The French

Revolution
The Old Regime (Ancien
Regime)
Old Regime – socio-political system which existed in most of Europe
during the 18th century
Countries were ruled by absolutism – the monarch had absolute control
over the government
Classes of people – privileged and unprivileged
◦ Unprivileged people – paid taxes and treated badly
◦ Privileged people – did not pay taxes and treated well
Society under the Old Regime
In France, people were divided into three estates
◦ First Estate
◦ High-ranking members of the Church
◦ Privileged class
◦ Second Estate
◦ Nobility
◦ Privileged class
◦ Third Estate
◦ Everyone else – from peasants in the countryside to wealthy bourgeoisie merchants in the cities
◦ Unprivileged class
 The Three Estates
Estate Population Privileges Exemptions Burdens
First •Circa 130,000 •Collected the tithe •Paid no taxes •Moral obligation (rather than legal
•Censorship of the press •Subject to Church obligation) to assist the poor and
•High-ranking •Control of education law rather than civil needy
clergy •Kept records of births, deaths, law •Support the monarchy and Old
marriages, etc. Regime
•Catholic faith held honored
position of being the state religion
(practiced by monarch and
nobility)
•Owned 20% of the land

Second •Circa 110,000 •Collected taxes in the form of •Paid no taxes •Support the monarchy and Old
feudal dues Regime
•Nobles •Monopolized military and state
appointments
•Owned 20% of the land

Third •Circa 25,000,000 •None •None •Paid all taxes

•Tithe (Church tax)
•Everyone else: •Octrot (tax on goods brought into
artisans, cities)
bourgeoisie, city •Corvée (forced road work)
workers, •Capitation (poll tax)
merchants, •Vingtiéme (income tax)
peasants, etc., •Gabelle (salt tax)
along with many •Taille (land tax)
parish priests •Feudal dues for use of local manor’s
winepress, oven, etc.
 Government under the Old
Regime:
The Divine Right of Kings
Monarch ruled by divine right
◦ God put the world in motion
◦ God put some people in positions of power
◦ Power is given by God
◦ No one can question God
◦ No one can question someone put in power by God
◦ Questioning the monarchy was blasphemy because it meant questioning God
 What the King Did
Appointed the Appointed the people
Intendants, the “petty who would collect his Controlled justice by
tyrants” who governed taxes and carry out his appointing judges
France’s 30 districts laws

Could imprison anyone

at any time for any Levied all taxes and
Controlled the military reason (blank warrants decided how to spend
of arrest were called the money
lettres de cachet)

Made decisions
Made all laws regarding war and
peace
 Economic Conditions under the
Old Regime
France’s economy was based primarily on agriculture
Peasant farmers of France bore the burden of taxation
Poor harvests meant that peasants had trouble paying their regular taxes
◦ Certainly could not afford to have their taxes raised
Bourgeoisie often managed to gather wealth
◦ But were upset that they paid taxes while nobles did not
France Is Bankrupt
The king (Louis XVI) lavished money on himself and residences like
Versailles
Queen Marie Antoinette was seen as a wasteful spender
Government found its funds depleted as a result of wars
◦ Including the funding of the American Revolution
Deficit spending – a government spending more money than it takes in
from tax revenues
Privileged classes would not submit to being taxed
 Philosophy of the French
Revolution: The Enlightenment
(Age of Reason)
Scientists during the Renaissance had discovered laws that govern the natural
world
Intellectuals – philosophes – began to ask if natural laws might also apply to
human beings
◦ Particularly to human institutions such as governments
◦ Philosophes were secular in thinking – they used reason and logic, rather than faith,
religion, and superstition, to answer important questions
◦ Used reason and logic to determine how governments are formed
◦ Tried to figure out what logical, rational principles work to tie people to their governments
◦ Questioned the divine right of kings
Long- and Short-term Causes

Long-term causes
◦ Also known as underlying causes
◦ Causes which can stem back many years
Short-term causes
◦ Also known as immediate causes
◦ Causes which happen close to the moment the change or action happens

Example: A person is fired from his or her job.

◦ Long-term cause(s): The person is often late to work and is generally unproductive on the
job.
◦ Short-term cause(s): The person fails to show up for work and does not call the employer.

