The First Estate was made up of members of the Catholic Church, ranging from high-ranking bishops and cardinals to parish priests. Privileges included:

1. Exemption from Taxes: The First Estate was exempt from the taille, the main direct tax. They paid only a "voluntary gift" to the monarchy, alot lower than what they would have owed in taxes.

1. Never did their jobs because they were not getting taxed for it and  could not get fired. So they were super lazy 

2. Ownership of Land: The Church was a significant landowner, holding about 10% of the land in France. They collected rents and feudal dues from those who lived and worked on their land.

3. Judicial Privileges: Members of the clergy were often tried in special ecclesiastical courts rather than the regular judicial system, giving them a more lenient legal process.

4. Censorship and Influence: The Church had control over education and the power to censor literature and media. They also influenced political decisions.

mainly  nobilty (nobility purchased their title), bishops. Cardinals, Archbishops, priests

Bourgeoisie 

1. bourgeoisie=bankers, merchants, professionals, lawyers

1. complained  about:

2. Lack of political power and representation

3. unfair  taxation 

4. Feudal Privileges of the Nobility

5. Restrictions on Economic Freedom

6.  social inequality and lack of recognition

2. Artisans: shope\keepers

3. Working class/urban poor. Farmers peasants

1. Costly wars, helping out many other countries and trying to provide for themselves. Mainly the 7 years war 

2. Lavish spending by the monarchy

1. Mainly by the king and queen with extravagant lifestyle at Versailles

3. Inefficient tax system 

4. Failure to reform

5. Rising costs and economic struggles 

6. Debt = from borrowing 

1. Palace of Versailles is a excess of the french monarchy before the french revolution

2. It is where the king and queen lived

3. Filled with lavish architecture and interiors, extensive gardens and grounds, symbol of absolute monarchy court life at versailles 

4. Crowds forced the king and his family to leave the palace and return to Paris. 

1. Why the name: representative body that includes all 3 estates, could suggest things but king had the final say. 

2. Why did it fail:

1. Voting disputes and inequality:

2. Formation of the national assembly 

3. Failure to address  the crisis.

• Bailly, the National Assembly’s president, led the Tennis Court Oath.

• On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate boldly declared that it was the National Assembly and would draft a constitution. (579)

• Ability to draft and pass laws

• Approve the budget

• Hold the government accountable 

• Made up of 577 deputies

• Elected by the public in a two round voting system

They then moved to a nearby indoor tennis court and swore that they would continue meeting until they had a new constitution. The oath they swore is known as the Tennis Court Oath. (579)

Bailly, the National Assembly’s president, led the Tennis Court Oath.

• On July 14, 1789, about 900 Parisians gathered in the courtyard of the Bastille —an old fortress, used as a prison and armory. The price of bread had reached record highs so the crowd was hungry and agitated. 

• Represented symbol of victory to the common people 

• Power shift → people had more say; got more privileges (look up what privileges)

• Peasant rebellions became part of the vast panic known as the Great Fear.

• peasants feared that the work of the National Assembly would be stopped by foreign armies.

• peasants reacted by breaking into the houses of the lords to destroy the records of their obligations.

• Abolition of Feudalism: members of the nobility and the clergy renounce the privileges of feudal rights;

•  included the abolition of serfdom

• Special privileges of aristocracy

• On August 26, the National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Inspired by the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and by the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution, this charter of basic liberties began with “the natural and imprescriptible rights of man” to “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.”

• Reflecting Enlightenment thought, the declaration proclaimed that all men were free and equal before the law, that appointment to public office should be based on talent, and that no group should be exempt from taxation. Freedom of speech and of the press were affirmed.

• The declaration raised an important issue. Should equal rights include women? Many deputies agreed, provided that, as one man said, “women do not hope to exercise political rights and functions.” One writer, Olympe de Gouges, refused to accept this exclusion of women.

• natural rights including “life liberty and property”

• Social contract theory

• Government by consent

Enlightenment era philosophers. 

Locke: man is a blank slate at birth. Social contract (people provide the government with its power), people have natural rights

Voltaire: advocate of reason and tolerance, believed in separation of church and state, supported constitutional monarchy

Rousseau: people are the source of government and government's role is to protect freedom and equality, social contract, people should have individual freedoms, if a government goes against the will of the people the people have a right to rebel

Montesquieu: separation of powers, constitutional government, checks and balances, religious toleration/freedom

Cause/Effect of Women's March to Versailles

• Causes:

• Economic hardship and food shortages 

• Indifference of the monarchy 

• Political tensions 

• effects:

• King and queen forced to Paris 

• Increased influence of the people

• Rise in revolutionary momentum 

• Symbolic shift 

• More say for women 

• Type of government created 

• Constitutional monarchy

• Separation of powers

• Key reforms 

• legislative  assembly 

• Abolition  of nobility privileges 

• Judicial reforms 

• Right and liberties

• Economic reforms

Civil Constitution of the Clergy-What did it do? Why was it controversial?

