BELLWORK

1
BELLWORK

• Define the following words
• Estate
• Tithe
• Bourgeoisie
• THINKER The French Revolution starts when
  peasants stand up and revolt. What are some
  positive and negative effects of standing up
  against your government?

2
Causes of the French Revolution
3
Long-Term Factors

• The Enlightenment Encouraged freedom and social
  justice
• The American Revolution An example of liberty
  and freedom
• Social Problems The Estates System
• Political Conflict Unfair absolute monarchy
• Economic Weakness Expensive wars, Lavish
  spending by kings

4
French Society The Old Order

• Before 1789, Frances class system was made of
  ESTATES (orders of society) and all French people
  belonged to 1 of 3 estates
• The estates determined a persons legal rights
  and status

5
The First Estate

• Made up of clergy
• About 1 of the population
• Controlled 5 10 of land in France
• Enjoyed many privileges
• Did not have to pay taxes

6
The Second Estate

• Made up of the nobility
• About 2 of the population
• Owned 25 of land in France
• Held high positions in the government and
  military
• Owned large estates and paid no taxes
• Incomes came mostly from peasants living and
  working on their land

7
The Third Estate

• Made up of Middle Class (bourgeoisie), peasants,
  and artisans
• About 97 of population
• Middle Class (doctors, lawyers, merchants) were
  educated and wealthy, but had no prestige or
  privileges
• Looked to Enlightenment philosophers that spoke
  about freedom and social justice
• Peasants owned 40 of land in France, but were
  forced to pay over half of their income to king,
  clergy and nobles
• Members of this estate had no voice in government

8
Call For Change

• In 1774, King Louis XVI and wife Marie Antoinette
  came to power
• The king was faced with severe debt and wanted to
  tax the First and Second Estates
• The two estates refused to pay the taxes
• The king was forced to call the Estates-General
  in 1789

9
The Estates-General

• The Estates-General was made up of delegates from
  each estate and each estate was given I vote
• With this type of voting, the clergy and nobility
  would vote together and always overrule the Third
  Estate
• The Third Estate felt the vote should be based on
  the number of people in the estate, thus giving
  them the majority vote

10
The Tennis Court Oath

• Fearing a revolt, the king locked the Third
  Estate out of their meeting place in the
  Estates-General
• The Third Estate then declared themselves the
  National Assembly and began meeting in an indoor
  tennis court
• Here, they took an oath called the Tennis Court
  Oathrefusing to disband until they had a written
  constitution for France

11
The Storming of the Bastille

• The Bastille (a Paris prison) symbolized
  injustices of the monarchy
• July 14, 1789 a mob surrounded the Bastille in an
  attempt to steal weapons needed to defend the
  National Assembly
• The soldiers killed 98 rioters and the rioters
  released 7 prisoners

12
The Storming of the Bastille

• This outbreak led to the formation of a
  Revolutionary Government in Paris
• The Storming of the Bastille led to a wave of
  violence in France
• This event is considered the beginning of the
  French Revolution