Chapter 7 Section 1 The French Revolution Begins

Chapter 7 Section 1 The French Revolution Begins

The Old Order • In the 1770 s, France was under the Old Regime • The people were divided into three social classes called estates – The First Estate was made up of the Roman Catholic Clergy – The Second Estate was the rich nobles – These groups paid no taxes

• The Third Estate consisted of 97% of the population divided into three groups – The Bourgeoisie were the middle class • Believed in the Enlightenment and many had money – The second group were the city workers • They were the poorest – The peasants were the largest group

The Forces of Change • Other factors besides resentment between classes also led towards the revolution • Enlightenment ideas and the American Revolution encouraged the Third Estate to seek a new government

• Debt from the American Revolution placed a heavy tax burden on the people – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette also spent a lot • Louis XVI was a weak leader who did not follow advice – He also received poor advice from his wife who was hated by the people

Dawn of the Revolution • The King was forced to call the Estates. General to help deal with the debt problems – This was made up of representatives from all three estates – Each estate was given a single vote, but the third estate wanted each representative to receive a vote

– In protest, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes suggested the creation of the National Assembly • They would pass laws in the name of the French people

• The National Assembly was locked out of their meeting hall and broke into a tennis court to protest – They took the Tennis Court Oath to not leave until a new constitution was created

• Rumors of what was happening began to spread and the people of France became worried the military may became involved • In response, the people of Paris stormed the Bastille prison looking for weapons

– They massacred the prison commander and guards – The fall of the prison became a symbol of the Revolution and July 14 has since been known as Bastille Day

A Great Fear Sweeps France • The peasants feared the nobles were hiring outlaws to terrorize them • In return, the peasants began to attack the nobles’ manors

• In October 1789, the women of Paris rioted over the price of bread – They broke into Versailles and killed some of the guards – They demanded Louis return to Paris and the king and his family left the palace for the last time