Mr. Gentry’s Western Culture Unit 3 Resources
The Age of Revolution/Focus on the French Revolution with the American
Revolution
Chapter
19- The French Revolution and Napoleon
Click on the links in the boxes to go to the following resources
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The Objective:
Students will be able to:
Compare and contrast (similarities and differences)
the French and American Revolutions.
This should include an understanding of the events
which led up to and the ideas and factors which caused the French and American
Revolutions, the events and key people of the revolutions, the attempts to set
up new governments that followed, and the results/impacts of all of these.
Questions:
1. How will we all reach our objective?
(Activities for
Presentation to the class)
2.
How will we assess the learning?
3.
What criteria should we use to determine that a student has
reached the objective and to what level (grade)?
(create a rubric)
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We will:
1.
Brainstorm
and compile our answers to the above questions as a class
2.
Place
our top three choices for an activity, in order of preference, and hand this in
to the teacher who assigns according to choices (effort will be made to give
you your first choice, but if not, it should be one of the top three)
3.
In
your groups agree on a timekeeper, facilitator, recorder, and supervisor
4.
As
a group determine what needs to be done and who will do each task (some
homework will be necessary to finish)- using a lotus diagram for organization
that will be handed in for a grade
5.
Create
a timeline for finishing the project (deadlines for what needs to be done for
each day) –turn this in by the end of class
6.
Each
person fills in their peer grade sheet for each person in their group for each
class period (we will work on this the last 5 minutes of each class and are to
be kept secret) – I will collect these at the end of the project
7.
Work
on the activities for 4 class periods and be ready to present at the next class
meeting. The class period following the last presentation would be a debriefing
and preparation for a test on the material that will be the following class
period.
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A. Governing the Colonies:
*1770-1763- colonial expansion with local elected
control and trade regulated by Britain (the Navigation Acts)
B.
The Road to Revolution
1.
After
the Seven Years War (French
and Indian War) Britain needed money and decided to tax the Colonists to pay
their share
2.
The
Stamp Act was the first,
which led to a meeting and then people agreed to not pay the taxes. When
enforced, riots broke out and they boycotted British goods and it was repealed
C. Relations
Worsened between 1765 and 1775
1.
The
“Boston Massacre” occurs in 1770
2.
1773-
Boston tea Party occurs as a
result of a tax on tea
3.
As
Punishment- the “Intolerable
Acts” are passed in 1774 by Parliament – Quartering
act (soldiers to be housed) and the Quebec
Act (govt. in territory south to Ohio River- limiting settling there
4.
In
response, The Continental
Congress convened in Sept. 1774 where they agreed to ignore the acts and
boycott British goods and agreed to a Second Continental Congress in the Spring
of 1775
5.
In
April of 1775- War begins at Lexington
and Concord
2. 1781- At Yorktown, Virginia- Washington’s army captures Gen. Cornwallis. Then Parliament forces King George III to sign a peace treaty with the Americans
F. Framing a Constitution
1. 1781-1789- The Articles of Confederation- weak central govt. and stronger states that would not always cooperate
2. 1787- leaders met in Philadelphia to revise the articles of Confederation and instead, they drew up a new constitution and the states ratified it in 1789. It contained the concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances, and natural rights in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution (added in 1791)
G. Impact
*The world looked at what the U.S. had done. The Constitution and
Declaration of Independence would
be a model followed around the world
Ch. 19- The French Revolution and Napoleon
Ch. 19 Section 1- The French Monarchy in
Crises
A. Structure of the Old Regime
1. Under Louise XIV (14th) –Absolute Monarchy and the people divided into the 3 estates or classes - Clergy, Nobility, and Commoners
2. There was a representative body called the Estates General but it was not necessary because they did not have the power of taxation as the British parliament did and had not met since 1614. The 1st and 2nd estates blocked any reforms and the poor grew angry as problems grew worse in France
B. The First and Second Estates
1. First Estate- Clergy- divisions between upper clergy- from the noble class, and the lower clergy (parish priests) who are commoners – the Church collects tithes and own vast amounts of property
2. Second Estate- Nobles- less than 2% of the people –only nobles could become officers or fill high positions in the church. Some were richer than others, but after the death of Louise the XIV –they tried to regain power taken during his reign. They also were part of the high courts and could thus refuse to register an order given by the king if it limited their power.
3. Third Estate- Commoners -the bourgeoisie or middle class as well as the peasants and the city workers. The bourgeoisie was the most outspoken and believed in the enlightenment ideas and called for tax reform because the 3rd estate paid most of the taxes. The peasants had it the worst –being like serfs who still paid taxes, tithes to the church, and rent for their land. They also resented the privilege of the 2nd nobles who could hunt when they could not. City workers also had it bad as their wages increased slower than the inflation rate.
