1. Revolution Threatens the
French King

2. French Revolution Learning
Goals
• Students will investigate, using their
interpretations of primary and secondary
sources, how the Enlightenment played a
role in developing notions of nationalism
and republicanism for the French people.
• Students will evaluate the economic,
political, social and cultural climate of
Old Regime France and explain how this
climate was conducive to revolution

3. More Goals
• Students will examine the origins and
development of modern democratic forms
of government, political equality, and the
separation of powers in France.

4. It’s the 1770’s in France
• At this time, France’s citizens are divided up into three
different estates
• First Estate
• This was the clergy of the Roman Catholic
Church.
• They made up less than 1% of the population,
but owned 10% of the land and paid about 2% of
their income to the state.

5. • Second Estate
• This was the nobles.
• 2% of the population, but owned 20% of the
land. Oh, and they didn’t pay taxes. Nice.

6. • Third Estate
• The other 98% of the population.
• They too were divided into three different groups.
1. The bourgeoisie were usually merchants and
artisans. They could be rich but had to pay
taxes and didn’t get the privileges of the
nobles. They were into the Enlightenment.
2. The city workers were poor wage-earners.
3. The peasants made up about 80% of the
overall population and paid out nearly half
their income to various entities.

7. • So you have about 2% of the population
owning 30% of the land and paying
almost nothing in taxes while the other
98% is largely poor, disaffected, heavily
taxed, shut out of the political process,
and is being influenced by Enlightenment
ideals of democracy, social contracts, and
overthrow of sovereigns.
• Not to mention the successful revolution
those nice Americans just had. It just
needs a spark.

9. Another part of the problem was the royal family.
• The king, Louis XVI, while reasonably popular, was
terribly indecisive. Modern scholars think he may have
suffered from clinical depression.
• During his bouts of depression, his queen, Marie
Antoinette, took control.
• Marie was very unpopular. She was Austrian,
flaunted extravagance, and resisted French social
etiquette to the point of shocking the elite.
• In her defense, however, Marie was married at
age 14 just hours after meeting Louis for the first
time (Louis was just 16, painfully shy, ate a lot,
and their marriage was reportedly not
consummated for seven years) and the French
etiquette in the royal court was ridiculous with
the royals always on display.

12. Thrown into this volatile mix was a bad economy
• First off, the crown was spending a lot.
• Like most kings, Louis 16 was spending a lot on
wars, including helping out those nice American
revolutionaries.
• Louis and Marie were also spending a lot on their
own personal luxuries, which was bad enough in
itself, but also looked bad to others. Marie actually
had no real concept of the value of money.

13. • The system of taxation, while unfair, was
also inefficient and unbalanced.
• One finance minister even proposed
further spending to inspire confidence in
the state’s finances, though he also
wanted better taxation.

14. • Louis tried reforming the tax system, but the noble
assemblies resisted him.
• Finally, the Estates-General is called in 1789 at
Versailles.

15. Estates-General
• This was an assembly of representatives of all three
estates.
• Each estate met separately and submitted one vote
each on proposals. The first and second estates, with
similar interests, could defeat the third estate.

16. • This didn’t sit well with the third estate. Especially,
since they thought they had won a victory by getting
double representation.
• So the third estate demanded to meet as one body
with each deputy having one vote, which would
swing favor to them.
• One of their leaders was the Abbe Sieyes who
released a pamphlet asking, “What is the Third
Estate? Everything. What has it been up to now in the
political order? Nothing. What does it demand? To
become something herein.”

17. Sieyes
- Would like to
become
something
herein.

19. • The third estate thus forms itself into the National
Assembly, with the power to pass laws for the people.
• This was pretty radical in itself and the Assembly
declared itself the power in France.
• They got locked out of their chamber, barged into an
indoor tennis court and took what has become
known as the Tennis Court Oath.
• The oath: We swear never to separate ourselves
from the National Assembly, and to reassemble
wherever circumstances require, until the
constitution of the realm is drawn up and fixed
upon solid foundations.
• Again, revolutionary in that they were declaring
power derived from the people and not the king.

21. Louis tries to make nice with the National Assembly and
even orders the other two estates to join them.
• He’s also getting paranoid and distrusts his guards and
starts using mercenaries who the people distrusted.
• Other events take place and the unrest grows.

22. • Eventually the Bastille is stormed.
• The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the
ancien regime. It was also a weapons depot and
the mob wanted the weapons and gun powder.
• It wasn’t much of an active prison at this point
and was slated for closure. At the time, it had
only seven prisoners: four forgers, two
lunatics, and a pedophile.
Vive la revolution!
You want some
candy?