Origins of a Bloodbath

Birth of a Nation

New Ideas Oppression people of Action

Weakness of Establishment Revolution

New ways of thinking – new opportunities

People in controlled misery

by authority

Individuals who are willing to

lead

Some flaw in the authority that can be used to gain advantage

Deep and lasting change to the

situation

• Spark – a defining event that seems to provide the point of no return from which

the revolution is inevitable.

• But first beer…

• 300 years ago much of the world was

intoxicated much of the day. This was mostly

a health issue. Water was too polluted to

drink, so beer was the beverage of choice.

• "Until the 18th century, it must be

remembered, many [people] drank beer almost

continuously, even beginning their day with

something called "beer soup." – Malcolm

Gladwell

• "It's no accident, that the age of reason

accompanies the rise of caffeinated

beverages.“

• “Now they began each day with a strong cup

of coffee. One way to explain the industrial

revolution is as the inevitable consequence of

a world where people suddenly preferred

being jittery to being drunk."

• The coffee-houses provided a gathering place

where, for a penny admission charge, any man who

was reasonably dressed could smoke his long, clay

pipe, sip a dish of coffee, read the newsletters of

the day, or enter into conversation with other

patrons. At the period when journalism was in its

infancy and the postal system was unorganized

and irregular, the coffee-house provided a center

of communication for news and information...

Naturally, this dissemination of news led to the

dissemination of ideas, and the coffee-house

served as a forum for their discussion.

• People are living atop one

another; their ideas are as

well. So notions bump into

hunches bump into offhanded

comments bump into concrete

theories bump into absolute

madness, and the results pave

the way forward.

• Scientific Revolution

– Copernicus (1530’s), Galileo 1620’s), and Newton (1700’s)

– Science became increasingly trusted as it was able to produce useful

knowledge to improve humanity. Eg. Navigation, medicine, engineering

• Freedom, Reason, The Enlightenment

– Rousseau – “Man is born free”,

– Voltaire – I will defend your right to say something I disagree with

– Thomas Paine – “My own mind is my church”,

• Democracy – Brits/Americans

– Early forms of democratic representation influenced Enlightenment

ideas about the importance of the individual.

• The Reformation

– Martin Luther –weakening of the strength of the church in Europe.

– Caused general suspicion of the motives of the church.

• Divine Right of Kings

– Monarchy was established by God through the approval of the church. Since they were

appointed by God, kings (sometimes queens) ruled with unquestioned authority.

• 95+ % of the population belonged to the lower class (third

estate) most of these were peasants whose lives depended

on the goodness of the Nobles who controlled their land.

They barely had enough to survive.

• Subsistence was a way of life for most people and there

was no real chance of the climbing the social ladder.

• Lifespan was about 30-40 years

• Marriage at 10-12 years old

• Sickness disease and poverty

• Given piece of land to work where produce belonged to

King and he would let you keep some of it so that you

stayed alive.

• You would provide the King with sons for his army and

daughters for marriage if he so chose.

• Life was hard little reason to seek advancement

• Much corruption on the part of government officials

• People were resigned to their lot in life – it was the

way God wanted it.

• Events and Personalities

• Anger about royalty

– Louis XIV (Sun King) (1643 - 1714) 72 years

• Built Versailles

• “I am the state!”

People were angry at the King for spending $ on foreign wars, building a castle, and generally ignoring the plight of the common people.

• Louis XV (1715 -1774)

– Weak ruler became king at age 5

– Caused people to question “absolutism”

– Lost the 7 Years War (and New France (Canada))

• Louis XVI (1774-1793)

• 1776 -American Rev = great debt (revenge for the 7

Years War)

• Married an Austrian (Marie-Antoinette) at age 15

• Guillotined

People became suspicious of the monarchy. They thought it was ridiculous that a 5 year old could meaningfully rule a kingdom

People became increasingly tired of the arrogant attitude of the monarchy.

France supplied naval vessels, soldiers and supplies for the American

Revolutionaries. The French did this to seek revenge against the British after

losing the 7 years war to them.

• Marie Antoinette

– Loved the decadent lifestyle of royalty

– Was largely oblivious to the political aspects of ruling

as a monarch.

Marie was despised by her people because she was more interested in fancy hair styles and the life of decadence than in

the situation that her people faced.

• Robespierre

– 1758 – 1794

– Initially friendly toward monarchy

– a skillful public speaker

– Known as a central figure in ‘The Reign of Terror’

– Famous quote:

• “Terror without virtue is [meaningless] but virtue without terror is

powerless”

• France has huge and increasing debt + unfair tax system

• Crop failure! Famine

• Weakening influence of church

• Weakening trust in absolute monarchy

• New Ideas about individual freedom

• Inequality in class system

The Spark

• Created during Feudal times – had not been called to meet since 1614.

– King needed to call a meeting because he needed increased powers to control spiraling debt.

