THE REVOLUTION IN POLITICS 1775 1815 Unit 6

THE REVOLUTION IN POLITICS, 1775 -1815 Unit 6

SOCIAL CHANGE 18 th century European society was legally divided into groups with privileges (nobility & clergy) and those with burdens (peasants). Land, taxes, jobs Economic & population growth increased income inequality More women & children entering the work force Wider divide between the rich & poor Rise in new mixed-caste elite (nobles & wealthy commoners) Blurred the lines of ‘ancient privilege’

GROWING DEMANDS FOR LIBERTY AND EQUALITY Call for liberty = call for human rights Freedom of worship, press, and protection for arbitrary laws Declaration of the Rights of Man –French Revolution The people have sovereignty Equality all citizens should have identical rights and liberties (in theory) No gender equality No racial equality No economic equality

ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Seven Years War (1756 -63) Britain became leading European power (Treaty of Paris) Victory, but expensive British government’s direct taxes seen as threat to American independence Stamp Act (1765) - “No taxation without representation” Boston Tea Party (1774) British Coercive Acts First Continental Congress met in Sept. 1774 to solve conflicts with Great Britain Nope…

INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1774) Freedom & republican government Helped to shift public opinion toward independence 2 nd Continental Congress Declaration of Independence July 4 th, 1776 Broad social base of revolutionaries made the revolution democratic Britain v. colonies/Europe France allied with American colonies in 1778 Spanish & Dutch declared war on Britain & Russia helped to limit Britain’s naval power Treaty of Paris (1783)

FRAMING THE CONSTITUTION (1789) Establishment of a national republic Constitution & Bill of Rights (reflected natural-law theory) Representative self-government Central government operates under a system of checks and balances Montesquieu States can also “check” the federal government

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”

CONDITIONS BEFORE THE REVOLUTION The Good üLouis XVI’s minister, Turgot, capable üImproves agriculture üImproves trade: abolishes many internal customs barriers & improves roads üNobles’ privileges reduced üEfforts made to end tax abuse & office buying Jacques Turgot Famous Economist üHighest law court, Parlement de Paris, authority increased.

CONDITIONS BEFORE THE REVOLUTION The Bad o. Turgot out, 1776 o. Traditional distribution of power: o 1 st two Estates, clergy & nobles, favored o 3 rd Estate, middle class, and peasants (4/5 + of the population), no political rights o. Discriminated against in seeking high positions and economic advancement French peasants o. Each social class divided into rich/poor —the rich in each class and the poor in each class cooperate with others, not with their class

KING LOUIS XVI King of France from 1774 -1793 Weak and indecisive leader faced with growing economic, social, and political problems

MARIE ANTOINETTE Queen of France. Married Louis when she was 14. Her extravagant spending on jewels, clothes and gifts angered a country that was suffering. Was unpopular Queen.

THE CAST OF CHARACTERS The Three Estates: French society was divided into three large social classes (think pyramid of power).

THE FIRST ESTATE: THE CLERGY Clergy were the officials of the Catholic Church (Bishops, Archbishops and Priests of the larger and wealthier parishes). No clergy members paid taxes. Great wealth of the Church was resented by the people.

THE SECOND ESTATE: THE NOBILITY • A very wealthy group. • Only represented 1. 5% of the population • Controlled 1/5 of the land • Not supposed to work for a living. • Lived off of income from land. • Exempt from the main tax

THE THIRD ESTATE • Basically everyone else in France… • Middle class (merchants, lawyers, public office officials) – Bourgeoisie • Urban Workers • Worked in small factories • Peasants • Up to 90% lived at or below substance levels in lean years

Louis & Marie An. INCENTIVES TO REVOLT A. Ideology—Enlightenment notions of political/economic freedom and human ability B. Political—Spread of nationalism, American revolution example, dissatisfaction with foreign policy & military defeats, corrupt law courts, arbitrary arrests. Government out of tune with the times C. Personal—Grievances against King, Queen, and corrupt nobles D. Economic—although poverty not that bad compared to other nations, people lacked confidence in government • Rising prices, intermittent food shortages due to poor harvest (88’+89’), recurrent periods of unemployment • Tax inequities, land tax paid by 3 rd estate only, salt tax, wine tax, work tax and many others. • Nobles/clergy often exempt

OUTBREAK: 1789 Treasury goes broke; Parlement opposed legislation that would have taxed nobles & solved the problem. Louis XVI tried to dismiss judges revolt Louis XVI decides to call the Estates General (didn’t meet often, representative body like Congress, includes all 3 estates) List of Grievances … Cahiers!

