French Revolution History Textbook PDF

## LOUIS XVI (1774-1792) Five centuries after Louis IX, Louis XVI ascended the throne. But unlike the previous kings, he failed to maintain royal power. ### New Ideas - A peasant crushed by taxes that the nobleman and the priest do not pay, caricature of 1789 - No man has been granted by Nature t...

## LOUIS XVI (1774-1792) Five centuries after Louis IX, Louis XVI ascended the throne. But unlike the previous kings, he failed to maintain royal power. ### New Ideas - A peasant crushed by taxes that the nobleman and the priest do not pay, caricature of 1789 - No man has been granted by Nature the right to command others. Liberty is a gift from Heaven, and every individual has the right to enjoy it. The king derives his authority from his subjects. He cannot dispose of his power and his subjects without the consent of the people. The power obtained by violence is merely theft, it is the law of the strongest. According to Denis Diderot, philosopher, 1751-1772. 1. On this caricature, find the peasant, the priest and the nobleman. 2. In what way did the fact that the clergy and the nobility did not pay taxes "crush" the peasants? Read the text and explain it in your own words. 3. How were these ideas new? #### New Ideas (Doc. A) In the 18th century, thinkers such as Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu criticized absolute monarchy and the important role played by the Catholic Church in society. They condemned the privileges of the nobility and the clergy, which allowed them to avoid paying taxes. They imagined a fairer society in which all men would be free and equal in rights. Their ideas spread among the bourgeoisie and reached the people. ### The Rise of Discontent #### The Rise of Discontent (Doc. B) - Portrait of Louis XVI, painting of 1779. - Link it to the end of Louis XIV's reign: what was the situation of the people then? Read the text and explain what these peasants are complaining about. - On the timeline, place Louis XVI's reign. Was it long after Louis XIV? In your opinion, what was the name of the king who reigned between them? ### The Oath of the Tennis Court #### The Oath of the Tennis Court (Doc. C) - Painting by Jacques-Louis David, painted from 1790 to 1794. - In 1789, French deputies met and swore to change the organization of power in France. - Describe this scene. - In what way does this situation represent a break from the reign of Louis XIV and those who preceded him? - The people hoped that their representatives would end the privileges. But the king refused any discussion on the subject. Dissatisfied, deputies of the people met in the Tennis Court hall at Versailles on June 20th. They swore not to separate until they had reorganized power in France by a Constitution. #### The People's Grievances In 1789, the people sent letters of complaints to the king to describe their situation. "Sire, we are crushed by taxes; we have given you some of our bread, and soon we will have none left. If you could see the poor houses we live in, the poor food we eat, you would be touched. What pains us deeply is that those who have the most money pay the least. We pay taxes, and the priests and the nobles pay nothing at all. Shouldn't everyone pay according to their means? According to the letter of grievances of the peasants of Culmont, 1789. **Vocabulary:** - The bourgeoisie: wealthy people who are not nobles. - A Constitution: a fundamental law that organizes power in a country. - A deputy: a person elected to represent a group of people in an assembly. - Famine: a total lack of food causing death of the population. - Privilege: an advantage reserved for certain people. - Reform: a change for the better. ## The Rights of Man ### The Declaration (Doc. A) - Explain each of these articles and give examples. - Article 1: Give an example to explain what freedom and equality are. - Article 2: Give an example to explain each of these rights. - Article 3: How (article 3) does it limit the power of the king? - Article 4: Give an example of freedom that you do not have because it could harm others. - Article 5: Find an example that shows that it is important for the law to treat all citizens in the same manner. - Article 6: Explain this article. - Article 7: Give an example to explain this article. - Article 10: What edict had granted religious freedom to Protestants? - Article 11: Give an example to explain what freedom of communication is. - Article 13: What privilege is abolished by this article? - Which of all these rights seems most important to you? Justify your answer. - The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 concerned only half of the French: who did not have all these rights? ### History of Art: The Painting (Doc. B) Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, painting circa 1789. On the painting, identify the following elements: - A woman breaking the chains that prevented France from being free. - Another holding the scepter, symbol of power. - The red cap, symbol of the revolutionaries. - The light symbolizing the new ideas of the 18th century (the ideas of the 'Enlightenment'). ### The Legacy of the Rights of Man The freedom and equality proclaimed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen are still applied in France. They were even recognized by many other countries in 1948. - Look up Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. - What do you notice? - Why is France called the "homeland of human rights"? ## The Heritage of The Revolution The Revolution is one of the most essential moments in French history. We owe it a great deal in the way we live today. ### The Republic (Doc. A) - Website of the Constitutional Council - Here is the beginning of our current Constitution. - What does the first article say? - What other text does it remind you of? ### Symbols (Doc. B) - The Festival of the Federation on July 14th, 1790. - Painting of 1791. - On July 14th, 1790, Parisians gathered to commemorate the storming of the Bastille. Later, this date became the national holiday. It was also during the Revolution that the tricolour flag was created. - Describe this scene. - In 1792, Rouget de l'Isle composed a song for the French army at war against the enemies of the Revolution. - Read the lyrics and find passages that prove it was a war song. - It was because it was sung by soldiers from Marseille on their arrival in Paris that this song was called 'La Marseillaise'. - When is 'La Marseillaise' sung? - A law punishes anyone who insults the national anthem, why do you think so? ### The Departments (Doc. C) - The division of France into departments, engraving from the 18th century - Under the Old Regime, France was divided into provinces, each with its own laws. During the Revolution, France was divided into departments, all organized in the same way and subject to the same laws. - Locate where you live. What is the name of your department? - Research: was your department created in 1790, during the Revolution? ### The Measures (Doc. D) - The metric system, engraving of 1795 - The Revolution ended the different measures (length, weight...) depending on the provinces and adopted the 'metric system' (metre, litre, kilogram), which has since been adopted by most countries in the world. - On the picture, find the litre, the kilogram and the meter. ### The Civil Status (Doc. E) It was also the Revolution that truly established the civil status: it required that births and deaths be registered not in churches but in town halls. It created civil marriage in the town hall and allowed divorce. Remember: who had decided that the churches should register baptisms?