french revolution

Learning Objectives

In this lesson, we will learn about the important events that took place from the monarchy to Napoleon.

Key points covered in this lesson are:

1. Causes of the French Revolution
2. Estates-General
3. The Three Estates in French Society before the revolution
4. The Fall of Bastille
5. Formation of the National Assembly
6. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
7. Tennis Court Oath
8. Formation of the National Convention
9. The Reign of Terror
10. Formation of Directory
11. Napoleon coming to power

The American Revolution inspired people in France to have a revolution of their own. In the 1600s and 1700s, France had an absolute monarchy or Divine-Right monarchy which meant that kings thought they received their power from God, not the people. The rulers, like Louis XVI and Louis XV, spent a lot of money on wars and their extravagant lifestyles. This made people unhappy.

There were three main causes of the French Revolution.

1. Unfair social classes/divisions - French society was divided into three main estates with everyone belonging to one.

• The first estate was made up of the clergy or leaders of the Church. The Church-owned land and individuals took care of this land for them, however, they were not responsible for paying taxes on this land. They made up only 1% of the total population of France.
• The second estate consisted of the nobles. These people were born into this position of wealth and prestige. They paid very little in taxes, despite their wealth and they had rights over peasant lands and received priority in getting top jobs in government. They made up 2% of the population of France.
• The third estate included everyone else from the middle class down, from doctors to lawyers to the homeless and poor. This was the largest estate, with roughly 98% of the population included in it. This was divided into three groups

- Bourgeoisie – Middle-class members like merchants, bankers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers

- City workers – People like artisans, laborers, and servants

- Peasants – People who were poor and bottom of the society and made up 80% of this estate

2. Government debt – The King and Queen spent money on luxuries, parties, and expensive wars. This excessive spending put the country in debt. The King asked the first and second estates to pay taxes and they refused. The country continues to spiral into uncontrollable debt.

3. Life was bad in France for the third estate – Food was scarce and expensive. A loaf of bread costs more than one day’s pay. The winter was extremely cold. People were cold and starving, and many were unemployed. Members of the third estate had finally had enough. They were ready to use ideas from philosophers to revolt against their unfair king and change their government.

The Estates-General was the legislative body of France up until the French Revolution. The king would call a meeting of the Estates-General when he wanted the advice on certain issues. On 5^th May 1789, Louis XVI called an assembly of the Estates-General to pass his proposals to increases taxes in order to overcome the financial problems.

Voting in the Estates-General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote and the same practice to be continued this time. But members of the third estate demanded individual voting right, where each member would have one vote. After the rejection of this proposal by the king, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest.

The Third Estate finally decided to meet separately since nothing was accomplished at the last meeting of the Estates-General at the Versailles Palace. The King and members of the first and second estates always outnumbered their votes and the Third Estate could not have a say in what was happening in France. The Third Estate separated and called themselves the National Assembly and began to work on a new constitution for France.

The members of the Third Estate stormed a prison in France (The Bastille). This event marked the beginning of the revolution. This event is called the Fall of the Bastille or Storming of the Bastille. The fall of the Bastille is an important landmark in the history of the French Revolution. France observed 14th July 1789 as the Independence Day.

The National Assembly wrote a constitution called the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which said that the powers of the government came from the people, not the king. This is called popular sovereignty. This constitution also took away the powers of the clergy and nobility and changed France’s government to a Constitutional Monarchy.

Louis XVI finally recognized the National Assembly and accepted the constitution. 

• The members of the assembly were called deputies. They didn't really represent all the people. They were generally wealthy commoners elected by other wealthy commoners.
• The assembly passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August of 1789. 
• There were 745 members of the Legislative Assembly.
• When the king ordered the National Assembly to disperse, they met at a tennis court where they swore an oath (called the Tennis Court Oath) to keep meeting until the king met their demands.

In 1792, the French monarchy was abolished and France became a republic upholding the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity. A provisional government was set up.

In 1793, executive authority passed into the hands of radicals and they set up a new government called the National Convention. The National Convention had 2 groups:

• The Girondists – They were from a region in France called the Girondist, and they believed the revolution had gone too far.
• The Mountains – Also known as Jacobins, they sat high like a mountain in the meetings and wanted to keep the revolution going.

The Mountains or Jacobins took over the National Convention.

King Louis was tried in court. He was executed on the guillotine (a device that chops off a victims’ head).

Soon after the King’s execution, the National Convention set up the Committee of Public Safety to run the country. This governing body quickly came under the control of a radicalistic lawyer named Maximilien Robespierre. He sentenced to death by the guillotine anyone he believed to be against the revolution. His period of power is known as the Reign of Terror. In the Reign of Terror, he killed over 40,000 people including Queen Marie Antoinette and children. Eventually, the people of France grew tired of all the killings and executed Robespierre.

After killing Robespierre, a new government was set up by middle-class leaders called the Directory. This was the last group to come to power and it was a 5-man council. The Directory puts an end to the revolution.

During this period, France went through great turmoil due to a lack of efficient governance. The Directors depended on the military genius of Napoleon to fight the European coalition and earn the confidence of the people. Finding himself popular, Napoleon overthrew the Directory. In December 1804, Napoleon declared himself the “Emperor of the French”. The legal veil of republicanism was dropped.