1. The French Revolution Chapter 21

2. AP TIP • One might say that the nobility caused the Revolution, in their refusal to compromise on the tax issue. Because of their inflexibility, they soon lost all traditional rights and privileges. It is useful to remember that the American slogan “no taxation without representation” is true, at least in democratic states, in reverse: “no representation without taxation.”

3. THE REVOLT OF THE POOR AND THE OPPRESSED • Common people take action • Bad harvest 1788 & economic depression • Increased the price of bread so much that it cost ½ the wages of ordinary laborer • Artisans lost their jobs • Small traders lost businesses • Unemployment reached around 25% in July 1789

4. Growing anxiety • King dismissed finance minister • Rumors about the kings troops activity • March on the Bastille • July 14 – march began • Believed they could find weapons • Prison governor ordered his men to fire on the mob • Killed 98 • People fought back – took the Bastille • Hacked the governor to death, stuck head on spike & paraded thru the streets

5. City’s armed forced • Organized under Marquis de Lafayette • King acquiesced • Recalled the dismissed finance minister • Withdrew his troops • Simultaneously peasants organize • The Great Fear • Rebelled against lords and took possession of the countryside • Seized land • Burned the records of feudal obligations • Refused to pay taxes • Nobles respond • Aug 4 1789 • Renounced traditional privileges and rights • Abolished all remnants of serfdom • The Old Regime was over

6. AP TIP • The actions of the common people proved crucial in the French Revolution whenever there was stalemate. Violence or the threat of violence pushed the Revolution forward at crucial moments. Therefore it is hard to discuss the leadership of the Revolution in a cohesive way. The class tensions that underplay the violence of 1789 to 1795 broke out again in 1830 and 1848.

7. KEY CONCEPTS • A revolutionary period began with the American Revolution of 1775, followed 14 years later by the revolution in France, and shortly thereafter by a successful slave revolt in Haiti. Freedom and equality became publicly articulated ideals and were implemented to varying degrees. • The short term causes of the French Revolution of 1789 lay in the financial difficulties of the monarchy combined with the poor economic conditions of the peasants and working peoples. The long-term causes included the inability of the monarchy to reform the taxation system, the lack of political representation not only for commoners fit even for nobles, and the impact of the Enlightenment.

8. French revolution clip • http://www.history.com/videos/the-french-revolution#the-french-revolution

10. Not Really! There are two more sections to cover !