• Equal numbers of representatives of the 3 estates meet as estates

• One vote per estate

• Role was to give advice to the king

• The Third Estate hoped the king would hear their main complaints (cahiers)

How are these classes represented

in the political/governmental

system which was operating at this

time in France?

Anatomy of a revolution

New Ideas Oppression People of

Action Weak

EstablishmentRevolution

• Liberty• Freedom of

individual,• Authority

questioned• Scientific

revolution• Power of

reason.

• Lack of political voice (estate generale)

• Hunger (famine)

• Taxes• Church rules

and corruption

• Robespierre• Danton• Marrat

(newspaper)• Corday• Sans Culotte• Napoleon

• Church weakened by Reformation

• Incompetent Monarchy

• Out of control debt

• Fundamental changes to society.

• Wipe out all evidence of old regime.

• New sense of nationalism emerges

• Complaints become a constitution

• Equality of taxation

• Rights for citizens

• End to hunting rights of nobility

• More of a political voice

The Cahiers de Doléances were the lists of grievances drawn up

by each of the three Estates of the Estates

Generale. The King ordered these to be

compiled so that each estate could air their complaints about the

problems facing France.

• 3rd Estate demanded vote

• They are locked out of the Estates General

• Birth of the “National Assembly”

• Tennis Court Oath

– “We will create a fair constitution for France”

• The Revolution had begun!

Tennis court oath

Origins of a Bloodbath

Early revolution

• Louis brings in the army

• Mobs loot food stores and seize fortresses (Bastille)

• Mob believed that the king was stockpiling weapons there and

keeping many political prisoners imprisoned there

– demanded that the castle be turned over to them

– when the commander refused they opened fire

– the fort eventually falls to the mob and is torn down

• July 14, the day of the ‘Storming of the Bastille’ becomes France’s

national holiday

• The Great Fear (people were suspicious that the nobility hoarding

food and the nobles were nervous expecting the people to attack

them – many did)

• THE VIOLENCE BEGINS!!!

Revolution builds

• Feudalism is abolished by the system of government in the National Assembly

– peasants are freed, nobles are stripped of titles

• The “Declaration of Man”

– guaranteed rights of wealthy landowners to have a voice in who would form the government

• The Women’s March to Versailles – 1789

– Tried to find the stores of food that Marie Antoinette was apparently keeping.

• Civil Constitution of the Clergy

– Reduced authority of the church

• 10% land, state appoints clergy, the divide begins between religion and the government

• France now has One: flag, currency, metric, new calendar, single language

• Royals are in trouble! (Secret Letters, Varennes, Treason, Abdicate)

• The National Convention – established in 1792

• French Republic formed, constitution sworn in (the cahiers have now become the constitution)

Old regime new republic

•Men are free and equal•Liberty, ownership of property, security•Nation is sovereign•Limits to liberty determined by law•Law is an expression of the general will•Due process of the law•Presumed innocent until proven guilty•Freedom of religion•Freedom of speech and the press•Only state police, not personal•Equal taxation•Gov’t accountable to the public•Separation of powers•Right of property security

•All people are equal

•The right to own property

•Rule of law

•Everyone has the right to

life, liberty, and security

•Due process of law

•Presumed innocent until

proven guilty

•Freedom of religion

•Freedom of speech

•Freedom of thought

•Will of the people is the

basis of a gov’ts authority

•Limits on rights must be

pros by law

•Right to a nationality

•No discrimination based on

race or ethnicity.

Revolution out of control?!?• 1793 - Robespierre leads the NC

• Committee on Public Safety formed

• Guillotine invented as a way to provide equality in death

• Reign of Terror begins (20K in one year)

• Denouncing goes overboard (sans-culottes)

– People begin ratting out their neighbors for the silliest of reasons

– Anyone who even says something silly about the price of bread is going to be in trouble

• Wars with neighbours

– Austria and Spain see France as weak and try to take a piece of it

• 1793 – (Jan) Au Revoir, Louis… why?

– treason

• (Oct) – Adieu, Madame Deficit

– trumped up charges

• Robespierre comes to a brutal/pathetic end

– Shoots himself then is guillotined

• 1794 – The madness ends..

And then along comes…

results of the French Revolution:

• The old social, political and economic structure (‘Old Regime’) feudalism was

destroyed

• The recognition of human rights – ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’ – foundation of

modern constitutions – roots of democracy

results of the French Revolution:

• Nationalism in France was developed out of love for the nation and belief in control

for and by the people

• The idea developed that the country and the government belonged to the people, not

a monarch – ‘nationalism’ is born

• The ideas above were spread to many other countries in Europe

results of the French Revolution:

• Of all the above, probably the most important is the new sense of nationalism

among the French people that grew out of the revolution. No longer were the

French people loyal to their king or to the church or to a local nobleman. Now they

were loyal to the nation and the ideas of liberty, equality (egalitarianism)

and fraternity. This new kind of loyalty was destined to spread throughout

Europe and the world.

So then

• Answer the big question:

• (To what extent) How much violence should be used in the getting rid of a corrupt

system of government?

• List examples that could be used to argue this case.