The French Revolution

pt. 1
Mr. McCaskill
LIBERTE,
EGALITE,
FRATERNITE

Setting the Stage

In the 1700s, France was considered the
most advanced country of Europe.

Paris was the center of the Enlightenment.

Frances culture was widely praised by the

rest of Europe.

However, the appearance of success was

deceiving.

The Three Estates

The people in France were divided into three large
social classes.

These social classes were called estates.

Two of the estates had privileges.
Access to high positions in government and exempt
from paying taxes

Upper Classes
The upper class owned about 10% of the land in
France.
Only about 1 percent of the population
Only about 2 percent of its income went to
government.

The Second Estate was made up of rich nobles.

Only about 2 percent of the population
This Estate owned about 20% of the land and paid
no taxes.

The Bourgeoisie
About 97% of the people belonged to the Third Estate.

This class was split up as well.

The bourgeoisie was the middle class.
bankers, factory owners, and professionals.

Often they were educated and believed in liberty and

equality.

Common Workers
The workers of Frances cities formed the second
group within the Third Estate.

These were the butchers, bakers, and candlestick

makers.

Peasants

Peasants formed the largest group within the Third

Estate, more than 80% of Frances people.

Peasants paid about half their income to the kings

agents.

The heavily taxed and discontented Third Estate was

eager for change.

King/Qu
een

Nobles
Bourgeoisie
Common
Workers
Peasants

Demands for change

New ideas about government, economic problems,
and weak leadership all helped to create a desire
for change.

New views about government were spreading

among the Third Estate.

Members of the Third Estate were inspired by the

success of the American Revolution.

People began to demand equality, liberty, and

democracy.

All types of drama

By the 1780s, Frances economy was in decline.

Heavy taxes made it almost impossible to conduct

business profitably.

Also, the cost of living was rising sharply.

Bad weather caused widespread crop failures.

Not my bread!!!
This caused the price of bread to double and many
people faced the threat of starvation.

Bread was a staple of the diet of the common people

of France.

Most families consumed three or four 4-pound loaves

a day.

People were highly upset by the dramatic rise in price

of this extremely important item.

Impact of the Americans

During this time, Frances government sank deeply
into debt.

The problem was the spending of Louis XVI (16th) and

his queen Marie Antoinette.

He borrowed heavily in order to help the American

Revolution in their war against Great Britain.
This nearly doubled the governments debt.

Marie Antoinette
The queen of France only added to Louiss problems.

She often interfered in the government, and typically

gave Louis poor advice.

Marie Antoinette had been unpopular from the

moment she set foot in France.

As queen, she spent so much money on jewels,

gambling, and gifts that she became known as
Madame Deficit.

Estates-General
Louis XVI was indecisive and allowed matters to
drift.

Louis put off dealing with emergencies until he

practically had no money.

His solution was to call a meeting of the EstatesGeneral.

An assembly of representatives from all three
estates to approve new laws.

Tennis Court Oath

The Third Estate was eager to make changes in
the government.

Shortly after establishing the idea of a

representative government, the Third Estate was
locked out of their meeting room.

They met at an indoor tennis court, pledging to

stay until they drew up a new constitution.

This became known as the Tennis Court Oath.

Storming of the Bastille

In Paris, rumors flew.

Some suggested that Louis was intent on using

military force to dismiss the Third Estate.

People began to gather weapons in order to

defend the city against attack.

On July 14, a mob searching for gunpowder and

arms stormed the Bastille (a Paris prison).

Storming of the Bastille cont.

The mob took control of the building.

The angry attackers hacked the prison commander

and several guards to death.
They were chopping heads off son!!!

The fall of Bastille became a great act of revolution to

the French people.

Ever since, July 14 is similar to the Fourth of July in

the United States.

The Great Fear

Before long, rebellion spread through the entire
country.

Rumors spread that nobles were hiring outlaws to

terrorize the peasants.

A wave of senseless panic called the Great Fear rolled

through France.

Armed with pitchforks and farm tools, they broke into

nobles houses and destroyed legal papers that made
them pay taxes.

Women join the fight

In October 1789, thousands of women rioted over the
rising cost of bread.

They turned their anger on the king and queen.

They broke into the palace, killing some guards.
The women demanded that Louis and Marie return to Paris.
A few hours later, the king, his family, and servants left
Versailles, never again to see the magnificent palace.