• played a key role in driving a wedge between the revolutionary government and many of its citizens, contributing to the broader destabilization of France during the Revolution.

• State control of the church

• clergy  as state employees 

• Reasons for controversial

• Conflict with religious authority 

• Oath of loyalty

• Religious and political tensions 

• L'Ami du Peuple

• Advocated rights for the lower classes 

• Advocacy for violence

• influenced popular opinion 

• Criticism of the government 

• Role in revolutionary events 

• Overall, "L'Ami du Peuple" reflected Marat's unwavering commitment to the revolution and his belief in the need for drastic measures to achieve social justice and protect the revolution form its enemies. 

Why did the Constitutional Monarchy lose the support of the people?

political reasons economic reasons religious reasons military reasons

• because people thought they did not get what they needed or equal rights,

• The people who were not a apart of the monarchy or anyone who was in the lower class did not support the monarchy

• They were in a big debt which effect lower class and more people didn't agree with the ideas of the new constitutional monarchy.

political reasons economic reasons religious reasons military reasons

• In a big debt from helping other countries in war, and from the 7 year war.

• Public safty commitee

• All power lives within the legislative assembly

• Freedom of religion

•  Did not like how much power the clergy had and took it away. 

• Monarchy was abolished new french republic was created

• Drafted new democratic constitution

• individuals had rights for the first time.

• Led by Robespierre

• They sat at the top right in the middle(called mountain) 

• Really wanted king gone

• mostly in Paris not really spread outside

• Wanted complete change and more power in the people

• Lived in more rural areas of France not in the city 

• Also a political club 

• Opposed to the jacobins

• more moderate than the jacobins
• many were bourgeoisie

• Wanted to keep the king and have the power with the king

• Did not want to change the revolution keep everything the same

Why did France go to war in 1792? (King's motives, nobles motives, Girondins, Austrians)

• Wanted to flee and Marie's family was in Austria

• So then legislative assembly declared war because they thought Austria and Prussia were working against the french revolution.

- wore the long pants

• Ordinary people, no royalty

• Many were merchants or artists

• attacked the palace, national convention

August 10th, 1792

Brunswick Manifesto to people of Paris and effect of this.

• Prussia threatened to destroy paris if any harm went to the royalty

• Killing anyone who they thought were traitors or had any thought against the revolution

• Aristocrats

• Not using the guillotine

Republic (1792-94)

• Support the new government and think your country is the best and better than any other country.

Purge of the Girondins National Convention- political reforms economic reforms military reforms social reforms ideological reforms religious reforms

• Said they (girondins) couldn't be there because they thought they were to moderate for the perspectives of the revolutionaries 

• Arrested 29 killed 21 people in the national convention

Committee of Public Safety-key reforms

• Given power by the national convention 

• 1793-94 they took control of the government

• Decided to make an example of lyon because of all the killing

• Passed laws that let them kill anyone who supported monarchy, also had laws that suspended a public trial so they would just be killed.

• Little militaries made by local authorities and they could just raise and train them.

• Changed the month names, 10 days in a week  3 weeks in a month 10th day was day of rest. No sunday because it followed the church and they got rid of everything that was associated wuth the catholic church. 

• Had over a million soldiers. 

• Dominated the public safety committee

• R  did not agre with D’s idea so he rounded up dantons men and danton and puts his men in jail and kills danton in the guiillotine 

• R = jacobins

• Very targeted killing

• People wanted to “reset” their country  so they thought the best way was to kill the old leaders

• Very little way to raise opposition, if you did you would be killed 

• used the guillotine

Total War and Levee en Masse

• when  a country gives a 100% effort to win a war. This usually involves the entire population participating in the war.

• Levee en Masse:

1793, public safety passed a law, that forced all people to help in war if 25-fight woman- textiles(uniforms) this lead France to create a huge arm that by late 1793 began to win the war against coalition of Austria and Prussia. 

• Execution device

• National razor

Why did France return to a moderate form of government?

• People were afraid to continue just after all that violence and turmoil ended.

• Most of the extreme royalty and monarchists had been killed (also lots of jacobins were killed, so extreme people on both sides were gone)

Directory-First French Republic

• Had a constitution

• 5 directors chosen by council 

• National courts, judges

• Oath of federal government 

• Universal suffrage for men

• 83 departments

• Weak government lasted 4 years. 

problems during the Directory/Republic

• War against britain and austria. Been 5 years of war. 

• Weather was terrible for agriculture

• Massive food shortage and high prices so that meant debts. 

• General

• gained popularity with the people when he crushed a roaylist rebellion in 95

• 99 he lead a coup non violent and became consul

• Didn't lose much in wars (in a time when France had lost a LOT of battles), always won the battles he lead.  

• 1804 crowned himself emperor