Lesson Plan #3

World History 10th Grade

Theme/Topic: French Revolution

Goals: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their

understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning
points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a
variety of perspectives.

Objectives: By the end of the class students should be able to:

1. Describe the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
2. Describe the rise of the Jacobins in the National Assembly
3. Understand the events leading up to the execution of Louis XVI
4. Understand the reasons for the execution of Louis XVI

Skills: Terminology/Vocabulary, Note Taking

Materials Needed: White/Chalk board

Detailed Lesson Plan

This lesson is lecture based with students taking notes from what is said by
the instructor. The students have been taught the Cornell method of taking
notes which they do during the class

Do Now: Before the students the enter the room write the question "what
were the outcomes of the Estates General of 1789?". The major outcomes
were the creation of the National Assembly and the creation of a constitution

that we are going to go over today. Have the students write down their
responses to the question as they come in and go over with the students the
answers that they have. Make sure that the students are able to get these
answers as they are very important to understanding the French Revolution.
The students will need to have a mental timeline of events in order to
understand the French Revolution. This should take about five minutes and
when it is done move on to a bit of review of the last class.
Review a bit of what was discussed the other class. A good chunk of it is
covered by the do now but going over the chronology of the events is very
important. Having the students say the order of events that led up to the
creation of the National Constituent Assembly is a good way to review all
that was learned the past two lessons. Starting with the issues France was
dealing with which students should be able to give quickly now gives the
class a good amount of review. After going over the issues with the students
having them tell you the events of the Estates General leads right into the
lesson for today which picks up with the narrative that was left off in the last
lesson,
The first part of the lesson will be going over the Declaration of the Rights of
Man and Citizen. Yesterday we discussed what we thought were parts of a
constitution and what it should have. After a discussion about the students'
previous answers dive into what the declaration was. As a constitution this is
a slightly more radical constitution than the American constitution. Instead of
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness the DRMC promises Life, Liberty,
and Land. Property is much more important to the French constitution than
the American one. Aside from that the constitutions are very much the
similar. Both call for equality under the law and for a government that is for
the good of the majority rather than the minority. However these rights were
not given to all citizens or even all males. While the French
Revolution provided rights to a larger portion of the population, there
remained a distinction between those who obtained the political rights in the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and those who did not. Those
who were deemed to hold these political rights were called active
citizens. Active citizenship was granted to men who were French, at least 25
years old, paid taxes equal to three days work, and could not be defined as
servants .This meant that at the time of the Declaration only male property
owners held these rights. The deputies in the National Assembly believed
that only those who held tangible interests in the nation could make
informed political decisions. The declaration defines a single set of individual

and collective rights for all men. Influenced by the doctrine of natural rights,
these rights are held to be universal and valid in all times and places. For
example, "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social
distinctions may be founded only upon the general good." They have certain
natural rights to property, to liberty, and to life. According to this theory, the
role of government is to recognize and secure these rights. Furthermore,
government should be carried on by elected representatives.
The next part of lesson goes over the rise of a new group in French politics
that would quickly gain power. In 1790 the National Constituents Assembly
was dissolved and the Legislative Assembly was born. The Jacobins were one
of the main parties that were inside of the new Legislative Assembly. The
Jacobins was the most famous and influential political club in the
development of the French Revolution. Initially founded by anti-Royalist
deputies from Brittany, the Club grew into a nationwide republican
movement, with a membership estimated at a half million or more. The
Jacobin Club was heterogeneous and included both prominent parliamentary
factions of the early 1790s, the radical Mountain and the more
moderate Girondists. The Mountain was named such as they sat in the
highest rows in the Legislative Assembly and they were very radically left.
The Jacobins held a massive amount of power in the assembly and had three
main objects of enmity. First among these was the royal couple, King Louis
XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette and the royal family. The Left as a whole wished
to replace the monarchy with a republic, although this was not initially the
public position of most of them. Second came the migrs now seen as a
threat from abroadand, third, the non-juring clergy. This is the makeup and
goals of the party that would soon dominate French politics and usher in
radical change to France.
Continuing on with the lesson is the events that led up to the execution of
Louis XVI. Since its creation Louis' hostility towards the National Assembly
did him no favors. Seen as the will of the people his opposition to the
assembly convinced many people that he was not a leader that was for the
people. The event name the Flight to Varennes changed the future of the
monarchy permanently. King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie
Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape
from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution at the head of loyal troops
under royalist officers concentrated at Montmdy near the frontier. They
escaped only as far as the small town of Varennes, where they were arrested
after having been recognized at their previous stop in Sainte-Menehould. The

incident was a turning point after which popular hostility towards the French
monarchy as an institution, as well as towards the king and queen as
individuals, became much more pronounced. The king's attempted flight
provoked charges of treason that ultimately led to his execution in 1793. This
act was the reason that the Jacobins needed to institute a Republic by
throwing out the King. His opposition to reforms and flight were enough to
have the King convicted of treason and executed. This signals a new phase
of the French Revolution.
Activity: Split students up into groups. However two of the groups must be
larger than the third. This is important as this activity is the set-up for a
debate for the next class. Have one of the larger groups represent the
Jacobins and have them write reasons for executing the King. Have the other
larger group be the moderate faction who oppose the execution of the King.
The third group has to decide which side is more persuasive and vote on
which group they will join.
Wrap up: Go over the main points of the DRMC and what the differences are
between it and the American constitution. Next ask students what the
Jacobins were and what is the difference between the Mountain and the
Girondants. Tell students to have points written up for the next class as each
student has to say at least one thing different from their classmates. The
smaller group has to come up with questions to ask the two groups so
everyone is participating. If you have to you can look up more information on
the internet in order to come up with at least one unique point.