French Revolution Overview

The French Revolution

• Economic Inequality: Social and economic inequalities in the Old Regime (pre-revolutionary France) helped spark the French Revolution.
• Three Estates: French society comprised three estates: the First Estate (clergy), the Second Estate (nobility), and the Third Estate (everyone else).
• Privileged Estates: The First and Second Estates held significant privileges, including exemption from most taxes, and controlled much of the land, while the Third Estate bore the brunt of taxation.
• Third Estate Diversity: The Third Estate was diverse, encompassing the bourgeoisie (middle class), urban workers, and peasants, with significant economic differences among these groups.
• Bourgeoisie: This group, including bankers, factory owners, and merchants, were often well-educated and embraced Enlightenment ideals.
• Urban Workers: Factory workers and laborers faced poverty and job insecurity.
• Peasants: Peasants made up the majority of the Third Estate and faced high taxes and burdensome feudal dues.
• Economic Troubles: Bad harvests, high bread prices, and a national debt contributed to severe economic hardship.
• Enlightenment Ideas: Enlightenment philosophies, such as those of Locke, Rousseau, and Voltaire, emphasizing liberty and equality challenged the existing social order.
• Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette: Louis XVI's indecisiveness and Marie Antoinette's unpopularity exacerbated existing tensions.
• Estates-General: A meeting of the Estates-General (a representative body) was called to address the growing crisis.
• National Assembly: The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly, marking the beginning of the French Revolution.
• Tennis Court Oath: Members of the National Assembly pledged to write a constitution, known as the Tennis Court Oath.
• Storming of the Bastille: A Parisian mob stormed the Bastille, a royal prison, symbolizing the start of popular uprisings.
• Great Fear: Rural unrest, known as the Great Fear, spread through the countryside, leading to widespread peasant revolts.
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen: The Declaration outlined revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, influencing later revolutions.
• Legislative Assembly: A new legislative body was formed to govern France.

Revolution Brings Reform and Terror

• Assembly Reforms France: The National Assembly abolished feudal privileges and privileges of the clergy and nobility.
• Declaration of the Rights of Man: This document outlined rights of the citizen.
• State-Controlled Church: The assembly seized Church lands, converting them to state property.
• Divisions Develop: The Assembly split into factions: radicals, moderates, and conservatives. This led to conflicts.
• War and Execution: France declared war on Austria and Prussia, leading to internal conflict and the execution of Louis XVI.
• Reign of Terror: Under Maximilien Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety used harsh measures, including executions of suspected "enemies of the revolution."