasantry still highly taxed. Resentment of the Civil Constitution the Clergy. Peasants had failed to benefit fromthe sale of church lands. Local government officialsNational GuardsmenJurying priests TARGETS:
90. Religious Terror:De-Christianization (1793-1794) The Catholic Church was linked withreal or potential counter-revolution. Religion was associated with theAncien Régime and superstitiouspractices. Very popular among the sans-culottes. Therefore, religion had no place in arational, secular republic!
91. The De-Christianization Program The adoption of a new Republican Calendar: abolished Sundays & religious holidays. months named after seasonal features. 7-day weeks replaced by 10-day decades. the yearly calendar was dated fromthe creation of the Republic [Sept. 22, 1792] The Convention symbolically divorced the state from the Church!!
92. A Republican Calendar
93. The New Republican Calendar
94. A New Republican Calendar Year The Gregorian System returned in 1806.
95. The De-Christianization Program The public exercise of religion wasbanned. The Paris Commune supported the: destruction of religious & royal statues. ban on clerical dress. encouragement of the clergy to give up their vocations. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was turned into the “Temple of Reason.” The deportation of priests denounced bysix citizens.
96. The “Temple of Reason” Come, holy Liberty, inhabit this temple, Become the goddess of the French people.
97. The Festival of Supreme Being A new secular holiday
98. Backlash to theDe-Christianization Program It alienated most of the population(especially in the rural areas). Robespierre never supported it. he persuaded the Convention toreaffirm the principle of religioustoleration. Decree on the “Liberty of Cults”was passed December 6, 1793. BUT, it had little practical effect!
99. The Radical’s Arms: No God!No Religion!No King!No Constitution!
100. The Terror Intensified:March to July, 1794 Jacques Hébert & theHérbetists Danton & the“Indulgents” Executed in March, 1794 Executed in April, 1794 Law of 22 Prairial [June 10, 1794]. Trials were now limited to deciding only on liberty OR death, with defendants having no rights. Were you an “enemy of the people?” (the law was so broadly written that almost anyone could fall within its definition!) 1,500 executed between June & July.
101. French Victory at Fleurus June 26, 1794. France defeated Austria. This opened the way to the reoccupation of Belgium!
102. The End of the Terror, 1794 July 26  Robespierre gives a speech illustrating new plots & conspiracies. he alienated members of the CPS & CGS. many felt threatened by his implications. July 27  the Convention arrests Robespierre. July 28  Robespierre is tried & guillotined!
103. The Arrest of Robespierre
104. The Revolution ConsumesIts Own Children! Robespierre Lies WoundedBefore the Revolutionary Tribunal that will order him to be guillotined, 1794. Danton Awaits Execution, 1793
105. The “Cultural Revolution”Brought About by the Convention It was premised upon Enlightenment principles of rationality. The metric system of weights and measures Was defined by the French Academy of Sciences in 1791 and enforced in 1793. It replaced weights and measures that had their origins in the Middle Ages. The abolition of slavery within France in 1791 and throughout the French colonies in 1794. The Convention legalized divorce and enacted shared inheritance laws [even for illegitimate offspring] in an attempt to eradicate inequalities.
106. The “Thermidorian Reaction” Curtailed the power of the Committee for Public Safety. Closed the Jacobin Clubs. Churches were reopened. 1795  freedom of worship for all cults was granted. Economic restrictions were lifted in favor of laissez-faire policies. August, 1795  a new Constitution is written more conservative republicanism.
107. Characteristics of the Directory The Paris Commune was outlawed. People involved in the original Terror were now attacked “White” Terror Inflation continues. Rule by rich bourgeois liberals. Self-indulgence  frivolous culture;salons return; wild fashions. Political corruption. Revival of Catholicism.
108. The Government Structure of the New Directory 5-man executive committee or oligarchy [to avoid a dictatorship]. Tried to avoid the dangers of a one-house legislature. Council of 500 initiates legislation. Council of Elders [250 members]  married or widowed males over 40 years of age. They accepted or rejected the legislation. Both houses elected by electors who owned or rented property worth 100-200 days’ labor [limited to 30,000 voters]. The electors were elected by all males over 21 who were taxpayers.
109. Political Instability: 1795-1796 April, 1795  Inflation; bread riots. May 20, 1795  Revolt of Prairial [Year III] October, 1795 : Vendée and Brittany revolted. Military suppressed them. May, 1796  First “communist” revolt Gracchus Babeufand the Conspiracy of Equals”
110. 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9, 1799) Coup d’état by Napoleon. Approved by a plebiscite in December. Abbe Sieyès: Confidence from below; authority from above.
111. A British Cartoon about Napoleon’s Coup in 1799