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Chapter 1--Intro

Chapter 2--Revolution Begins

Chapter 3--People Take Charge

Chapter 4--Taking on the World

Chapter 5--The King Must Go

Chapter 6--Desperate Measures

Chapter 7--We've Had Enough!

Chapter 8--We Need a Hero!

Chapter 9--Conclusion

During the 18th century, France was made up of three estates: 

First Estate, Second Estate, and Third Estate. 

The First Estate was made up of the clergymen.

The Second Estate was made up of the nobles.

The Third Estate consisted of the bourgeoisie (merchants, 

doctors, lawyers) and and the peasants (farmers).

At this time, France was helping out with the American Revolution 

and the Seven Year's War, borrowing money to use for the wars. This 

brought along a great financial crisis and France was running out of 

money to spend. By 1787, France and it's monarchs were bankrupt.

The age of reason, or the Enlightenment was beginning at this time. 

People were beginning to doubt the existence of God and were 

challenging the order of the Old Regime and the monarchs, which at 

the time included King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. 

King Louis the 16th was considered a lousy king who was blind to the 

troubles of his country. His wife, Marie Antoinette, an archduchess of 

Austria, was thought to be selfish, her excessive need to spend money 

on lavish things   one of the major causes of France’s debt issues.

The meeting of the three estates was called the Estates 

General. 

Votes were counted by order rather than by head, 

which meant each estate received only vote. This was 

unfair because the third estate, which made up most of 

the Estates General, did not get enough a proper 

representation.

Voting by Order v. Voting by Head

The third estate became fed up with the Estate General 

and broke off and formed The National Assembly, a 

group that proclaimed the put an end to the absolute 

monarchy and was the start of a representative 

government.

The National Assembly was treated so unfairly that 

they were locked out of the Estates General meeting so 

they had a makeshift meeting in the tennis court. The 

Tennis Court Oath was born and it promised   to stay 

together until they had written a constitution for 

France.

The Tennis Court Oath in 1789

People were beginning to become restless. There was talk of foreign troops 

coming in to take charge over the peasants. Out of fear and rage, the people 

stormed into the Bastille, stealing weapons to defend themselves. This day 

became known as Bastille Day and it symbolized the beginning of the French 

Revolution.

However, the storming of the Bastille also brought along the Great Fear, a 

wave of senseless panic that spread throughout France. Peasants went wild, 

terrorizing nobles and burning down their homes. Women began rioting the 

rising prices of bread and marched into Versailles, the palace of King Louis 

XVI, forcing him and the Queen to leave their home and move into the palace 

located in the Paris. 

The King and Queen’s removal from Versailles allotted the change of power 

and the ever growing radical reforms that were starting to take over.

Bastille Day

Storming of Versailles

The Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution of 

France and was written after the collapse of the Old Regime 

and the Absolute Monarchy.

France was now under a Limited Monarchy which meant 

there still was a king, but he shared all the power and the 

Legislative Assembly created all the laws.

Under this new government, the State took Control of the 

Church and the Catholic Church lost a lot of its power and 

was controlled by the State.

Political cartoon portraying limited 

monarchy

Church officials wanted Church 

land, rights and privileges 

restored

France declared war on Austria because they feared that 

Austria would try to re-instate King Louis XVI on the throne 

and had to defend their new republic they had fought so hard 

for. Prussia joined the war as allies with Austria, it seemed as 

though France would lose but came out as victors in the end. 

The leaders behind this war were the emigres, the aristocrats 

that left France when it was clear that the social and political 

order would not be restored in their favor. The Emigres played 

an important role in bringing about the war between the 

Revolutionary France and the rest of Europe.

The emigres pushed France 

to go to war with Austria fo

France declared war on Austria 

on   war on 20 April 1792 with 

Prussia as allies with Austria.

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