Roots of Revolution

SWBAT: IDENTIFY THE 3 ESTATES OF FRANCE

HOMEWORK: NONE

DO NOW: WHAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO GIVING THIS YEAR?

French Revolution Diary ProjectDISTRIBUTION AND OVERVIEW

Beginnings of the Revolution question review

1. What kind of problems was France facing at the end of the 18th century?

2. What changes did the Third Estate want to make in the Estates General?

3. Why is the storming of the Bastille significant? 4. What is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

and what kind of ideas could one find in it? 5. What happens to King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette? 6. What is the Reign of Terror? 7. What event marks the end of the French Revolution?

Beginnings of a RevolutionSOCIAL CLASSES, DISCONTENT, AND UPRISING

Some background…

For 100 years before the revolution (1789) France was one of the largest and most powerful countries in Europe.

Kings claimed absolute power and that God had chosen them to rule.

Starting in July, 1789, however, things were going to start to change dramatically. Within months, the king would lose all power. The lowest class would rise up and take control.

But why?

King Louis XVI

Problems within France

Economic: kings of France had been overspending and been fighting wars on and off for the past 50 years. The palace of Versailles (in today’s money) cost millions of dollars. French and Indian War was expensive and came at a loss. The American Revolution while a win, was extremely costly.

Famine Poor harvests led to a rise in cost for food. This would not be matched by a rise in wages.

Social Classes

The Three Estates (social classes) of France

Clergy% of population: 1%• Paid no tax• Taxed those

living on their land.

Everybody else% of population: 97%• Taxed heavily.• Richest of the

97% are the bourgeoisie.

Nobility% of population: 2%• Paid no tax• Taxed those living

on their land.

First Estate Third EstateSecond Estate

Discontent of the third estate grows

Hunger. Poor harvest and low wages means

people cannot feed themselves. Social and economic inequality.

The rich live in large houses, eat well, and do not pay taxes.

Nobility is so far removed from what is going on, they don’t particularly know or care what the 3rd estate is experiencing.

ENLIGHTENMENT!!

Financial Crisis- the Beginning Louis XVI, like the kings before him,

continued to overspend. Debt worsens.

French aid during the American Revolution was costly.

Nobility/clergy rioted and refused to pay taxes when asked.

French bankers deny the gov’t money when asked.

Louis calls for a meeting of the Estates General for the first time in 175 years to solve the problem.

The Estates General

What is it? Body of gov’t where representatives

from each estate met. Traditionally, each estate met

separately to cast their votes. Each estate casts one vote and has the

same # of representatives. Why would this be unfair?

The Meeting of the Estates General

At the meeting called by the king, the king declared that voting would be the way it had always been done- separately.

At the meeting, the Third Estate demands better representation and to meet at the same time as the other estates. King does not respond.

In response, the Third Estate breaks away creating the National Assembly starting the French Revolution.

The Tennis Court Oath

After the 3rd estate declared themselves the National Assembly, they attempted to meet, but found the doors to be locked : (

In response, they met at a nearby indoor tennis court. This leads to the Tennis Court Oath. The deputies pledged to continue to meet until a new

constitution had been written. The oath was both a revolutionary act, and an assertion that

political authority derived from the people and their representatives rather than from the monarch. 

Influences

The Estates General meets in 1789. What events, ideas, and people are influencing the third estate’s decisions and actions?

"The Tennis Court Oath at Versailles” by Jacques–Louis DavidUnfinished.

Exit Slip

To the right is a political cartoon. What message is the artist trying to convey?

"You should hope that this game will be over soon."