Major events of the french revolution
DIRECTIONS: Use the information below to complete your graphic organizer on the main ideas of the Enlightenment.
estates-general called to meet
Louis XVI, who ascended the French throne in 1774, proved unsuited to deal with the severe financial problems he had inherited from his grandfather, King Louis XV. On May 5, 1789, in a desperate attempt to address France’s economic crisis, Louis XVI assembled the Estates-General, a national assembly that represented the three “estates” of the French people–the nobles, the clergy, and the commons. The Estates-General had not been assembled since 1614, and its deputies drew up long lists of grievances and called for sweeping political and social reform.
Tennis Court Oath
By the time the Estates-General convened at Versailles, the debate over its voting process had erupted into hostility between the three orders, and the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National Assembly. On June 20, 1789, the deputies of the Third Estate, which represented the non-noble majority of French citizens, meet on the Jeu de Paume, an indoor tennis court, in defiance of King Louis XVI’s order to disperse. They took a historic oath not to disband until a new French constitution had been adopted.
Great Fear Begins
A period of panic emerged in France after the Tennis Court Oath amid rumors of an “aristocratic conspiracy” by the king and the privileged to overthrow the Third Estate. The placement of troops around Paris sparked rioting. The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. Rebelling against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords, and the noble elite. Known as the Great Fear (“la Grande peur”), the riots hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789.
Storming the bastille
The Bastille was first used as a state prison in the 17th century, and its cells were reserved for upper-class felons, political troublemakers, and spies. Most prisoners there were imprisoned without a trial under direct orders of the king. On July 13, revolutionaries with muskets began firing at soldiers standing guard on the Bastille’s towers. That evening, mobs stormed th At dawn on July 14, a great crowd armed with muskets, swords, and various makeshift weapons began to gather around the Bastille. Three hundred revolutionaries rushed in, the gunpowder and cannons were seized, and the seven prisoners of the Bastille were freed. The capture of the Bastille symbolized the end of the ancien regime and provided the French revolutionary cause with momentum.
declaration of the rights of man
On August 4, the National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (“Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen”), a statement of democratic principles grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government.
Women's march on versailles
In 1789 France, the main food of the commoners was bread. A poor French economy had led to a scarcity of bread and high prices. The people were hungry. In Paris, women would go to the market to buy bread for their families, only to find that what little bread was available was very expensive. On the morning of October 5, 1789, a large group of women in a Paris marketplace began to riot. They wanted to buy bread for their families. They began to march through Paris demanding bread at a fair price. After six hours of marching in the pouring rain, the crowd arrived at the king's palace in Versailles. Once the crowd arrived at Versailles they demanded to meet the king. Fighting broke out and some of the guards were killed. Eventually, peace was restored by Marquis de Lafayette, the leader of the National Guard. .
Execution of Louis XVI
Although outwardly accepting the revolution, Louis XVI resisted the advice of constitutional monarchists who sought to reform the monarchy in order to save it; he also permitted the reactionary plotting of his unpopular queen, Marie Antoinette. In August 1792, the royal couple was arrested by the sans-cullottes and imprisoned, and in September the monarchy was abolished by the National Convention (which had replaced the National Assembly). In November, evidence of Louis XVI’s counterrevolutionary intrigues with Austria and other foreign nations was discovered, and he was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. The next January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. He was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793.
execution of Marie-Antoinette
The daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, she married Louis in 1770 to strengthen the French-Austrian alliance. At a time of economic turmoil in France, she lived extravagantly and encouraged her husband to resist reform of the monarchy. In one episode, she allegedly responded to news that the French peasantry had no bread to eat by callously replying, “Let them eat cake.” The increasing revolutionary uproar convinced the king and queen to attempt an escape to Austria in 1791, but they were captured by revolutionary forces and carried back to Paris. In 1792, the French monarchy was abolished, and Louis and Marie-Antoinette were condemned for treason. She was executed by guillotine on October 16, 1793.
Reign of Terror Begins
By 1793, the revolutionary government was in crisis. France was being attacked by foreign countries on all sides and civil war was breaking out in many regions. Radicals led by Maximilien Robespierre took over the government and started the Reign of Terror on September 5, 1793, with a declaration that Terror would be "the order of the day." Throughout the next year, France was ruled by the Terror. People had to be careful of everything they said, what they did, and who they talked to. The slightest hint of opposition to the revolutionary government could mean prison or even death. Sometimes revolutionaries accused people they didn't like or wanted to get rid of without any evidence. All anyone had to do was accuse someone, and they were considered guilty. Around 17,000 people were officially executed in France, including 2,639 in Paris. Many more died in prison or were beaten to death in the streets. Over 200,000 people were arrested.
Execution of Maximilien Robespierre
As the leading member of the Committee of Public Safety from 1793, Robespierre encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than 17,000 enemies of the Revolution. The bloodshed and executions of the Terror became worse, and many people realized that it could not continue. Enemies of Robespierre organized to overthrow him. On July 27, 1794, he was removed from power and the Reign of Terror was over. He and 21 of his followers were executed the next day.
Napoleon Takes Power
On August 22, 1795, the National Convention approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature. Executive power would lie in the hands of a five-member Directory (“Directoire”) appointed by parliament. Many people protested the new regime but were swiftly silenced by the army, now led by a young and successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte.The Directory’s four years in power were riddled with financial crises, popular discontent, inefficiency and, above all, political corruption. The directors relied almost entirely on the military to maintain their authority. On November 9, 1799, as frustration with their leadership reached a fever pitch, Bonaparte staged a coup d’état, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s “first consul.” The event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era.