DH1 W3 1789 French Revolution PDF

DH1 W3 1789 French Revolution Revolution did not happen out of a sudden Important people or forces in France of 1789 were not looking for a revolution Acc. To historians: French Revolution took place as a result of a combination of some specific characteristics of the French society Th...

DH1 W3 1789 French Revolution Revolution did not happen out of a sudden Important people or forces in France of 1789 were not looking for a revolution Acc. To historians: French Revolution took place as a result of a combination of some specific characteristics of the French society There were SOCIAL IDEATIONAL ECONOMIC reasons  1. SOCIAL REASONS Societal structure of France is believed to play a crucial role in the emergence of the French Revolution Before the revolution in France, a time known as the Ancien Regime, society was divided into three distinct classes, known as the Three Estates. 1st Estate: the Clergy [Privileged] 2nd Estate: Nobility // nobles [Privileged] 3rd Estate: Middle Class + Peasantry [Unprivileged] Middle class was made up of artisans and working class  King Louis XVI and his clerics the CLERGY who were people, including priests, who ran both the Catholic church and some aspects of the country. The First Estate In addition to keeping registers of births, deaths and marriages, the clergy also had the power to levy a 10% tax known as the tithe. They were exempt from taxes.  consisted of the nobility of France, including members of the royal family, except for the King. Members of the Second Estate did not have to pay any taxes. The Second Estate They were also awarded special privileges, such as the wearing a sword and hunting. Like the clergy, they also collected taxes from the Third Estate.  was made up of everyone else, from peasant farmers to the bourgeoisie – the wealthy business class. While the Second Estate was only 1% of the total population of France, the Third Estate was 96%, and had none of the rights and privileges of the other two The Third estates. Estate They were unprivileged Excluded from offices in state and church Had to pay taxes The main burden of meeting the expenses of state and church fell on the middle classes and the peasants.  Wanted a larger share of power and a smaller share of taxation. 1st and 2nd Estates owned 2/3s of the land 3rd Estate owned only 1/3, worked on ALL of the land and they paid taxes The Third Estate This societal structure was unjust Historians believe that one of the reasons the French Revolution came about was the dissatisfaction of members of the Third Estate who wanted a more equal distribution of wealth and power.  2. IDEATIONAL REASONS // Philosophies There was a revolutionary spirit in Europe throughout the 18th cent. A remarkable series of French thinkers Voltaire Montesquieu Diderot Rousseau they QUESTIONED, CRITICIZED and RESISTED to the established Powers of the Roman Catholic Church Absolutist Monarchy Privileges of the nobility  Diderot, (1713- 1784) Diderot, one of the philosophers of the Enlightenment era, pioneered revolutionary thoughts Encyclopedia // collected and presented knowledge of the divine rights, reasoning, justice, slavery and toleration By expressing his modern and liberal ideas Diderot incited people to think and join him in the struggle for social and political change. Montesquieu, (1689-1755) He lived before the French Revolution. Spirit of Laws he criticized social, political, and religious institutions and absolute monarchy He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of Powers which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. Voltaire, (1694- 1778) famous for his attacks on Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion He wrote many essays, poems and dramas creating awareness among the masses. He advocated the supremacy of reason. He stood for religious toleration. He strongly condemned the corruptions in the church. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (1712- 1778) His Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract are cornerstones in modern political and social thought. He criticized political institutions and class-based society He defended political equality of the members of a society // democracy  They became important figures of influence Their writings inspired educated Enlightenm members of the 3rd Estate to want for ent and to work for a revolution Philosopher Their writings fostered a critical s attitude toward all existing institutions They made men more ready to question the WHOLE FOUNDATION OF THE OLD ORDER: THE ANCIEN REGIME 3. Economic Reasons Before the revolution, France was in a major economic crisis a huge royal debt Finance Ministers had tried to put royal finances on a sounder footing but they had failed. The costs of the government were increasing rapidly The costs of war could not be met from the usual sources of royal revenue The country was heavily burdened At the time, France was a very large, populous, rich, and powerful state. There was an insistent demand for reforms of certain abuses, For a more efficient and equitable system of taxation and administration And for a better system of government 4. The Impact of American Revolution When? American Revolution had affected French Revolution economically and ideationally How and why? France and the Kingdom of Great Britain were rivals 10 years earlier than the American Revolution, French was defeated by the British When the Americans rebelled against British, French saw an opportunity In order to cripple the Kingdom of Great Britain, France supported Americans in the rebellion They wanted to take advantage of the British troubles in their North American colonies France supported American revolutionaries against British to weaken Britain in Europe  until 1782 France provided supplies, arms and ammunition, uniforms and troops to the revolutionary. These supports had affected its own economy badly. France But more than that, helped The French soldiers who fought on the American side of the Americans against the Kingdom of Britain revolutionarie Were influenced by their ideas s They saw that Americans resisted their King and fought for their freedom and rights It was unthinkable before These soldiers would be in the front  The economy was in a desperate situation The 3rd Estate was carrying all the burden and they insisted on reform The King and his ministers were in a dilemma In 1789 In order to satisfy the demands of the 3rd Estate, especially the newly emerging bourgeoisie, they needed to reform the whole social and political structure of France But their authority was embedded in this OLD ORDER // THE ANCIEN REGIME  The French monarchy was feudal monarchy France was Based on the centuries-old accumulation of feudal relationships between King, an Aristocracy, Clergy and all the rest of the population known as the 3rd Estate ABSOLUTE MONARCHY Changing a part in this system, would change every other part, including royal power itself. Yet the power of the