The French Revolution –

Causes, Effects, and

Aftermath

Martin Smith
World Civ II
George Bronner
April 27th, 2015
 CAUSES
• Most of Europe began the shift away from
absolute monarchy.
• Enlightenment writers, building off the works of
the Renaissance, question old systems.

• Rising Taxes and food shortages, whose burdens

fall on the lower classes
 LOUIX XVI
On May 10th, 1774, Louis XVI rises to the
throne of France. At the time of his
ascension, France was facing enormous
problems with crop shortages, hostilities
between religious factions, and corruption.

Louis himself did little to ease these

tensions. Believing in the divine right of his
rule, Louis set to implement policies that
would tolerate Catholicism. Nobility, fearing
a loss of tax revenue, successfully opposed
these policies, which led to discontent
amongst the Catholic majority.

Louis also dismissed a reformist minister

who was out to give the masses power, and
liberalized grain policy, leading to a greater
number of shortages.
 HEADING OFF DISCONTENT
• The Flour Wars begin over the cost of grain.
Turgot puts the insurrection down with aid
and repressive measures.
• Turgot presents his Six Edicts calling for the
abolition of privilege and the taxation of all
social classes. In May, he is dismissed and
replaced with Necker.
• Necker opposes deregulation of grain
markets put into places by Turgot. With a
set of policies, the grain market stabilizes,
Which, for the moment, calms the people.
• France makes it’s love for the US
official, recognizing the new
nation and entering the war. Taxes
are raised on the poor as a result,
crushing the good vibes that
Necker had built.
 ASSEMBLY OF NOTABLES
• In late December, 1786, Louis XVI’s
finance counselor Charles Alexandre de
Calonne sees that the country is
insolvent and cannot pay its debts. He
calls the assembly of notables, which, of
course, only includes nobility and clergy.
• In less than a year, Louis is forced to
dismiss Calonne, who flees the country in
disgrace. Given what happens in the near
future, Calonne may be one of the wisest
of the French nobles.
• Proposals are agreed on, and the
assembly is dissolved. These proposals
are roundly rejected by the Parlements,
leading to Louis angrily outlawing all
French political clubs. This would prove
to be a fatal mistake.
 SECOND ASSEMBLY OF NOTABLES
• Louis, convinced of his Divine Right, starts
arresting people left and right. The Duke of
Orleans, d'Eprémesnil and Goislard, three
reformist voices, are among the notables.
• Meanwhile, the Dutch start a revolution of
their own, and, as a result, are soon invaded by
the mighty Prussian army. Louis, knowing that
resources are strained at home due to French
involvement in the American Revolution,
rightly fears this, and convenes a second
Assembly of Notables.
• Louis uses the courts to force through laws
allowing him to do what he will against the
revolutionary forces. Lower courts are
outraged, and refuse to sit.
• The Third Estate (everyone not a noble or
clergy) is initially not doubled, until Necker,
forced by public outcry (due to pamphlets that
were spread by those arrested previously)
forces him to double representation for the 3rd
estate.
 THE ESTATES GENERAL
• By this point, those that represent the Third
Estate are furious. Riots break out in Paris (The
Réveillon Riots, where 25 member of the lower
class were murdered in a wage dispute and the
resulting riot.) and yet Louis still refused to
allow a vote my head as opposed to one by
Estate.
• The Third Estate demands a head vote. Louis
refuses. The Third Estate revolts, and starts
calling itself The National Assembly. They are
soon locked out of the Estates general, where
some priests leave the First estate to join the
Third Estate. The National Assembly takes the
tennis Court Oath, refusing to leave until a vote
is taken.
• Even as Louis is sacking Necker and inviting the
Third Estate back, ne is building an army,
including one of foreign mercenaries. The
National Assembly sees this, and starts freeing
both French guards named traitors and arms.
Matters in France reach critical mass.
 THE STORMING OF THE BASTILLE
• On July 14th, 1789, tensions hit a flashpoint in
Paris. The National Assembly had managed to
seize several firearms, yet there was little in the
way of gunpowder and ammo.
• The Bastille was a nearly abandoned prison (It
held only seven prisoners, of which one was
actually a dissenter.) However, it did hold close
to 30,000 pounds of gunpowder.
• The Bastille was “protected” by 114 soldiers, 82
of which were invalids, victims of war injuries
who were unfit for active duty. The
revolutionary forces were close to 10,000
strong, eager to tear down this symbol of
oppression.
• The matter was a rout, with the revolutionary
forces taking everything they could.
Meanwhile, the French commoners reinforced
their strongholds. Louis XIV famously asked “Is
it a revolt?” to which one of his Dukes replied
“No, sire, it’s a revolution.”
 INTERMISSION
• The key to the
left is the key
to the Bastille.
It resides at
George
Washington’s
home, Mount
Vernon.
 REVOLUTION!
Some Dates:
• July 17th , 1789: The “Great Fear”, or the
peasants revolt, begins
• August 4th, 1789: The August decrees abolish
the feudal system, and the noble right to tax.
• August 26th, 1789: The Declaration of the Rights
of Man is adopted and becomes law.
• October 5th, 1789: Paris breaks out in mobs due
to Louis refusing to ratify the above.
• October 6th, 1789: Louis agrees to ratify the
above, the Palace at Versailles is stormed.
• November 2nd, 1789: All church property is
nationalized.
• December 12th, 1789: A new currency is
minted.
• February 13th, 1790: All religious orders are
suppressed.
• May 19th , 1790: The nobility is abolished.
 Jacobin Club
• Founded in 1789
• Considered the most radical of all the social
factions of the French Revolution
• 7,000 chapters at its height
• 500,000 members at its height
• Organized in an old Dominican monastery that
had been seized by the National Assembly
