The French Revolution and

Napoleon
(1789-1815)
On the Eve of the Revolution

WEX II
Chapter 2, Section 1
On the Eve of the Revolution
At the end of this section, I will be able to answer
the following questions:
What was the social structure of the old regime?
Why did France face an economic crisis by 1789?
Why did efforts at reform fail?

Vocabulary bourgeoisies, deficit, spending
On the Eve of the Revolution
What was the Old Regime?
The old order consisted of 3 Social Classes:
1st Estate Clergy
2
nd
Estate Nobility
3rd Estate Majority
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The Church made up the First Estate
The Church had great influence at this time.
Owned 10% of the Land
Collected tithes
Didnt pay any taxes
High Church Leaders lived well
Bishops & Abbots lived as nobles
However, the Parish priest lived poorly


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The titled Nobility made up the Second
Estate
The King gave them the top jobs in
government
the army
the courts and in
the Church


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However, some nobles lived away from the
center of power
Owned land, but had small incomes
Felt pinched to maintain status while prices
were rising
Resented the middle class for getting jobs
that had been reserved for the aristocracy
Feared loosing traditional privileges
Especially freedom from paying taxes


What was the Third Estate?

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The Third Estate included the remaining
98% of the population (27 million people)
Bourgeoisie's were at the top middle
class (about 8% of the population)
They were prosperous bankers, merchants,
manufacturers
Officials who worked for royalty
Lawyers, doctors, journalists, professors, skilled
artisans
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Who made up the majority of the Third
Estate?
90% of the people were rural peasants
Some of them were landowners who hired
farmers to work for them
Some were tenant farmers or day laborers who
owed obligations to the local nobles


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However, the poorest member of the Third
Estate were city workers
This included apprentices, journeymen, and
others who worked in industry
Many people worked as servants, stable hands,
porters, construction workers, or street hawkers.
Many were unemployed and either begged or
stole to survive.
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Why were so many people dissatisfied with
this social system?
Everyone in the 3
rd
Estate resented the
privileges enjoyed by their social better
Wealthy bourgeois families could buy
political office and even titles.
However, the best jobs were still reserved
for nobles.

On the Eve of the Revolution
The urban workers were paid such low
wages that even the smallest price increase
in bread could result in starvation
Peasants were heavily taxed for everything
Peasants owed fees and services dating
back many years.
When money got tight, nobles wanted the
peasants to pay these old manor dues

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Only nobles had the right to hunt game.
Peasants were forbidden to kill rabbits that
were eating their crops
(Remember that the nobles could trample the
peasants fields while they were hunting and the
nobles werent responsible for what this cost the
peasants)

On the Eve of the Revolution
Enlightenment ideas are reading the cities
and towns.
People asked, why should the first two
estates have privileges at the expense of
the majority?
Its didnt pass the test of reason!
The 3
rd
Estate started demanding that the privileged
classes start paying their share.
On the Eve of the Revolution
The chart showing Population & Land
Ownership tells a revealing tale (page 65)
1
st
Estate: % of the people owned 10%
of the land
2
nd
Estate: 1.5% of the people owned 20%
of the land
3
rd
Estate: 98% of the people owned only
70% of the land
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Additionally, there is a financial crisis!
The government had been spending more
money that it was taking in
This is called deficit spending
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Why was France in debt?
Cost of War:
7 Years War
Supporting Americas revolutionary war
Prices had been increasing everywhere
Lavish life styles of the court cost the
government millions of dollars
Loans were purchased to make up this gap, so
of tax revenue went to paying debt

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How could this financial crisis get any
worse?
Crumbling economy
General Economic decline in the 1770s
1780, bad harvests sent food prices soaring
Brought hunger to poorer peasants & city
dwellers

How did the people respond?
In towns, people rioted & demanded bread
In the countryside, people started attacking
manors to get food
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What is the King going to do?
Louis XIV who ruled from 1715-1774
pursued pleasure before business
Louis IV took over in 1774
He tried to address these problems
He looked to Jacques Necker, a financial
wizard to help solve these financial woes
On the Eve of the Revolution
Jacques Necker has a financial plan
Reduce Court spending
Reform government
Improve internal trade by abolishing the
tariffs that made trade costly
Start taxing the 1
st
and 2
nd
Estates
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Did everyone embrace these solutions?
No, the nobles and the high clergy got King
Henry XV to dismiss Necker for proposing
that they pay taxes.

What are they going to do now?
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The wealthy and powerful classes
demanded that the king call the Estates
General
The Estates General hadnt been called in 175
years
They hoped that through the Estates General
that they would be able to establish a
constitution
Limit the kings power
Protect the privileges for the nobles
(whats an Estates General anyway?)
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How did Louis XVI prepare for the Estates
General meeting at Versailles in May of
1789?
He had all 3 Estates prepare cahiers
cahiers are notebooks listing their grievances
How did this help Louis XVI prepare?

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What things did the cahiers call for?
Fairer taxes
Freedom of the press
Regular meetings of the Estates General
Right to kill animals that destroy crops
Some servant girls wanted to some reward
for years of servicing their masters


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Some people referred to the tax collectors
as bloodsuckers?
Some called the courts of nobles as
vampires pumping the last drop of
blood from people
Another complained that 20 million must
live on half the wealth of France while the
clergy devour the other half.


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How did the Estates General go?
Delegates from the 3
rd
Estate wanted to
meet as a group.
They usually meet separately; the 1
st
and 2
nd

Estates could out vote the 3
rd
Estate
Remember, the 3
rd
Estate represented 98% of
the people
The representatives of the 3
rd
Estate knew
about the Enlightenment thinkers and wanted to
implement these ideas

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What did the 3
rd
Estate do after several
weeks of being deadlocked?
They proclaimed that they represented the
people of France
They called themselves the National
Assembly
They invited the other Estates to help them
form a constitution

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How did the King react to the National
Assembly?
He locked them out of the meeting place
The national Assembly took the Tennis
Court Oath and vowed not to leave until a
constitution was draw up
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The King had to recognize the National
Assembly
Some clergy & nobles joined the National
Assembly
However, royal troops gathered around
Versailles & Paris
It was rumored that the King would dissolve the
National Assembly

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What was Storming the Bastille?
On July 14, 1789, more than 800
Parisians demanded
that the prisoners be released
That they be given weapons & the
gunpowder believed to be stored there.
The commander of the Bastille refused &
fired on the crowd
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How did the crowd react?
They stormed the Bastille and eventually
overpowered the soldiers
killed the 5 guards
Released the prisoners
However, they didnt find any guns or
ammunition
This day is known as Bastille Day
Its a national holiday in France
On the Eve of the Revolution
The French Revolution-1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vZchj7art0
The French Revolution-2:
The French Revolution-3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43BjKl_TrCw

The French Revolution-4: ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyCdazyz2is&feature=relmfu
The French Revolution-5:

On the Eve of the Revolution
French Revolution Kahn academny
On the Eve of the Revolution