France and the Old Regime Before the revolution France operated on

a system known as the Old Regime.

In this system there is an absolute

monarch and three social class: clergy

(first estate), nobility (second estate), and

everyone else (third estate). How you are

treated depends on what estate you are

in.

People have no say in the government

unless the king asks for it (which is rare).

Population Breakdown

Pay 2% of

income in tax

Pay NO

TAXES

Pay up to 50% of

income in taxes

Tax Break Down

Where the government's money comes from

First Estate

Second Estate

Third Estate

Third Estate Breakdown

98% of the French people are part of the Third

Estate:

Bourgeoisie – educated citizens who believe

in the ideas of the Enlightenment (artisans &

merchants)

Workers – lower paid workers who were less

educated (servants, cooks, etc.)

Peasants – 80% of the population, work

directly for a noble typically farming or doing

other manual labor, generally not educated

Enlightenment IdeasEnlightenment Ideas were

spreading and people began

to question whether the Old

Regime (an absolute

monarch and the three

estates system), was the

best approach for France.

The bourgeoisie knew about

Enlightenment ideas and

wanted more freedoms and

say in the government.

American Revolution

People saw the success of

the American revolution.

Many of the ideas put

forth in the American

Declaration of

Independence were

Enlightenment ideas. It

was very inspiring to

people to see these

ideas put into action.

France’s EconomyFrance used to be very wealthy, but lately there were a lot

of problems with their economy.

There were several causes for this struggle:

1. Heavy taxes to countries who tried to do business with France.

2. The cost of living rose for everyone.

3. Bad weather in the 1780’s resulted in food shortages.

4. The price for bread doubled in 1789 and many people faced starvation.

5. France’s King, Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were very extravagant and spent lots of money. Bankers refused to lend him anymore money and he was in deep trouble.

Louis XVI

Louis XVI was an

absolute monarch who

ruled France before and

during the revolution.

Louis XVI didn’t think the

people should have

more rights and

freedoms, and didn’t

want them to have any

say in the government.

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette was

an Austrian princess

who was married to

Louis XVI.

She was hated by the

French people for being

from Austria and

spending a ton of

money.

Impending Doom

Louis put off dealing with the money issue until

France was facing bankruptcy.

Louis knew he needed to raise money so he tried

to tax the Second Estate. The Second Estate

protested wildly and insisted the Louis call

together a meeting of the Estates – General an

assembly of representatives from all three of

the estates to decide what to do on the issue.

The Estates – General had not met in 175 years.

The Meeting of the Estates -

General In the Estates – General

each estate gets one vote.

The Third Estate would

never win because the First

& Second Estate voted

together.

This time the

representatives from the

Third Estate demanded that

they vote by population.

Louis XVI said no, which

made the Third Estate

angry.

National AssemblyThe Third Estate decided they would form there

own group and called themselves the National

Assembly. The goal of the National

Assembly was to pass laws and reforms in

the name of the French people.

Three days later when the National Assembly

found themselves locked out of a meeting hall

they broke into a local tennis court and took a

pledge to keep meeting until they had created a

new constitution for France. This became

known as the Tennis Court Oath.

Storming the Bastille

Louis was scared so he

hired Swiss Guards to

protect him (he didn’t trust

his soldiers).

People saw the Swiss

Guards and thought Louis

was going to attack them.

On July 14, 1789 angry

citizens stormed the

Bastille, a prison in Paris,

to get gunpowder and

supplies to fight back.

Great Fear

After the invasion of the Bastille

a wave of senseless panic

known as the Great Fear

spread through out France.

In October 1789 approximately

60,000 Parisian women rioted

over the rising price of bread.

The women marched to

Versailles and broke into the

palace.

They took the king and queen

as prisoners.

Historical Context: Imagine you are a member of the bourgeoisie who is leading the French Revolution. You have to make quick decisions for each crisis. After you read about each real situation below, then the class will ask any clarifying questions about it, and then you will write your own solution to the problems presented. When you are done, the teacher will tell you what really happened.

1789 - The peasants are rebelling, but the bourgeoisie cannot control them. The peasants think that their right to freedom means they can do whatever they want since now they are free from the control of the king. They don’t know what good rights or bad rights are and have no understanding of the “social contract”. This is looking more like the state of nature. What should you do?