The Prelude to the French Revolution

CHY 4U October 27

Recall from last class:

What was the ancien régime? Who was at the top of the social hierarchy? How was the Estates-General system unfair

to the lower class (the third estate)? What special privileges did the estates have

in society?

Recall: Enlightenment Ideas Philosophers like Voltaire, Turgot, Diderot, etc…

spread the idea that people are all equal and that monarchial hierarchies are to be eliminated.

What kind of ideas did the philosophes have that would contribute to a revolution? against the idea of absolutism, fought for equality for the

common man, all people should pay taxes, people should have freedom of speech and press.

The American Revolution People saw that a revolution based on equal rights

for all people was feasible and could be brought to France

Revolutionaries like Benjamin Franklin were in Paris and were in constant contact with intellectuals

France assisted the Americans in the revolution. The French soldiers were influenced by the ideas of the revolution. (this is how revolution penetrated the middle and lower classes)

Centralization of State Power

A body called the “Parlements” was an unofficial group made up of people from the first and second estates.

Their role was to approve edicts before they became laws. However, since the reign of Louis XIV, the decisions of the parlements were bypassed

Economic Issues

Debt and tax was arguably the largest cause of the French Revolution

Under King Louis XIV and throughout the 18th century, wars and extravagant building (ex Versailles, the Seven Years War, American war of independence) caused increased debt and taxes for the third estate

Famine and food shortages had also hit France in 1788 and 1789, and the price of bread nearly doubled.

The March on VersaillesOctober 1789

King Louis XVI Monarch from 1774-1789 Was only 20 when he

gained title of King of France

He tried several reforms with no luck, so he called the Estates-General in May 1789

King Louis XVI Louis XVI was well-liked

before the revolution Initially when the people

wanted to end the absolute monarchy, they wanted to switch to a constitutional monarchy

Queen Marie Antoinette

Wife of Louis XVI Born in Austria, she had

many sentiments towards Austria that France did not share

Was more concerned with the health and education of her son, who suffered tuberculosis

Recall: The meeting of the Estates-General in May 1789

Called by a last attempt from Louis XVI to save the French economy.

Three estates met – wrote cahiers about their grievances.

Activity: The Cahiers

In pairs, read a section of a cahier and present its suggestions to the class. What estate is shown in your cahier? What are some of the grievances discussed in

your section? Any solutions given? Do the people in your estate want to change the

system of government? If so, how?

Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès A middle class priest who

wrote attacking the privileges of the first estate

Early 1789 – pamphlet titled What is the Third Estate?

Proclaimed: 1) What is the third estate?

Everything. 2) What has it been in the

political order up to the present? Nothing.

3) What does it demand? To become something…

Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès

Sieyès viewed France as the sum of the people, not the corporate entity that the ancien régime embodied

From Estates-General to the National Assembly

During the meeting of the Estates-General, the people of the third estate tried to convince people of the other two estates to join them so they would have more power. Only some lower priests moved over.

In June 1789, the members of the third estate along with the lower clergy declared themselves the National Assembly

From Estates-General to the National Assembly

King Louis XVI kicked them out of the meeting hall of the Estates-General

The people then had to move to a nearby indoor tennis court…

The Tennis Court Oath

The people vowed that the national assembly would continue to meet until France had a adopted a constitution

Storming of the Bastille July 14 – 1789 – An armed mob stormed

Bastille – a large prison that represented royal oppression, and freed its inmates.

This was more of a symbolic move, as there were only seven inmates at the time.

With this and other riot activities in Paris, Louis XVI saw that chaos was beginning to fall on France and decided to acknowledge the National Assembly, and demanded the other two estates join them.

Storming of the Bastille

Big Question:

Make a timeline of events that caused the beginning of the French Revolution.

What are some of the things that cause the beginning of the French revolution? Guess as to what will be the consequences of the storming of the Bastille and the Tennis Court Oath.