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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY - Coggle Diagram
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
dificult times for the monarchy
France last third of the 18th century under the reign of Louis XVI
France was a model of absolute monarchy
ruled under enlightened despotism
most of the population began to criticise the situation and demand a change of regime
Factors that triggered the revolution ( 1789)
The liberal ideas of the Enlightenment
become popular amongst large segments of the population
Criticism of absolutism and the division of society into estates became widespread
Inequality before the law
noblemen and clerics did not pay direct taxes
the third estate did pay taxes
they agreed that neither the nobility nor the clergy provided any economic benefit to society
Economic crisis
After the Seven Years’ War
France lost Canada, possessions of india and Africa against Great Britain
it affected the Royal Treasury
Political unrest
Many propaganda pamphlets criticising the Old Regime were printed and distributed
The king and queen were openly criticised and discredited
books of grievances were compiled in France’s towns and cities
Citizens and peasants described their complaints and demands in these books
Social inequalities
farming production could no longer meet the demand for food during poor harvests
many Parisians went hungry and had no resources
The example of the United States
the marquess of Lafayette, fought on the side of the colonists in the American War of Independence
delegates who had signed the Declaration of Independence also visited France frequently
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
phases of the french revolution
The estate-general (1789)
French Revolution was a long revolutionary process ( 1789 -1804)
Its first phase began when King Louis XVI assembled a consultative Parliament
The Estates-General was assembled because the Royal Treasury had problems paying its expenses
It proposed that the rich pay taxes
estate assembly, the voting system was one vote per estate
third estate wanted it to be individual one vote per attendee as they were the majority
the nobility and clergy rejected this idea
third estate delegates formed the National Assembly
They declared themselves the only representatives of the French people and swore not to depart until France had a Constitution
National constituent assembly (1789-1791)
the social situation got worse
Parisians rose up and attacked the Bastille prison, which held political prisoners of the absolute monarchy
soldiers defending the prison opened the doors so they could escape
nobles’ homes were raided
the king could not dissolve the Assembly which introduced reforms
he drew up the Constitution of 1791, which established the division of powers
Louis XVl contacted other absolute monarchies to conspire against the new regime
but he was discovered and detained in the Tuileries Palace
Declaration of the rights of man and of citizen
This declaration was set by France’s National Constituent Assembly
the most notable articles
Article 3
The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation.
Article 11
The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man
Article 1
Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.
Legislative assembly (1791-1792)
Constituent Assembly was dissolved and elections were held following censitary suffrage
results determined the formation of the Legislative Assembly
three new political tendencies appeared
The Girondins
they were moderates, federalists and supporters of the parliamentary monarchy
second highest number of representatives
The Jacobins
were radical liberals, centralists and supporters of the Republic
were in the minority
The Plain
deputies who were in the majority and did not belong to any party
the absolutist powers of Austria and Prussia attacked France and threatened Paris in 1792
sans-culottes rose up, as they were suspicious of the loyalty of a king who had conspired with the invaders
Legislative Assembly suspended the executive power of the king and called elections by universal manhood suffrage
sans-culottes
identified the lower classes of Parisian
The sans-culottes allied with the bourgeoisie and played a large role in the main revolutionary events
National convention (1792–1795)
the Assembly assumed legislative and executive powers, becoming a National Convention
the Convention removed and imprisoned Louis XVI
Republic was proclaimed in September 1792.
Jacobins took control of the Convention, which voted for more radical measures as the war abroad escalated
committees carry out different tasks of government, slavery was abolished and measures were approved to support the lower classes
The Convention drew up a Constitution that was never approved
Inspired by the Jacobins, it envisaged greater political democratisation by establishing
distributing wealth
giving people the right to food, education and work
universal manhood suffrage
the terror
Robespierre, leader of the Jacobins, led the Public Health Committee which was responsible for defending the revolution
It ordered the execution of anti-revolutionaries and anyone suspected of being an anti-revolutionary
coup d’état 1794
They seized power and sentenced Robespierre to death
‘White Terror’ against the Jacobins
Liberty ,Equality, Fraternety
This motto eventually represented the French Revolution
The directory (1795–1799)
The new Constitution was approved in 1795
The new legal text established an executive power called the ‘Directory’.
Internal instability and the lack of a definitive victory abroad led to a new coup d’état.
the consulate (1799–1804)
Napoleon Bonaparte, led a coup d’état in 1799
The new constitutional text established a Congress and a Senate with very few powers
the government power
the executive power
legislative powers