C. The Growing Economic Crises
1. 1700’s- mostly doing well with food surpluses as the population grew and the mining and textile industries thrived with the government policies
2. Late in 1700’s- poor harvests, govt. policies limited business and trade expansion, trade guilds still held monopolies in some fields, and the French govt. continued to borrow huge amounts of money to support the court (palace) at Versailles and to fight with the Americans.
D. Attempts at Reform-
1. Louise the XVI – enjoyed himself but had little time to rule. His minister of finance (Turgot) tried reforms such as taxing the nobles, which did not make it past the law courts that were ruled by nobles, and he was fired.
2. Louise XVI could do little at this points and in the fall of 1788, in a desperate move, he called for a meeting of the Estates General to be held in May of 1789
Ch. 19 Section 2- A Moderate Start the
Revolution
A. From Estate General to National Assembly
1. Each area elected an assembly who then elected deputies to the Estates General. Here each Estate met separately and had one vote on a measure. The Third Estate called for one vote per deputy. The king rejected them
2. The Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly and declared the right to write a constitution. The king banished them from the meeting and they met on the tennis court and swore the Tennis Court Oath –promising not to disband until they had written one.
3. The King ordered the Three Estates together in a National Assembly. The third Estate and some of the 1st and 2nd, wanted equality for all, no more Feudal obligations, no more titles of nobility, and to set up a limited constitutional monarchy.
B. Popular Uprisings
1. Peasants and poor people in Paris wanted faster action and started to get restless when the National Assembly did not instantly write a constitution that helped the food shortages. Then when the King moved troops to Versailles, the people were afraid he would disband the Assembly and thus they stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
2. People heard rumors of bandits and the “Great fear” followed. This led the peasants to get weapons that they then turned on the landlords and the old way of doing things
C. Reforms of the National Assembly
1. The national assembly wrote the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” in August 1789, (this included many enlightened ideas of equality) yet there was still no constitution and riots occurred in Paris
2. In October, a large group from Paris, led by women, marched to Versailles and brought the King and the assembly back to Paris to keep an eye on them
3. The National Assembly started reforms such as freedom of religion, no privileges for the Church, and passed the Civil Constitution of The Clergy, which gave Govt. control of the church, elected bishops and priests, and the govt. even began selling church land to fund itself.
4. The Constitution of 1791 made it a constitutional Monarchy with separation of powers, and gave equal rights to all men
D. Responses to the First Stage of the Revolution
1. Radicals wanted a republic, the Nobles thought they went too far- and became known as émigrés as they left France.
2. Marie Antoinette asked for help from her brother, the emperor of Austria, and tried to flee the country but she and Louise XVI were brought back as the king was forced to accept the constitution.
3. In the National Assembly- radicals were on the left and moderates sat on the right side (radical radicals were Jacobins and led by Robespierre who would soon take charge of the revolution)
Ch. 19 Section 3- The Revolution Deepens
A. France at War
1. France declared war on Austria in April 1792. Prussia joined the Austrians against the French
2. The French were at first not doing well with having few good officers
3. The Duke of Brunswick threatens to burn Paris, but instead loses the war as the people rally under the cry for “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
4. The war causes economic problems for France and radicals took over the Paris city government and set up a new govt. called a commune, imprisoned the King, took over the national Assembly, and called for a new constitution to be written by a national convention (while war was still on)
B. The National Convention
*Elected as mobs roamed and killed anyone thought to be an enemy of France, abolished the monarchy, then after finding a trunk of letters showing the king was trying to crush the revolution, they tried and convicted the king and then beheaded him on a guillotine. – (see skill lesson for discussion on page 442)
C. Attacks on the Revolution
1. By 1793- the French armies had taken the Netherlands and Prussia. In March 1793, however, Great Britain, The Dutch Netherlands, Prussia, Austria, and Spain joined against the French and pushed them back.
2. The wars caused economic hardship and starvation and uprisings
D. The Reign of Terror
1. The National Convention took action and initiated the Committee of Public Safety, led by Maximilien Robespierre. This committee had almost total power to get rid of the enemies of the revolution.
2. The committee easily convicted people on very little evidence and then executed them with the guillotine. (20,000- 40,000 men, women, and children were killed, including Marie Antoinette)
3. The Committee did draft and train new armies and got them winning again. They also limited wages and prices as they rationed white flour.
4. By 1794, the revolution was going well and people questioned the need for executions. So they arrested and executed Robespierre and the Reign of Terror ended.
E. Impact of The Revolution on Daily Life
*The Revolution had changed the government, the class structure of the Old Regime was gone and people were declared equal. All feudal customs were gone as was slavery in the French colonies. Clothing became simpler, plays now had patriotic themes, the metric system was initiated, and with Robespierre’s death, the Radical Phase of the revolution was over.