OUTBREAK CONT… Estates General called and election held, but 3 rd estate saw they’d be out voted. New National Assembly (3 rd estate) vowed not to disband until France had a Constitution. “Tennis Court Oath” Disbanded at bayonet-point 7/14/89—Bastille stormed, 7 set free, nobles begin to flee and people arm themselves and adopt a new flag.

THE REVOLT OF THE POOR AND THE OPPRESSED Marquis de Lafayette appointed commander of the city’s armed forces. Popular uprising had broken the power monopoly of the royal army. National Assembly saved. Great Fear: Rise in spontaneous, violent, and effective insurrection by peasants against lords Fanned the flames of rebellion. Abolition of feudal dues and noble privileges victory for the peasant class.

NAPOLEON Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 -1821) Born into an impoverished noble family (Corsica) Attended French military academy Resume… Lieutenant in the French artillery in 1785 Helped suppress a royalist insurrection in Paris and was promoted to major general in 1795 Commanded French forces in Italy (1796 -97) Success Egyptian campaign (1799) Failure Not widely publicized

NAPOLEON’S RULE OF FRANCE Growing opposition to the Directory Napoleon praised for his ‘heroism’ “Confidence from below, authority from above” –abbé Sieyès November 9, 1799 Overthrow of the Directors “coup of 18 Brumaire” National Convention disbanded at gunpoint Napoleon named ‘first consul of the republic’ Retained republican appearances

THE NAPOLEONIC ERA (17991815) Napoleon’s domestic policy popularity & charisma to maintain order. Exchange favors for service Napoleonic Code (1804): Equality of all males before the law. Restricting women’s rights (family monarchy) Concordat of 1801: healed relations with the Catholic Church Limited free speech & press

EXPANSION OF EUROPE Military victories against Great Britain & Austria (1802) Treaty of Amiens (1802) & Treaty of Lunéville (1801) Battle of Trafalgar (1805) Failed invasion of Great Britain Used wartime atmosphere to declare himself emperor (1804) Defeat of Austria in 1806 Abolished the Holy Roman Empire Established the German Confederation of the Rhine

THE GRAND EMPIRE AND ITS END Continental System: blockade imposed by Napoleon to halt all trade between continental Europe and Britain. Abolished feudal dues & serfdom High taxes military Growth of “reactive nationalism” Quadruple Alliance: Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia “War of liberation” Napoleon abdicated April 4, 1814 Restored Bourdon dynasty under Louis XVIII Hundred Days: Napoleon finally defeated at Waterloo June 18, 1815

HAITIAN REVOLUTION (17911804) Saint-Dominque: most profitable Caribbean colony before the French Revolution. Diverse population: European: French officials, plantation owners, merchants, and poor immigrants Creoles: individuals of European decent born in the colonies African decent: 500, 000 enslaved & 40, 000 free Liberty, equality, and fraternity National Assembly grants political rights to free people of color (1791) White elite refuse violence

THE OUTBREAK OF REVOLT 1791: Vincent Ogé (free man of color) Inspired by events in Paris, raised an army to fight for political rights Captured and executed Slave revolts begin August 1791 Much like reaction of the sans-culottes (radical reforms) France’s National Assembly extends full citizenship rights to free men of color France abolishes slavery in Saint-Dominique & other colonies (1794) Needs soldiers to fight British and Spanish colonial control

THE WAR OF HAITIAN INDEPENDENCE André Riguard Free elite resented growing power of former slaves Toussaint L’Ouverture Freed slave and former Spanish officer Defeats Riguard & takes control of the colony (1800) Arrested and deported to France (Napoleon) Jean Jacques Dessalines Lieutenant of L’Ouverture Crushed French forces in 1804 New Constitution declared in 1805