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Change for the better?

Or for the worse during the French Revolution


When told of an attack on the Bastille, King Louis XVI asked, is it a revolt? No sire,
replied a noble. It is a revolution. The storming of the Bastille quickly became a
symbol of the French Revolution. Today, the French people still celebrate July 14 as
Bastille Day, similarly to how Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4th.
Shortly afterwards, King Louis was captured by the French crowd. He was beheaded
(head cut off) using the guillotine. The king was dead. France was at last free from a
tyrant! (dictator) But did the future go as planned by French citizens?
With the absolute, divine king dead, France would be undergoing changes not seen in
centuries. To start off, the Third Estate abolished (got rid) of the estate system. There
was no more estate system. Everyone was now viewed as equals, whom were all entitled
to one vote. In important decisions, majority vote would win, and be called the The
Voice of the People.
The National Assembly also began writing a constitution called the Declaration of the
Rights of Man. Enlightenment thinkers John Locke and Thomas Jefferson inspired
the document. The declaration had many rights taken from the American Bill of Rights,
such as Freedom of speech, religion, and the press. It also contained the natural rights
of every individual male to life, liberty, property, security, and the pursuit of happiness.
Every French man, poor or wealthy, were entitled to run for governmental offices and
high-level job positions. Slavery would be outlawed. Although technically the
constitution viewed everyone as free, women were not protected under the
constitution. They could not hold high-level jobs, and did not receive the same pay as
men. They could not vote. Women in time gained the right to obtain a divorce, as well, as
own property. This had never been granted before. However, most women were
continued to be seen as nothing more than housewives or mothers.
Not everything else was going as smoothly either besides the lives of women. In 1789,
France suffered the worse famine (period of no food) in its countrys history. Since so
many workers were joining the Third Estates rebellion, there was hardly anyone
available to work the farms. In 1791, over 50,000 people died due to starvation.
Additionally, in 1791, unemployment was an all-time high. Nobles, who loss many rights
after King Louis was executed, refused to hire peasants for various jobs. Additionally,
to retaliate (fight back) against the Third Estate, nobles raised the prices on all goods
(Inflation). At one point, the average peasant was spending 80% of their salary on food.
This fearful time in French history became known as the Great Fear.
Although new leaders were elected by majority vote, most leaders after Louis were
ineffective (not good) of providing lower prices, jobs, or security. One elected leader,
Robespierre, believed that true peace and change in France could only happen after the
enemies were taken care of. Robespierre hunted down nobles, clergy, and peasants,
who he believed was suspicious or not in support of the New France. Without fair trials,
Robespierre executed over 40,000 French people. This became known as the Reign of
Terror.

Part 1 Complete the chart below. Make sure you have at least six examples in it. Add
more examples if you would like extra credit.

Changes In France
Positive Changes

Negative Changes

Part 2 Answer the following question in a response of at least seven sentences:


1) Did the execution of King Louis XVI change France for the better? Why or why not?
Provide evidence, and examples. Try to discuss the COUNTERCLAIM for extra
credit.
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