The French Revolution Notes

​Old Regime: the political & social system that existed in France before the French Revolution

​Estates: one of the 3 social classes in France before the French Revolution

• The privileged Estates had access to high offices and were exempt from paying taxes

  • ​ The Roman Catholic Church and Clergy made up the First Estate

    • ​ The Clergy owned 10% of land in France

  • ​The clergy provided education & relief services to the poor

    • ​ the church collected rent & fees on their land but paid no taxes on that land

• ​The Second Estate was made up of rich nobles

  • ​ The nobles made up 2% of the population but owned 20% of the land & paid little taxes

    • ​ Majority of the clergy & nobles were against the Enlightenment Ideas b/c it threatened their way of life

• ​Third Estate made up 97% of the population

  • ​ There are 3 groups that made up the Third Estate

1. ​The Bourgeoisie (Middle Class)

   1. ​bankers, factory owners, merchants, professionals & skilled Artisans

   2. ​Well educated people who believed strongly in the Enlightenment

2. ​Urban Lower Class

   1. ​tradespeople, apprentices, laborers and domestic servants

   2. ​poorest group in the Third Estate with low wages & lack of food

3. ​Peasants

   1. ​over half of their income goes to taxes, fees and dues

• ​The new views on power & authority in government were spreading among the Third Estate

  • Members of the Third Estate were inspired by success of the American Revolution

    • ​ They started questioning the government structure & looking to Rousseau & Voltaire for ideas of liberty

• ​Economic issues plagued France & the economy was on the decline

  • ​ Heavy taxes, debt & crop failure caused the cost of living to go up

    • ​The cost of bread doubled and many people starved

• ​Another issue was the extravagant spending of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

  • ​ Louis XVI borrowed heavily to help the Americans against the British

    • ​In 1786, the banks refused to give Louis or the government anymore money

    • ​Marie Antoinette spent France's money on gowns, jewels, gambling & gifts

  • Rather ​than cut spending, Louis tried to place a tax on the Second Estate

    • ​ The nobles forced Louis to hold a meeting of the Estates General

    • ​This meeting was held on May 5, 1789 at Versailles

​Estate General: an assembly of representatives from all 3 of the estates or social class in France

• ​The Third Estate delegates were eager for change in the government

  • ​The Third Estate suggested meeting & voting

    • ​ This method would give the advantage to the Third Estate

    • ​A clergyman told the Third Estate to create their own assembly to pass laws

​National Assembly: a French congress established by representatives of the Third Estates to enact laws & reforms in the name of the French people

• On June 17, 1789, a vote established the National Assembly

  • ​ This was an effective way of proclaiming the end of the absolute monarchy

• ​Three days later, the delegates were locked out of their meeting room and forced to break in through a tennis court

  • ​ The delegates were meeting to create a constitution

​Tennis Court Oath: a pledge made by the members of France's National Assembly in 1789, in which they vowed to continue meeting until they had drawn up a new constitution

• ​ Rumors flew about Louis using military force to dismiss the National Assembly

  • ​People began gathering weapons to defend the city

    • ​ July 14th, a mob searching for weapons stormed the Bastille (a Paris Prison)

    • ​ The mob overwhelmed & killed the guards & paraded their heads on spikes in the streets

  • ​The fall of the Bastille is symbolic to the French Revolution

    • ​Similar to the 4th of July in US

• ​It didn't take long for rebellion to spread across France

  • ​ Rumors went around about nobles hiring outlaws to terrorize peasants

    • ​a senseless panic spread through the French countryside

​Great Fear: a wave of senseless fear that spread through the French countryside after the storming of the Bastille

• ​ During the panic the palace in Versailles was attacked by a mob

  • ​ King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were driven from the palace to never return