The

French
Revolution
By: Ana Dimovski and Alessa Atallah
 Causes of the Revolution
Many events, social dilemmas, and leadership corruption such as those below led to the French Revolution:
● The Estates System
○ The population of France was divided into three classes: Clergy (1), Nobility (2), and Middle class/
Peasants (3)
○ The people felt like they were under the government disliked the class system
● Taxes
○ The French people faced heavy taxes and were enraged with them
● Financial Crisis
○ France was in debt due to its involvement in a multitude of wars including the American Revolution
○ This caused the people to become more angry with the government
● Bread
○ The cost of wheat and other goods increased and made them more expensive
○ This affected those who were of the lower class and had trouble affording different foods
● Corrupt Leadership
○ Louis XV and Louis XVI were both ineffective leaders
○ Louis XV tried to demolish the financial crises, yet failed in harmonizing with other areas
○ He tried to share reforms, but the people only became more condemning of their king
 Who was Involved
● The two main sides of the revolution were the French citizens and the French Monarchy; however, there were also many
important people involved in the revolution as well
● Napoleon Bonaparte
○ General in the French army
○ Leader of the 1799 coup that overthrew the Directory
○ His accession marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of Napoleonic France and Europe
● Jacques-Pierre Brissot
○ Member of the Legislative Assembly and National Convention who believed in the idea of a Constitutional Monarchy
○ Lost his life at the guillotine during the Reign Of Terror in 1793–1794 for being a Girondin leader
● Louis XVI
○ French king from 1774 to 1792 who inherited the debt problem left by his grandfather, Louis XV
○ He added to the crisis himself through heavy spending during France’s involvement in the American Revolution from
1775 to 1783
○ The debt overwhelmed all of his financial consultants, so he was forced to convene the Estates-General
○ This action led to the outbreak of the Revolution
● Marie-Antoinette
○ Wife of King Louis XVI and a symbol of the French royalty’s extravagance to the French people
○ Marie-Antoinette was executed in 1793 for treason
● Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
○ Liberal member of the clergy, supporter of the Third Estate, and author of the 1789 pamphlet “What Is the Third
Estate?”
○ Sieyès was one of the primary leaders of the Third Estate’s effort at political and economic reform in France
Importance of the Revolution
We can learn the following from the French Revolution:
● Advocating for yourself could change history
○ Many people thought since the government was “higher up” than
them and that they had no say in what happened to their country
○ They eventually worked together and were able to come up with a
plan to overthrow the oppressive government and lead better lives
for themselves and the future generations
● Bringing back old political institutions can be fatal
○ French King Louis XVI triggered the French Revolution by holding the
first session of France’s parliament or Estates General in 175 years
● Political upset does not stay in one country
○ The French Revolution began as a political issue in one nation, but
turned into a series of European Wars that lasted over 20 years
● Political and income inequality can lead to revolution
○ A primary cause of the revolution was the royal government’s failure
to address vast political and economic inequality
Desired and Actual Outcomes
● Desired end result:
○ The citizens wanted the overthrow the monarchy
● Short Term End Results:
○ Put an end to the French monarchy
○ Ended the Bourbon rule in France
○ Ended Feudalism
○ Gave women rights
○ Brought new ideas to Europe
○ Brought liberty and freedom for commoners
○ Abolished slavery
○ Brought the rise of modern nationalism
● Long Term End Results:
○ Took political power from the Catholic church
○ Established the precedent of representational, democratic government, now the model of
governance in much of the world
○ Established liberal social tenets of equality among all citizens, basic property rights, and
separation of church and state
 Significant Events
● June 17, 1789
○ The Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National Assembly
■ Three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the serment du
jeu de paume, vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved
○ Shortly after, most of the clerical deputies and liberal nobles had joined them
■ They all wrote three new orders for the king to approve
■ On June 27, Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new assembly
● July 14, 1789
○ Fear and violence had been consuming the capital for weeks due to the recent breakdown
of royal power
○ Rioters stormed the Bastille which marked the start of the French Revolution
● August 4, 1789
○ National Constituent Assembly decided to abolish feudalism
● Last August of 1789
○ National Constituent Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen
■ This was based on the democratic principles grounded in the philosophical and
political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers
● September 3, 1791
○ France’s first written constitution was adopted which established a constitutional
monarchy
 Significant Events Cont.
● April 1792
○ Newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Prussia and Austria
○ Insurgents attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king on August 10
○ The Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National Convention which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy
and establishment of the French republic
● January 21, 1793
○ King Louis XVI was condemned to death for high treason and crimes against the state
● June 1793
○ New radical measures like the eradication of Christianity occurred
○ The Reign of Terror began
■ 10 year period when suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotines by the thousands
● August 22, 1795
○ National Convention approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature
■ Executive power would live in the hands of a five-member Directory
● November 9, 1799
○ Napoleon staged a coup d’état, abolished the Directory, and appointed himself as France’s “first consul”
○ This marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic Era
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Thank you!