The French Revolution and

Napoleon
(1789-1815)
Creating a New France

WEX II
Chapter 2, Section 2
Creating a New France
At the end of this section, I will be able to answer
the following questions:
How did popular uprisings contribute to the French
Revolution?
What political and social reforms emerged in the
early states of the revolution?
How did people outside France respond to the
revolution?
Vocabulary: migr, sans-culotte
Creating a New France
The French Revolution can be divided into
four (4) phases:
Moderate phase of the National Assembly
France became a constitutional monarchy
(1789-1791)
Radical phase leading to the Reign of Terror
(1792-1794)
Reaction against extremism The Directory
(1795-1799)
The Age of Napoleon
(1799-1815)
Creating a New France
Phase 1, the National Assembly
What was happening in France in 1789?
Worst famine in memory
Prices for grain soared
People paid 80% of their pay for bread
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The Great Fear - rumors ran wild
Flocks of starving peasants attacking towns
and villages for food
Troops seizing peasants crops
Defiant peasants attacking homes of nobles
Burning old manor records
Stealing grain from storehouses

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Paris became a revolutionary center
Moderates looked toward Marquis de
Lafayette for leadership
Hero of two worlds
Fought along side George Washington
Headed the National Guard
They wore the tricolor red, white, & blue
The tricolor became the national flag

Creating a New France
The Radicals looked for more extremist
groups:
The Paris Commune took the place of the
royalist government in Paris
They could mobilize whole neighborhoods for
violent action
Extremist newspapers and political clubs
were everywhere
Some demanded an end to monarchy

Creating a New France
August 4
th
, The National Assembly got the
nobles to give up their privileges:
Gave up manorial dues
Ended exclusive hunting rights
Gave up special legal status
Even agreed to pay taxes
This satisfied a key Enlightenment goal
the equality of citizens before the law
Creating a New France
Later in August, they wrote the
Declaration of Rights of Man
All men were born and remain free and
equal in rights
Natural rights to liberty, property, security,
and resistance to oppression
Modeled after the U.S. Declaration of
Independence
This satisfied another key Enlightenment goal
Governments exist to protect the natural rights of
citizens
Creating a New France
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
stated
All male citizens were equal before law
Each man had an equal right to hold office
Freedom of Religion
Taxes to be levied based upon a persons ability
to pay
Slogan, Life, liberty, and fraternity

Creating a New France
However, things didnt get better fast.
Louis XVI was slow to accept the reforms
Parisians became more suspicious as more
royal troops surrounded the city
Nobles continued to enjoy gala banquets
People were still starving
Anger continued to grow, leading to action
Creating a New France
The Parisian women loose their patience.
On October 5
th
,thousands of woman march
from Paris to Versailles
Demand to see the King
The king agree to go with them to Paris
Return to Paris with the King, Marie
Antoinette, and their son
Creating a New France
What did they do with the King and his
family?
Royal family stayed at Tuileries Palace
Prisoners in his own capital
Women continue to take action during the
revolution



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The National Assembly moves to Paris and
drafted a constitution:
Reorganize the Church
Sell church lands
Put the Catholic Church under state control

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Civil Constitution of the Clergy 1790
Bishops & priests were elected salaried officials
Ended Papal authority over the French Church
Dissolved convents and monasteries


Creating a New France
How did the world react?
Many Bishops & priests refused to accept
the Civil Constitution
The pope condemned it
Many peasants rejected it
When the government punished clergy who
refused to support the Civil Constitution, the
peasants became upset with the government

Creating a New France
The French Constitution of 1791
Established a constitutional monarchy
New legislature had the power to
Make laws
Collect taxes
Decide on issues of warfare & peace
Lawmakers were elected by tax-paying males
citizens
50,000 of 27 million could run for Assembly

Creating a New France
What changes did the legislature make?
Replaced with 83 provinces with
departments
Abolished old provincial courts
Reformed laws
Protected private property
Supported free trade
Compensated nobles for land taken
Forbade guilds & strikes


Creating a New France
The king and family decide to escape.
Leave Paris in disguise
They were discovered in a small town by a
soldier who recognized Marie Antoinette
When they were returned to Paris, the
people thought they were traiters to the
revolution
Creating a New France
What was the reaction outside of France?
Supporters of the Enlightenment applauded
European rulers & nobles denounced the
French Revolution
They called it the French Plague
Horror stories were told by the migrs
Nobles, clergy, & others who fled the revolution
Enlightened rulers turned against French ideas


Creating a New France
How did Marie Antoinette's brother react to
news of their failed attempts to flee
Paris?
Her brother was the king of Prussia and
emperor of Austria
Issued the Declaration of Pilnitz
Threatened to intervene to protect French
monarchy, if necessary
Declaration was intended to be a bluff, but
revolutionaries in France prepared for war
Creating a New France
How did the new assembly do?
Lasted less than 1 year due to
Severe economic problems
Prices rose rapidly
Shortages
hoarding


Creating a New France
Who were the sans-culottes
(http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=sans-culottes&submit=Submit)
Working class men & women who pushed
the revolution into more radical action
They demanded a republic and a government to
guarantee them a living wage
Found support radical legislatures
appealed to the Jacobins
Mostly middle class lawyers or intellectuals
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How did the different legislators react?
Members with similar views sat together
Right - people who felt that they had changed
enough
Center supporters of moderate reform
Left people who wanted to abolish the
monarchy & other radical changes including the
Jacobins
There terms are still used today
Creating a New France
How did this conflict show itself in April
1792?
Legislature wanted to fight tyranny abroad,
so it declared war on Austria, Prussia,
Britain, and other states
France fought off and on for the next 23
years
Creating a New France
Marquis de Lafayette http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aieGJwqNFwM
Horrible History http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OSv5it5VnY

Creating a New France