French Revolution Causes Lesson

French Revolution

Description:
• End of Europe’s old order dominated by rich

nobles and monarchs

• Shift to a new order valuing representative

government, individual rights, and nationalism

• occurred over the course of a decade and

came in a number of stages

The Old Regime

• Old Regime:
• social/political system

placing people into 3 social
classes called estates.

• Estates:
• three social classes of

France’s Old Regime

French Society Class system: The First Estate

• Catholic clergy

(priests)

• 1% of population
• owned 10% land
• paid few taxes

• The catholic church used to

be much more powerful and
influential than it is now

Second Estate

• Rich nobles
• 2% of population
• owned 25% land
• paid no taxes
• Held positions of

leadership and influence

• The second estate consisted

of the wealthiest most
powerful people in France.

The Third Estate

• Peasants, Urban workers, middle class

• 97% of population
• paid heavy taxes
• Little to no voice in

government

The Bourgeoisie (part of the third estate)

• consisted of bankers, merchants, lawyers, etc.
• supported ideas of the Enlightenment
• wanted to reform the French monarchy

Causes of the French Revolution

Causes:
• inspired by Enlightenment

and American
Revolution

• economic hardship,

food shortages, tax
system and land
policies

• the near financial

collapse of the govt

Monarchs: King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Causes: King and Queen

• King Louis XVI and his

wife Marie Antoinette
were not popular in
France

• Spent too much $$ on

lavish things and parties

• All while people starved

Estates General

• King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette

lived extravagantly
– debt doubled
– banks refused to lend more money

• Meeting of the leaders of each estate
• forced King Louis XVI to call a meeting of the 3

estates. it had not met for over 150 years

• each estate was represented

Estates General

• It is decided that government will tax the

people of France to fix financial hardships

• 1st and 2nd estates work together to vote on

having only the 3rd estate be taxed

• 3rd estate outraged

National Assembly

Actions:
• 3rd Estate breaks from EG and forms

National Assembly

They are locked out of all government buildings and are forced to meet on a tennis court

• “Tennis Court Oath”
• Took an oath to draw up a new constitution
• the king threatened to use force to put down

the new assembly

Storming the Bastille

• after rumors that Louis XVI would use the

military against the National Assembly

• an angry mob stormed a prison and armory

known as the Bastille

• the mob cut off the head of the garrison leader

defending the fortress and marched it through
the streets of Paris

• peasant uprisings filled the French countryside
• women peasants took Louis and Mary

Antoinette from Versailles to Paris