7.6: The French Revolution (2)

• History
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

The French Revolution

2. A New Government.

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• Why France became a Republic
• Which problems the republic faced.
• What happened to Louis XVI
  
• How Robespierre could start The Terror
  
• Why the Directory could not solve the problems
  
• How other European countries reacted to the revolution in France
  
• How Napoleon seized power in 1799
  

1790. The king accepted the new constitution. He had to. France was now a constitutional monarchy.

This meant that the king still ruled (monarchy), but his power was no longer absolute.

The king needed to obey the rules of the constitution and carry out the laws made by the National Assembly.

 

The National Assembly had huge problems:

• The king pretended to co-operate, but all he really wanted was to get his absolute power back. 
  
• Its members did not agree about how France should be governed. There were moderate and more radical members.
  
• The people of Paris were still hungry. 
  
• The Assembly had little control of areas of France the furthest from Paris. Some areas rose up in support of the king.
  
• Other kings in Europe were afraid the revolution would spread to their country. Some kings were preparing to attack France and make king Louis absolute monarch again.
  

the king flees

King Louis XVI did not like the situation.

Much of his power had been taken away by the National Assembly. And the 1st and 2nd Estates had been stripped of most of their privileges, making everybody more equal in France.

The king decided to flee...

He wrote letters to the king of Austria, the father of his wife Marie-Antoinette, asking for his help to get back his throne with the help of Austrian soldiers.

Watch the next video about the king's flight.

What was Louis XVI's goal when he tried to flee France?

1. He wanted to gather an army abroad and take back power in France
2. He wanted to get his family to safety in Austria
3. He wanted to live a quiet life on a tropical island
4. He wanted to become king of another country

What was the result of his failed flight?

1. The 1st and 2nd estate were angry because the king had abandoned them
2. The king of Austria no longer supported him
3. he was now seen as a traitor by the French people
4. He got all his power back and ruled once more as an absolute monarch

Republic

The king was now a prisoner in his own palace.

The National Assembly decided that Louis XVI could no longer be a king. France would become a republic and Louis a normal citizen. They would call him "citizen Capet" instead of "his majesty".

In the meantime, several European countries worked together (= a coalition) to attack France and put the king back in power.

Some radical members of the National Assembly just wanted the former king dead.

They got what they wanted. Louis was sentenced to death for betraying his country.

Watch the video of Louis' execution.

Source A: an engraving of the execution Louis XVI in 1793, made at the time.

Louis is named as 'Citizen Capet' - the name given to him when France became a republic

When was this source made?

the caption reads: "made at the time", so that must be 1793, when Louis XVI was executed.

What does the caption of the source suggest about the politics of the artist who made it?

Louis is named as 'Citizen Capet' by the artist, not "King Louis XVI"

This suggests he supported the revolution

The Terror

On 21 January 1793, Louis was executed for encouraging a foreign invasion to make him king again. Royalists (supporters of the king) rose against the government and were eventually beaten. More executions followed. 

On 6 April, a Committee of Public Safety was set up to uncover plots against the government. More and more accusations were made to this Committee. 

More and more people were sent to the guillotine for execution. 

In September the period often called 'the Terror' began. 

People began to make accusations out of fear of being accused. No one seemed safe. 

Churchmen and nobles were in greatest danger, as well as politicians who opposed the Committee of Public Safety. But anyone was at risk.

The Committee of Public Safety was led by Robespierre, who had much power. However, he also made many enemies. 

On 27 July 1794, he was accused of treason and executed without trial, like so many of his victims. 

The Directory

 The National Assembly now governed with a five-man Directory. It still faced many of the issues that the Assembly had faced in 1789:

• There was no stable government across all of France. 

Paris was still in political uproar - after all the violent changes everyone wanted more than ever to get the kind of government they approved of into power. 

• The new government was not accepted by most European countries, and France was still at war. 

• While there was more equality in France, the cost of wars meant people were still paying high taxes. 

Napoleon Bonaparte

The Directory relied on the army to keep the peace - in France and outside it. 

