The Story

of the
French Revolution
By
Dylan Escobar


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Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!
(The motto of the French Revolution)

Text

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I ntroduction

A century after the Glorious Revolution in England, conditions were growing
in France for rebellion and change. The class system was made up of three
estates. The First Estate was made up of the clergy. The Second Estate was
made up of the nobility. Finally, the Third Estate was made up of commoners
and made up 97% of the population, and included the bourgeoisie, the workers,
and the peasants. The Third Estate had no privileges but paid almost all the
taxes to fund the monarchy, which was deeply in debt because of Frances
support of the American Revolution against England. No matter how hard a
member of the Third Estate worked, it was impossible to move up in class. This
gap between the wealthy and the poor created resentment in the people against
the rich. Those at the bottom saw the wealthy grow increasingly richer, while
the poor got nothing. Many historians say that the French Revolution was
fought to balance these inequities and injustices in French society.

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The Estates of the Realm

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The marriage of King Louis XVI of France to
Marie Antoinette of Austria
Come on baby,
please?
I'm not sure...I'm afraid
it will hurt!

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The Meeting of the Estates General

The monarch of France at the time was King Louis XVI and his
wife Marie Antoinette. King Louis was a weak leader and Marie
was only interested in clothing and jewelry and they were not
popular. France was experiencing a financial crisis because it was
immensely in debt and facing bankruptcy, so King Louis decided
he needed to get more money for his debts by starting to tax the
First and Second Estate. This tax plan was unpopular with the
nobles and clergy, and they forced the king to call the Estates
General, an assembly of representatives of all three estates. The
meeting took place for the first time in 175 years on May 5, 1789
in the kings palace at Versailles.


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The First and Second Estates controlled the Estates General in the
past because of a medieval custom called vote by order that counted
the votes of the Estates by giving each group only 1 vote and
having them each meet alone. As a result of vote by order, the First
and Second Estate could control the Third Estate. The Third Estate
wanted the voting differently, they wanted individual votes and
everyone meeting together. When the Third Estate did not get its
wishes, its members began to talk about what to do. Hey decided to
create a new assembly. This vote was the first sign of revolution.

The Meeting of the Estates General was a positive step in the rise of
democracy because it is an early step in another revolution and
another example of the people taking power from a monarch.


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The Estates General meets for the
first time since 1614 representing
all the estates of France.
More
Money!
More liberty!
More equality!
More
Fraternity!

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The Tennis Court Oath

The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly on June 17,
1789 and started to discuss ways to make change. This made the
king so upset he locked the Third Estate out of the Estates General.
The delegates of the Third Estate then kicked in the door of a tennis
court in the palace and pledged not to leave until the created a new
constitution despite the king being against them. This pledge was
called the Tennis Court Oath. The National Assembly honored this
pledge and completed the task with the Constitution of 1791.

The Tennis Court Oath is another positive step in the rise of
democracy because it was an act of revolution and because it was
the people of France standing against the king and resulted in a
constitution.


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The Tennis Court took place on June 20,
1789 and was the first time the French
citizens stood against the king.
Who's
winning the
tennis match?
Repeat after me: "I
promise..."
I promise...

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Proclamation of the Constitution of
1791

Yay!
Yay!
Yay!

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The Storming of the Bastille

The king tried to make peace with the delegates of the National Assembly
and he ordered the nobles and clergy to meet with and join the assembly,
but he did not like the rising talk of revolution. The king also hired
foreign troops to protect him in Paris because he did not trust the French
soldiers anymore. Rumors began to spread about the kings foreign army
was coming to kill the people and put down the rebellion. The people
gathered weapons to defend themselves and decided to get gunpowder from
the prison in Paris called the Bastille. On July 14, 1789 the mob of people
stormed the Bastille and quickly took control. The revolution had begun.

The storming of the Bastille is another positive step towards democracy
because it showed more power found in the people and it began the
revolution that eventually ended Feudalism in France. Bastille Day is
still celebrated every year as Independence Day in France.


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The Storming of the Bastille.
Attack!!!
Revolution!!!

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Celebrating Bastille Day in
France.

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The French citizens attack the
Bastille on July 14, 1789.
Help!
Charge!!!!

