Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Revolution Begins

Chapter 2: The People Take Charge

Chapter 3: Taking on the World

Chapter 4: The King Must Go

Chapter 5: Desperate Measures

Chapter 6: We've Had Enough

Chapter 7: We Need a Hero

Chapter 8: A Brief Conclusion

Intro

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 its 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. 

King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette 

        Chapter 1: Revolution Begins

During the 18th century, France was made up of 3 Estates: First Estate, Second Estate, and Third Estate. 

    The First Estate was made up of Priests, and church people. 

    The Second Estate was made up of the nobles

The Third Estate consisted of the merchants, doctors,                                         and lawyers. 

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 one vote.  This was unfair because the third estate, which made up of most of the Estates General, did not get enough proper representation. 

Voting Head by Head vs Voting by Order

        Chapter 1 continued

The third estate became fed up with the Estate General and broke off and formed The National Assembly, a group that proclaimed they 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. 

Tennis Court Oath in 1789

People were 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 in to 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.  Peasants began rioting the rising prices of bread and marched in Versailles, the palace of King Louis XVI, forcing him and the Queen to leave their home and move into their palace located in Paris. 

The King and Queen's removal from Versailles allotted the change and the ever growing radical reforms that were starting to take over. 

    Chapter 2: The People Take Charge

Liberty and Equality, and Fraternity was the slogan of the French Revolution

Storming of Versailles                        Bastille Day    

Chapter 3: Taking on the World

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 that there was still 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. 

France accepting the French Constitution of 1791

Chapter 3 Continued

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. 

France declares war on Austria on April 20 1792.  Prussia also becomes allies with Austria.