King was regarded as ABSOLUTE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY meant that He had supreme ultimate authority to authority, meaning run a state was in that his authority the hands of a king was not restricted by who ruled by DIVINE any written laws, right legislature, customs or parliament  King Louis XIV was an absolute monarch, it was impossible to answer the Absolute demands of the 3rd Estate. Monarchy had to surrender its Otherwise he had to surrender a powers part of his absolute monarchy that would affect every part of the Ancien regime  Complete bankruptcy Absolute Financial crisis monarchy 3rd Estate wanted a fairer share of taxes + a larger share could not of political power provide a solution Absolute monarchy could not initiate reforms  It was a representative assembly // dated back to 13th cent. The nearest institution France had to a parliament representative of all the nation It used to work as an organ of consent // but it hadn’t met since 1614 France had an Estates- When faced with all these troubles and couldn’t find any solution = the King General decided to convene Estates General Localities prepared lists of grievances before the elections for the Estates-General  Lack of constitution to restrict ministerial despotism The need to lighten the burden of indirect taxes There were The need to control taxation by long- periodic national assemblies standing The need to end internal customs grievances: barriers To ensure freedom of the press….. 95% of the 3rd Estate were unhappy  The King was weak- willed, the Queen - Marie Antoinette was unpopular She killed all projects of reform The privileged 1st and 2nd Estates/orders could not have been persuaded to surrender their privileges and their fiscal immunities  Representatives were elected in February 1789 And the Estates-General met in May Estates- 1789 But there was a problem: The problem of General: A voting Consultativ The Estates-General was traditionally composed of 3 assemblies e Assembly Representing 3 estates  The King decided that the Third Estate should have about 600 deputies out of a total 1155. The But he had not decided the Question of crucial issue whether voting was to be held in one single Voting assembly or by each estate casting its vote in their separate assemblies.  The votes of the 3rd Estate would be meaningful if they were used in a single assembly 600/ 1155 The votes If they voted in separate would be assemblies, they would not mean much meaningful in Reform (3rd estate) // No a single reform (1st and 2nd estates) 1 // 2 // they would be assembly downplayed The King could not decide.  His indecision left it open for the 3rd Estate to usurp the status of a truly national assembly 3rd Estate On June 20, the representatives of the 3rd Estate took an oath: wanted to «Not to disperse until the Constitution had codify a been firmly established.» They refused to disperse even after the King CONSTITUTIO ordered them to do so. They were joined by some representatives from N the 1st and 2nd estates === Later They took the name of the «National Assembly»  14th July 1789 // the beginning of the French Revolution Parisian revolutionaries stormed the Bastille Fortress Prison and arsenal Symbolized everything that was wrong with the monarchy A symbol of the despotic regime Political prisoners escaped and they put Bastille into fire  King ordered royal troops to surround Paris Parisian revolutionaries thought that the King would overthrow/disperse the Assembly by force At the same, there were upheavals and revolts in the countryside. Peasants were destroying the fortresses of the nobility. Feudal order was being destroyed Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, (August 26, 1789) After long debates The National Assembly issued a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and of protecting the liberty of the nation against the crown and ministers. It asserted that = «Men are born equal and remain free and equal in rights» That «the aim of all political association is to preserve the natural and imprescriptible rights of man» And that «these rights are LIBERTY, PROPERTY, SECURITY and RESISTANCE TO OPPRESSION  1. It was a DECLARATION A manifesto, a statement of the general principles on which the National Assembly HOPED to reform the French system of government Declaration of the Rights 2. It was a declaration of RIGHTS, not a of Man and declaration of duties of the Assertion of the new claims and a statement of the political, Citizen: constitutional, and social rights that its framers thought essential for a better regime  3. It was a declaration of the rights of MAN a statement intended to have Declaration UNIVERSAL application of the far reaching implications Rights of It was not for the French people alone, but for the benefit of men everywhere Man and the who wanted to be free Citizen: Who wanted to get rid themselves of the burdens of absolutist monarchy and feudal privileges  4. Finally, it codified and specified the CIVIC RIGHTS that expressed the immediate aims of the MIDDLE CLASSES, which dominated the Declaration Assembly now. Equality before the law of the Eligibility of all citizens for all Rights of public offices Freedom of speech and the press Man and the Personal freedom from arbitrary Citizen: arrest or punishment An equitable distribution of the burdens of national taxation Inviolability of private property  1. the principle of all sovereignty rests essentially in the NATION These claims 2. the law is the expression of the articulated in general will the Declaration were based on 2 If accepted they would DESTROY the general very FOUNDATION of the OLD ORDER doctrines: of society Disrupt the state everywhere in Europe  The Declaration did not say anything about education, social security, right to assembly and association = less urgent than destroying the old regime Moreover liberal principles were stated cautiously Exercise of natural rights is limited by the need to assure enjoyment of the same rights for others Freedom of opinion must not trouble public order It must not be abused Declaration was not a manifest of democracy Universal suffrage was not recognized/granted «all citizens have the right to take part, in person, by their representatives’, in forming the law and in voting the taxes»  The declaration later would The become a great source of Declaration democratic revolutions, by the help of the subsequent events. would inspire But it was not that democratic democratic in 1789. revolutions  The most revolutionary doctrine included in the Declaration The right of The Assembly justified its acts, usurption of power, even the resistance capture of Bastille was explained by this to oppression October: the Assembly invoked the principle of resistance once more to overcome the obstacle of King’s right to veto all legislation.  Events in France CHALLENGED every one of its neighbors, including Britain. Because all of them were ruled by absolute monarchy they were feudal states