First Estate
Made up of the clergy. They owned 10% of the land, collected tithes, and paid no taxes.
Made up 0.5% of the population
Second Estate
Nobles of the French society. They were given the top jobs in government, the army, courts, and the Church. Owned 20% of the land. Made up 1.5% of population.
-No taxes
Third Estate
Made up 98% of the population, and could only own 70% of the land. At the top was the bourgeoisie (middle class)- included bankers, merchants, and manufacturers. Also, rural peasants, ad urban workers. They were given no privileges (paid taxes)
bourgeoisie
middle class of the third estate. They made up the top of the Third Estate
-bankers, merchants, manufacturers, officials who staffed royal bureaucracy, lawyers, doctors, journalists, professors, and artisans.
deficit spending
government spending more money than it takes in. Added to economic troubles . By 1789, half its tax income went just to pay interest on this enormous debt.
seven year's war
louis XIV left France Deeply in debt. The seven year's war strained treasury even further. Costs generally had risen in the 1700s and the lavish court soaked up millions. To bridge the gap between income and expenses, the government borrowed more and more
Attempt to solve debt
To solve the financial crisis, the government would have to increase taxes, reduce expenses, or both. However, the nobles and the clergy fiercely resisted any attempt to end their exemption on taxes.
Poor Harvests
bad harvests sent food prices soaring and brought hunger to poorer peasants and city-dwellers. Hard times and lack of food inflamed these people. People rioted, demanding bread. Peasants began to attack the manor houses of nobles.
Jacques Necker
a financial wizard, chosen by Louis XVI, as an advisor. Necker urged the king to reduce extravagant court spending, reform government, and abolish burdensome tariffs on international trade. When Necker proposed taxing the First and Second Estates, however
Estates General
As the crisis deepened, the pressure for reform mounted. Finally, the wealthy and powerful classes demanded that the kind summon the Estates General before making any changes. French kings have not called the Estates General for 175 years, fearing that no
Third Estate: Pre-Tennis Court Oath
Delegates to the Estates General from the Third Estate were elected, though only propertied men could vote, making them mostly lawyers, middle-class officials, and writers. They went to Versailles not only to solve the financial crisis, but also to insist
Wanted voting for meeting with estates general
The Estates General convened in 1789. From the start, the delegates were deadlocked over the issue of voting. Traditionally, each estate had met and voted separately. Each group had one vote. Under this system, the First and Second estates always outvoted
Third Estate- National Assembly
After weeks of stalemate, delegates of the Third Estate took a daring step. Claiming to represent the people of France, they declared themselves to be the National Assembly. They then invited delegates from the other estates to help them write a constitut
Tennis Court Oath
A few days later, the National Assembly found its meeting hall locked and guarded. Fearing that the king planned to dismiss them, the delegates moved to a nearby indoor tennis court. There, the delegates took their famous Tennis Court Oath. They swore, "n
Storming the Bastille
On July 14, 1789, Paris seized the spotlight from the National Assembly meeting in Versailles. The streets buzzed with rumors that royal troops were going to occupy the capital. More than 800 Parisians assembled outside the Bastille, a grim medival fortre
The Great Fear
In such desperate times, rumors ran wild and set off what was later called the "Great Fear". Tales of attacks on villages and towns spread panic. Other rumors asserted that government troops were seizing peasant crops. Inflamed by famine and fear, peasant
factions
Paris was in turmoil too. As the capital and chief city of France, ti was the revolutionary center. A variety of factions, or small groups, competed to gain power.