The army became more and more powerful. 

In the French army, an officer called Napoleon Bonaparte was very succesful.

He defeated France's enemies one by one. He was promoted to general.

In November 1799, General Napoleon Bonaparte came back to France and forced the Directory from power, replacing it with three Consuls. He made himself the First Consul. 

By 1804, he was sole ruler and crowned himself Emperor

Source B. An engraving of the 1801 celebrations of 

the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789

Study source B
When was it made?

1. 1789
2. 1801
3. 1793
4. 1814

Study source B
Who was in power then?

1. king Louis XVI
2. Robespierre
3. the Directory
4. Napoleon

List three words to describe the impression it gives about the celebration

for instance:

massive

expensive

well-attended (crowded)

colourful

impressive

SOURCE C

"Every day, fresh plots were discovered; laid at the door of nobles, priests, bankers and foreigners. The stories 

became so weak they did little credit to the imaginations of those who made them up. Sometimes they were supported by letters so badly forged that they convinced no one. 

As the Terror tightened its hold, 'suspicion' was enough for an arrest. 

One man was arrested for 'looking noble', another because a total stranger said he supported monarchies. You were arrested for being rich, or clever. 

The guillotine was claiming both the innocent and the guilty in such numbers that the gutters seemed to stream with blood."

Written by Helen Williams

Helen Williams was a poet and author. She went to France in 1788 to stay with her sister, who was married
to a Protestant clergyman there.

She wrote enthusiastically about liberty and equality and had many friends in the Third Estate who were
pressing for a French constitution.

One of her close friends, Madame Roland, was executed during the Terror.

Helen and her family were arrested as foreigners in October 1793. They were released in November 1793 

What do you think was Helen's political view on a) the French Revolution? b) the Terror?

Support both answers with examples from the source or caption.

a) she supports the ideas of the French Revolution. The caption reads: 

She wrote enthusiastically about liberty and equality and had many friends in the Third Estate who werepressing for a French constitution.

b) she hates the Terror. The source reads:

The stories became so weak they did little credit to the imaginations of those who made them up. Sometimes they were supported by letters so badly forged that they convinced no one. 

The whole source text suggests that many innocent people were arrested without proof, or with false proof. In the caption we read: One of her close friends, Madame Roland, was executed during the Terror.

Who ruled when?

Monarchy

until 1789:         The King rules alone: absolute monarchy.

1790 - 1792:      The National Assembly makes the laws. The King's power is limited by the                             constitution: constitutional monarchy

Republic

1792 - 1794:      Committee of Public Safety (the Terror of Robespierre)

1795 - 1799:      The Directory (5 men ruled together)

1799 - 1804:      Three Consuls (one of them was general Napoleon Bonaparte)

Monarchy

1804 - 1815:      Napoleon rules alone as Emperor

Write these events in the correct chronological order in your notebook. Add dates if possible.

1790:   France becomes a constitutional Monarchy

1791: The king tries to flee the country

1792: France becomes a republic

1793: Execution of Louis 

1793 /94: Reign of Terror

1794: Robespierre executed

1794 – 1799: Five Directors rule France

1799: Napoleon forces Directory from power and  becomes First Consul

1804: Napoleon Bonaparte becomes emperor

important words

constitutional monarchy:    The powers of the king are limited by a constitution

privileges:                             special rights (for example: not having to pay taxes)

coalition:                               countries (or people) working together

royalist:                                 supporter of the king 

moderate:                              reasonable, not extreme

radical:                                  someone who wants to take extreme measures to make                                                            extreme changes. (an extremist)

Time left? Watch the amazing Lady Gaga clip of the French Revolution...

France

Want

Paying

Head

More

Tooth

Napoleon

Revolution

Tennis

Estates

Paris

bread

monarchy

die

revolution

crazy

crazy

terror

God

months

terror

solution

corruption

Napoleon

When Napoleon crowned himself emperor in 1804 France became..

1. a monarchy
2. a republic