The French Revolution Flashcards
What are the 4 phases of the French Revolution?
(1) The Liberal Phase
(2) The Radical Phase
(3) The Thermidorian Reaction
(4) Napoleonic Consulate and Empire
The Liberal Phase (1789-1792)
A.K.A Lockean Phase
Characterized by attempts of the King to improve the situation. Included the summoning of the Estates General and the creation of the National Assembly.
The Radical Phase (1792-1794)
A.K.A Rousseauian Phase
Characterized by the Terror used to maintain the revolutionary state and the execution of the King.
The Thermidorian Reaction (1794-1799)
A loosening of revolutionary ideology followed by a shift towards an emphasis on stability.
Causes of the French Revolution
Enlightenment
American Revolution
Weakness of King Louis XVI
“Irrational” Politics
Financial Crisis
Society Before the Revolution
Estate System: 3 levels
(1) The Clergy
(2) Nobility
(3) Everyone else (merchants, peasants, etc.)
Your estate determined your rights, responsibilities and taxation.
The Estates General
Elected representatives from each Estate met separately to cast their vote. Big disagreement between the 3rd estate and the higher two. Clergy and Nobles team up and vote (2-1), always winning against the 3rd estate.
Abbe Sieyes
Argued against the special rights of the privileged. Theory of representative democracy: People elected to the Estates General should represent the entire nation, not personal beliefs or your own estate.
The Oath of the Tennis Court (1789)
Third Estate walks out of the Estates General after a disagreement over the past voting system (2vs1). Took an oath in an unlocked tennis court declaring themselves the true representatives of the nation.
The National Assembly
Created with the Oath of the Tennis Court. Third Estate establishes themselves as the true representatives of the nation and claimed authority to govern in the name of the people. Asserted the National Assembly as the highest power in France, above the King.
Influence of Locke on the First Phase
Sovereignty lies with the people. Government as a contract with the people. Instituted by people, for the preservation of property.
Full citizens = property owners
Formal politics heavily skewed towards wealthy French men.
Property ownership built into political power.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Declared all men had the natural right to life, liberty, property, and due process before the law. Established basic freedoms and sovereignty that lies with the people. France = Constitutional monarchy now
Pyramid of Citizenship
All had basic rights; however,
Passive Citizens = no right to vote
Active Citizens = Right to vote. Around 50% of French men qualified. Could not hold office
Electors = Held public office. Had right to sit in the National Assembly. Qualification decided by ownership.
National Assembly - Phase 1
Abolished serfdom, peasants no longer paid dues to nobility
Banned slavery within France, not in colonies
Why the Revolution Became More Radical
Common people become politicized
Lack of effective national leadership
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy
National Assembly confiscated the lands of the Church and abolished the tithe. Officials of the church become state employees. Counter-revolutionaries (countryside peasants mainly) fought against this
Rousseau’s Influence on Second Phase
Power and property are corrupting, but those who could rise above this corruption lived in state of virtue.
Favored equality and common interest represented by the General Will.
Loyalty to the country first and foremost
The National Convention (1792)
Delegates are elected by universal manhood suffrage. Replace the National Assembly.
Rewrites constitution in 1793, based on universal manhood suffrage.
The Mountain (Jacobins)
Jacobins = dominant political group
Formed alliances with other parties and become known as the Mountain (sat higher up in the Convention)
Began to push out moderates
Maximilian Robespierre
Leader of the Jacobins, and President of the National Convention. Declared themselves the “republic of virtue”, claiming humanity was returning to a state of natural virtue. Big emphasis on what “lays in the heart”. Painted counterrevolutionaries as corrupt.
The Terror
Used as a tool to maintain the revolution. Unsure how many people were executed (around 30,000). No one was immune from arrest and execution. Initiated by the execution of King Louis XVI
The Guillotine
Efficient means of execution. Compared to medieval methods, this was a human method to execution.
Public Aspect of Execution
Executions were public. Done in large squares where thousands gathered to witness beheading after beheading. Reason was not to instill fear, rather show transparency.
The Committee of Public Safety
Because France was at war in Europe, and the state of the revolution, a state of emergency was declared. While, on-paper, the revolution appeared to be democratic, this committee built up ‘emergency powers’ to a near dictatorship.
End of the Terror
The Terror only lasted from Sept. 1793-1794
When Robespierre gave an inconsiderate speech implying several deputies of the National Convention were traitors, he was arrested after he left and executed the following day.
Thermidorian Reaction - Led by?
A loosening of revolutionary ideology. Abbe Sieyes after surviving the terror, redesigns the revolution and creates the Directory
The Directory (1795-1799)
Committee of 5 directors who led the country (Executive Branch). Continued the revolution and brought about several more reforms, including the metric system. Successful in that is stabilized the revolution, unpopular is that 40+ year old men were calling all the shots
French Society in Phase 3
Emphasis on stability, responsibility, and age. Men +21-years-old, who paid taxes and could read and write, were ‘Active Citizens’ and could choose electors. Electors then chose deputies for the National Assembly, who are at least 40 years old.
Edmund Burke - Reflections on the Revolution in France
Attacked French Revolution for being a massive mistake, even before the radical phase. Claims French were wrong to remake their country without reverence of the past, and no regard for the future.
Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen (1791)
Rewriting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, but replaced “man” with “woman” in every single clause. Addressed male sexual responsibility, opposed terror, accused Jacobins of corruption
What came of it?
Certainly progress; however, not everyone was granted the same rights and liberties.