National Guard
As factions competed to gain power, moderates looked to the Marquis de Lafayette, the artistocratic "hero of two worlds" who fought alongside George Washington in the American Revolution. Lafayette headed the National Guard, a largely middle-class militia
Declaration of the Rights of Man
In late August, as a first step toward writing a constitution, the assembly issued the declaration rights of man and the citizen. The document was modeled in part of the American Declaration of Independence. All men, the French declaration announced, were
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
The principles of the Declaration of Right of Man were captured in the enduring slogan of the French Revolution: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
Women's March for Bread
On October 5, thousands of women streamed down the road that led from Paris to Versailles. "Bread!" they shouted. They demanded to see the king. Much of the crowd's anger was directed at the queen, Marie Antoinette. Ever since she had married Louis in 177
Results of Women march on Versailles
The women refused to leave Versailles until the king met their most important demand- to return to Paris. Not too happily, the king agreed. The next morning, the crowd, with the king in tow, set out for the city . At the head of the procession rode women
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The National assembly put the french catholic church under state control. They issued the civil constitiution of the clergy, in 1790, where bishops and priests became elected, salaried officials. The civil constitution ended papal authority over the frenc
Constitution of 1791
The National Assembly completed its main task by producing a constitution. The constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries. A new legislative assembly had the power to make laws, col
emigres
European rulers increased border patrols to stop the spread of the "French Plague". Fueling those fears were the horror stories that were told by emigres-nobles, clergy, and others who had fled france and its revolutionary forces. emigres reported attacks
Legislative Assembly
In October 1791, the newly elected Legislative Assembly took office. Faced with crisis at home and abroad, it would survive for less than a year. Economic problems fed renewed turmoil
Sans-culottes
working-class men and women who pushed the revolution into more radical action. By 1791, many sans-culottes demanded a republic, or government not ruled by a monarch, but by elected representatives. Within the Legislative Assembly, several hostile faction
Jacobins
A revolutionary political club, that were mostly middle-class lawyers or intellectuals. They used pamphleteers and sympathetic newspapers editors to advance the REPUBLICAN cause
controlled the convention (later -1792)
The Tuileries
Battle disasters quickly inflamed revolutionaries who thought the king was in league with invaders. On August 10, 1792, a crowd of Parisians stormed the Tuileries and slaughtered the king's guards. The royal family fled the Legislative Assembly.
Suffrage
The right to vote
Backed by Paris crowds, radicals took control of the Assembly. Radicals called the election of a new legislative body called the national convention. Suffrage was to be extended to all male citizens, not just property owners. The Convent
Committee of Public Safety
(In1793, danger threatened France on all sides. The country was at war with much of Europe. Royalists and priests led peasants in rebellion against government) To deal with threats to France, the Convention created the Committee of Public Safety. The 12-m
Maximilien Robespierre
a shrewd lawyer and politician who quickly rose to leadership of the Committee of Public Safety. Among Jacobins, his selfless dedication to the revolution earned him the nickname "the incorruptible" His enemies called him a tyrant. He had embraced roussea
The Reign of Terror
Robespierre was one of the chief architects of the Reign of Terror, which lasted from July 1793-4. Revolutionary courts conducted hasty trials. Spectators greeted death sentences with cries hailing the republic. Perhaps 40,000 people died during the Terro
the Directory
the constitution of 1795 set up a 5 man directory and a 2 house legislature elected by male citizens of property. The middle-class and professional people of the bourgeoisie were the dominant force during the stage of the French Revolution. The directory
olympe de gouges
a journalist who demanded equal rights in her declaration of the rights of women. "Women is born free," she said, "and her rights are the same as those of man." Reasoned that all citizens, men or women, being equal in the state's eyes, must be equally eli
nationalism
a strong feeling of pride and devotion to one's country, spread through France. Revolution and war gave french people a strong sense of national identity. they attended civic festivals that celebrated the nation and the revolution. A variety of dances and
secular
The convention tried to de-Christianize France. It created a secular, or nonreligious, calender with 1793 as year 1 of the new era of freedom. It banned many religious festivals, replacing them with secular celebrations. Huge public ceremonies boosted sup
Jacques Louis David
A leading artist of the period, who immortalized on canvas such stirring events as the Tennis Court Oath and, later, Napoleon's coronation. David helped shape the way future generations pictured the French Revolution.
la Marseillaise
the national anthem of france