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The March on Versailles

After the Bastille fell, violence spread through out Paris and
eventually the rest of France. In October 1789, women in Paris
rioted over the expensive price and scarcity of bread that made it
hard to feed their families. Their rage quickly turned against the
king and queen. Even thought the woman just wanted food, their
demonstrations became encouraged by revolutionaries who were
seeking political reforms. The market women and the growing mob
of thousands attacked the city armory to get weapons and marched
to the kings palace at Versailles. In a dramatic and violent
confrontation, the crowd besieged the palace and they successfully
pressed their demands on the king. The next day, the king made a
promise to move his family and his court to Paris, leaving
Versailles forever.

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The March on Versailles effectively ended the independent
authority of the king and symbolized a social order that displaced
the privileged order of the First and Second Estates and saw the
Third Estate as the most powerful. By bringing together the
different forces of change, the March on Versailles was the defining
moment of the Revolution.

The March on Versailles was another positive step towards
democracy because it was the point when the groups that want4ed
things different came together and the power shifted from the king
to the people.


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The women of Paris riot over bread
prices.
We are the
97%
Bread!
To the
Palace at
Versailles!
!!!

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The mob grows and marches to the
kings palace in Versailles.
Let's go get the king
and bring him back to
Paris!
While we're there,
let's get some
bread!

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The Reign of Terror

Early in the revolution, the First French Republic was formed and it was
threatened by neighboring powers intent on crushing the spirit of revolution to
halt its spread. In addition to this threat from outside France, inside France there
was conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, The
Jacobins were led by Robespierre, who called for creating a republic of virtue to erase
the past history of the monarchy and nobility. Robespierre even changed the kings
and queens in playing cards to revolutionary images. When Robespierre became
more powerful as the head of the Committee for Public Safety, he accused his rival
Girondins of treason, eventually getting authority to execute tens of thousands
Girondians and their sympathizers. Many of these executions were carried by
guillotine, an invention designed to execute someone more humanely. This bloody
time was called the Reign of Terror.

The Reign of Terror was a negative step towards democracy because it saw the rise
of a dictatorship in Robespierre became more powerful as the head of the Committee
for Public Safety and the deaths of tens of thousands of citizens.

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Robespierre and the guillotine
Rather death than
slavery!
Don't worry, it
won't hurt.
I

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The Reign of Terror led to the
execution of tens of thousands of
French citizens.
Yay!
Who's next?
Another one
bites the dust!

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The Rise of Napoleon

During the revolution, one general began to set himself apart, Napoleon Bonaparte. In October
1785, Napoleon was in the right place at the right time. Royalists marched on the National
Assembly and asked Napoleon to defend against the rebels. Napoleon defeated the royalists
and became a hero. Eventually, his skillful leadership helped to crush rebellions within
France and his military success also greatly expand the territories of France, including a
surprising victory over the more powerful Austrian army. In October 1799, Napoleon
returned to Paris after having been in Egypt with his armies to plot a coup d etat, or an
overthrow of the government. As leader of France, Napoleon Under the rule of Napoleon, the
calls for liberty, equality, and fraternity were given high priority. With the beginning of the
education system and introduction of the Napoleonic Code, Napoleon implemented many
principles of the French Revolution through the reforms of the revolution.

In 1804, Napoleon named himself as emperor of France and had himself crowned by the Pope.
The king was gone, but now France had an emperor. The revolution had come full circle.

Napoleon is both a positive step toward democracy and a negative step away from democracy.
He is appositive step because his reforms of the revolution pushed the goals of the revolution
into law. He was a step away because he was a dictator and did not govern by democracy.

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Napoleon Bonaparte
Does this pose
make me look
taller?

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Napoleon becomes Emperor.
Meet the new
boss...
...same as the old
boss!

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Conclusion

The French Revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, was an important period
of political change and brought about great transformations in the society and
government of France and it also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. It
introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy.
The revolution did end absolute rule by French kings and strengthened the poor
and the middle class. The monarchy that had ruled France for centuries was
overthrown and French society went through an epic transformation as feudalism
and aristocracy evaporated, replaced by the power of the people. Enlightenment
principals of equality and human rights overthrew old ideas about tradition and
privilege. After the revolution in France, no European kings, nobles, or other
privileged groups could take their powers for granted ever again or ignore the
democratic ideals of liberty and equality.

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The Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen


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