French Revolution (1789-1799)
Logan Harbison
What is the French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) was started because of political and economical problems. One of the big problems was that France had an unequal social hierarchy. For example they had the First Estate, the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, the Middle Estate, the rich nobles, and the Third State, the well educated middle class.
Estates
First Estate
This is a painting of a leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Second Estate
These are rich nobles.
Third Estate
These are people of the Third Class
First Estate
The First Estate was made up of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. They owned 10% of the land in France and had to pay very little taxes to the government
Second Estate
The Second Estate was made up of all the rich nobles they owned 20% of the land and were exempt from paying taxes.
Third Estate
97% of the people in France were in the Third class. They were also poor but the weel educated middle class. The Third class were the ones who demanded democracy, equality, & liberty in France.
Meeting of the Estates of the General
The Meeting of the General of the Estates was a big meeting where all 3 estates could go and meet with the king. The topic of discussion was whether they should increase taxes or not. They were going to raise taxes because they were in a financial crisis. They were going to vote and the First and Second Estates ordered to vote by order not head. This meant that they had to vote 1 vote per estate not 1 per person. They did this because the First and Second Estate had less people than the Third Estate combined. The First and Second Estate had won and taxes were increased.
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath is was an oath signed by 576 of the 577 people in the Third Estate that were locked out of the Meeting of the Estates of the General. The only person who would not sign was a politician by the name of Joseph Martin-Dauch because he would not execute any ideas that were not sanctioned by the king. The group of men who had signed this oath had started calling themselves the National Assembly.
Storming of Bastille
The Bastille was a prison in France which only held 7 inmates at the time it was stormed. It got stormed on July 14, 1789. It was a big deal during the revolution. Citizens had attacked the prison to get gunpowder and weapons so they could defend themselves.
The March on Versailles
The March on Versailles began among women who were rioting over the high price of bread. They had ransacked weapons and materials so they could march all the way to The Palace of Versailles to share there demands with the king.
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror is when Maximillien Robespierre went around killing people he suspected were going against the republic. He was charged with treason and executed by guillotine.
Rise of Napolean
When Louis XVI was executed European countries attacked France to keep revolutionary ideas spreading. Napoleon Bonaparte was the military officer which successfully defeated France and became a military hero. He had overthrown the French Republic and had appointed himself as dictator. He was loved by everyone and he had been voted emperor for life. So he created a new set of laws none as the Napoleonic Code. He had redone the entire government and created public schools because most people could not read or write.