Ch
19 Section 4- The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
A. After the Reign of Terror, the people killed those involved and then the
National Convention wrote a new constitution and established a new
government called the Directory in 1795
B. The Directory
1. Lasting from 1795 to 1799, the Directory was a government with an elected legislature and a 5 directors who were all men and made up the executive branch of the new government.
2. It was known for being very corrupt and when they removed the price controls from before, the economy went bad
C. “I am no ordinary man”
1. Born on the island of Corsica, in a minor noble family, he went to military school and moved up quickly as many officers fled during the revolution.
2. After a couple important military victories, stopping a riot in Paris, and marrying Josephine (who was friends with those on the directory), he became a general at age 27.
3. He won more important victories, leaving only Great Britain to fight. He then went against them in Egypt and won, but lost in a navel battle there. He returned home, gained some troops that were loyal and overthrew the directory that many were tired of. He made himself First Consul, which meant he was basically a dictator.
4. He was highly intelligent and motivated and by 30 years old, was the dictator of France.
D. Napoleon’s Domestic Policy
1. In 1802 he made himself First Consul for Life and this was approved by a majority vote.
2. In 1804, he made himself Emperor of France and this was also approved by a majority vote.
3. While centralizing and increasing his own control over the country, he also maintained the changes of the revolution.
4. The Napoleonic Code was established as a code of laws that brought together many of the ideas of the revolution, yet made men the absolute head of the house and women had little say.
5. Napoleon’s other reforms included: the establishment of a national bank, laws requiring taxes be paid, the establishment of schools to train leaders for the government (first step toward public education), And agreed to the Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church, reversing some of the changes in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This compromise made him popular with both the people and the Pope.
Ch 19 Section 5 –Napoleon in Triumph and Defeat
* France was at war from 1792 and 1815, first in defense, and then under
Napoleon, they conquered much of Europe
A. The Empire of Napoleon
1. Napoleon was shrewd as he kept his enemies divided so they would not move against him. He moved his armies in unusual ways and thus won many victories.
2. He was able to dissolve the Holy Roman Empire and called it the Confederation of the Rhine (modern day Germany)
3. He ruled some defeated countries as a direct emperor and ran other countries as satellite states (puppet governments who followed Napoleon’s orders)
4. Under His rule, he spread the ideas of the revolution across Europe and initiated religious tolerance, abolished serfdom, and reduced the power of the Catholic Church.
5. He was at first looked on favorably when he conquered, but became known as a tyrant as he taxed to pay for wars and drafted men into his armies
6. Napoleon tried to defeat Britain, but lost at sea at Trafalgar. He then tried a blockade called the Continental System that forbade the European nations to trade with Britain. Britain in turn used their navy to blockade France. This hurt their economy, and other nations were angry for also losing trade as a result of Napoleons’ actions
B. Stirrings of Nationalism
1. Opposition grew as nationalism grew in the conquered nations and revolts broke out all over Europe. The Spanish and Portuguese, with Britain’s help, defeated the French in a guerrilla war for their own independence and both thus set up constitutional monarchies
2. The Prussian king, with help and urging from nationalist leaders, reorganized their army and government and gave more freedoms. They were then ready to fight Napoleon when an opportunity arose in 1812
C. The Emperor’s Downfall
1. The Russians decided to resume trade with Britain (in opposition to Napoleon’s Continental System) and Napoleon then decided to invade Russia with his “Grand Army” of 500,000 men.
2. The Russians used a scorched earth policy and left no supplies for the invading Army. They fought and lost near Moscow, but retreated and again left them with no supplies, 500 miles inside of Russia in the extremely harsh winter. He retreated with fewer than 100,000 men left after many froze and starved to death.
3. The Austrians, British, Prussians, and Russians then pounced on Him as he retreated. Napoleon tried to raise anew army in France but could not and the Allies captured Paris in 1814 and Napoleon went into exile on the Island of Elba, off the Coast of Italy.
4. The Allies reinstated Louise XVIII and he issued a new constitution and kept many of the reforms already made.
5. The émigrés started to come back and demand revenge. Napoleon then decides to come back in March 1815. He proclaims himself emperor and rebuilds an army but the British and Prussians join and defeat him after his 100 days at the Battle of Waterloo. He is then exiled to St. Helena where he died in 1821.
D. Legacy of the French Revolution and Napoleon
1. Ended Feudalism with its special privileges for clergy and nobles
2. The absolute monarchy was gone forever
3. Under Napoleon, the ideals of political and social justice spread throughout Europe
4. Political boundaries were changed
5. Both the revolution and Napoleon contributed to the nationalism that was growing in Europe
6. The warfare weakened France and Britain would take the lead as the strongest nation in Europe