Key: One typically does not happen without the other. Events which bring
important change (or action) need both long-term and short-term causes.
Long-term Causes of the
French Revolution
Everything previously
Also
discussed
• Absolutism • System of mercantilism
• Unjust socio-political which restricted trade
system (Old Regime) • Influence of other
• Poor harvests which left successful revolutions
peasant farmers with little • England’s Glorious
money for taxes Revolution (1688-1689)
• Influence of Enlightenment • American Revolution
philosophes (1775-1783)
 Short-term Causes of the
French Revolution
Bankruptcy Great Fear Estates-General

• Caused by deficit • Worst famine in • Louis XVI had no choice

spending memory but to call for a
• Financial ministers • Hungry, impoverished meeting of the Estates-
(Turgot, Necker, peasants feared that General to find a
Calonne) proposed nobles at Estates- solution to the
changes General were seeking bankruptcy problem
• But these were greater privileges • All three estates
rejected • Attacks on nobles • Had not met since 1614
• Assembly of Notables occurred throughout • Set in motion a series
voted down taxation the country in 1789 of events which
for the nobility in 1787 resulted in the
abolition of the
monarchy and a
completely new socio-
political system for
France
Preparing for the Estates-
General
Winter of 1788-1789
◦ Members of the estates elected representatives

Cahiers
◦ Traditional lists of grievances written by the people
◦ Nothing out of the ordinary
◦ Asked for only moderate changes
 Meeting of the Estates-General:
May 5, 1789
Voting was conducted by estate
◦ Each estate had one vote
◦ First and Second Estates could operate as a bloc to stop the Third Estate from having
its way

◊ First Estate + ◊ Second Estate - vs. - ◊ Third Estate

Representatives from the Third Estate demanded that voting be by population

◦ This would give the Third Estate a great advantage
Deadlock resulted
 First
Estate =
1 Vote or
130,000
Votes
 Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly.

Louis XVI responded by locking the Third Estate out of the meeting.

The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court where its members vowed to stay
together and create a written constitution for France.

On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together
as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France.
Four Phases (Periods) of the
French Revolution
National Assembly (1789-1791)

Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)

Convention (1792-1795)

Directory (1795-1799)
National Assembly
(1789-1791)
Louis XVI did not actually want a
written constitution
When news of his plan to use
military force against the National
Assembly reached Paris on July 14,
1789, people stormed the Bastille
Uprising in Paris
People of Paris seized Uprising spread throughout
weapons from the Bastille France
• July 14, 1789 • Nobles were attacked
• Parisians organized their • Records of feudal dues and
own government which owed taxes were destroyed
they called the Commune • Many nobles fled the
• Small groups – factions – country – became known as
competed to control the émigrés
city of Paris • Louis XVI was forced to fly
the new tricolor flag of
France
 Goodbye, Versailles! Adieu,
Versailles!
Parisian Commune feared that Louis XVI would have foreign troops invade
France to put down the rebellion
◦ Louis XVI’s wife, Marie Antoinette, was the sister of the Austrian emperor
A group of women attacked Versailles on October 5, 1789
◦ Forced royal family to relocate to Paris along with National Assembly
◦ Royal family spent next several years in the Tuileries Palace as virtual prisoners
Tuileries Palace (Paris, France)
 Changes under the National
Assembly
Abolishment of
Abolition of special Constitution of
guilds and labor
privileges 1791
unions

Many nobles left

Declaration of the Equality before the
France and became
Rights of Man law (for men)
known as émigrés

Taxes levied based

Reforms in local
on the ability to
government
pay
Declaration of the Rights of
Man
Freedom of Freedom of Freedom of
religion speech the press

Guaranteed “Liberty, Right of the

property equality, people to
rights fraternity!” create laws

Right to a fair
trial
 Declaration of the Rights of
Woman
Women did gain some
rights during the French
Revolution, but these
Journalist Olympe de were designed for
Madame Jeanne Roland purposes other than
Gouges argued in her
also served as a leader in liberating women.
Declaration of the Rights
the women’s rights
of Woman that women
movement, and was able • Women could inherit property,
are equal citizens and but only because doing so
to heavily influence her weakened feudalism and
should benefit from
husband (a government reduced wealth among the
governmental reforms just upper classes.
official).
as men did. • Divorce became easier, but only
to weaken the Church’s control
over marriage.