• Objectives included discussing in advance what
was to be discussed in the National Assembly,
to work for the establishment and
strengthening of the constitution in accordance
with the spirit of the preamble, and to
correspond with other societies of the same
kind which should be formed in the realm
• Responsible for the Reign of Terror
• Worried less about matters abroad and more
about the revolution in France.
• Greatest leader: Robespierre
 Mirabeau
• Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, was a
nobleman who sided with the Third Estate
during the early days of the Revolution.
• Seen as a voice of the people, he came back to
power in 1789 despite several scandals that
were manufactured by Louis XVI to discredit
him.
• Mirabeau was seen as a voice of moderation,
urging for all sides to come together and fix
what was broken in France.
• Although officially a Jacobin, he was in reality a
Jacobin in name only, seeing their leftist
positions as far too radical.
• On January 1st, 1791, he was elected the
president of the National Assembly. He would
die a hero on April 2nd, 1791, a victim of,
perhaps, the excesses of his youth.
• It was later discovered he was in the employ of
both Louis XVI and Austrian rebels. His position
is disputed to this day.
 MORE REVOLUTION!
More Dates:
• March 10th, 1791: Pope Pius denounces the
Declaration of the Rights of Man, France
yawns.
• June 25th, 1791: Louis is forced to return to
Paris.
• July 15th, 1791: the king gets a no-confidence
vote, yet is reinstated.
• September 30th, 1791: Louis dissolves the
National Assembly
• January-March 1792: More food riots due to
Louis and his lax policies
• March 20th, 1792: Guillotine becomes official
means of execution in France.
• April 20th, 1792: Louis declares war on Austria.
• June 28th, 1792: The people storm the palace
and confront Louis.
• August 13th, 1792: Louis is arrested,
Robespierre takes power, and the Reign of
Terror begins.
 Maximilien
de Robespierre
• Robespierre was the central figure of the Reign of
Terror
• Main philosophical influences included Rousseau
and Montesquieu
• Twice president of the National Assembly
• Head of the Committee on Public Safety, which
was responsible for summary executions
• Called for Louis's execution on December 3rd, 1792,
by stating: "Louis must die, so that the country
may live.“
• One of the primary figures of the Jacobin Club
• Known as The Incorruptible for his undying loyalty
to the revolutionary cause.
• Opposed Louis’s war with Austria and the forced
de-Christienization of France.
• A Deist, celebrated the Cult of the Supreme Being
• Executed by traitors in government on July 28th,
1794
• Responsible for abolition of slavery in France, still
revered as a patriot to this day.
 THE WHITE TERROR
• Given the extremes of Robespierre and the
Jacobins, upon Robespierre’s death, there was
a violent correction back to the middle.
• The country was thrown into further turmoil
when anti-Jacobin forces launched what was
known as The White Terror, in late 1794
• On November 11th, 1794, closure was ordered
of all Jacobin clubs in France. Although this
effectively ended summary executions, this
also left a power vacuum in France.
• In early 1795, the Executive Directory takes
power, and for the next five years, France is
wrought with instability
• A new Constitution, building off of the
declaration of the Rights of Man, is put into
place on August 22nd, 1795
• In October of this year, a young general named
Napoleon Bonaparte wins a stirring victory,
which allows him to rally support.
 …The Revolution Winds Down
Some Dates:
• October 26th, 1795: The National Convention is
dissolved for the last time
• November 2nd, 1795: The Executive Directory
takes power
• March 9th, 1796: Napoleon wins in Italy,
solidifying his power base
• July 8th, 1797: Napoleon and forces secure
French republic in Northern Italy
• September 4th, 1797: A coup d'état by
Republican Forces marginalized the last of the
remaining Royalists in the Directory
• Various dates in 1798: Napoleon’s forces win
victories that exile the pope, claim Italy and
Switzerland, and begin the French Republic’s
conquest of Europe
• December 24th, 1799: After another coup,
Napoleon is named leader of the French
Republic by the directory, which he
immediately dissolved.
A NEW LEADER?
 A Note on Revolutions
• Most revolutions are given a
specific end date, to signify when
revolutionary forces finally seized
power. The American Revolution
ended on September 3rd, 1783,
with the Treaty of Paris. The
Russian Revolution ended on
October 25th, 1922, with the
supreme victory of the Red Army.
• The French Revolution, however,
has no specific ending, as turmoil
internally was carried out for
almost 20 years. Therefore, most
historians cite the ascension of
Napoleon as the end of the French
Revolution
 In Memoriam:
“Put the guns into our hands and we will use them. Give us the slogans and we will
turn them into realities. Sing the battle hymns and we will take them up where you
left off. Not one not ten not ten thousand not a million not ten millions not a
hundred millions but a billion two billions of us all the people of the world we will
have the slogans and we will have the hymns and we will have the guns and we will
use them and we will live. Make no mistake of it we will live. We will be alive and we
will walk and talk and eat and sing and laugh and feel and love and bear our children
in tranquility in security in decency in peace. You plan the wars you masters of men
plan the wars and point the way and we will point the gun."
-Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun, 1939

War is a hellish proposition, and in most cases, the young men and
women who are sent off to fight it to do not memorialize a cause or
stand for a slogan. Rather, they end up dead, so that the rich become
richer. This is in memory to all of those, on either side, that died in the
French Revolution, and in any senseless armed conflict since the
beginning of time.
QUESTIONS?