Ch.19.

1- A Revolution in Politics: The Era of the French Revolution and Napoleon

-The Beginnings of the Revolutionary Era: The American Revolution By 1763, the Seven Years war had come into an end resulting in Great Britain becoming the worlds greatest colonial power. 1. As a result of their new found power, the British sought to find new revenues in the form of taxes, which was heavily opposed with riots. 2. The Americas and British had different views of how an empire should be, which leads to years of conflict 3. Finally, at the expense of The British army of General Cornwallis, the British decided to call it quits and the Treaty of Paris was signed.

-Forming a New Nation With the declaration of independence from the British came with difficulties of establishing a united nation with a strong central government. 1. The earlier version of the Articles of Confederation did little to help with this problem, which resulted in a convention of 55 delegates to revise it. This convention led to the creation of the Constitution. 2. This new Constitution gave way for a central government that governs individual governments of individual states. 3. In 1788, this newly proposed Constitution was approved and a new United States was born. -The Impact of the American Revolution on Europe Just a year after the birth of the United States of America, another revolution was underway. The French Revolution 1. With the publication [Books, newspaper, and magazine] of the Revolution of the United States of America reaching Europe, this gave new insights and hopes of significant changes to the people of Europe. 2. With the end of the American Wars, many soldiers returned home to Europe with exciting news about the new United States of America [Ex. Marquis de Lafayette, a volunteer for service in America] 3. As time passed, the American Revolution proved to be less significant to Europe then the French Revolution, which was the political movement that truly altered the modern political world.

-Background to the French Revolution Although we associate events like the French Revolution with sudden changes, the causes of such events involve long-range problems as well was immediate, precipitating forces. -Social Structure of the Old Regime In the 18th century, France experience an increase in economic growth, however the wealth was not evenly distributed. -The First and Second Estates The first estates composed mainly of clergy with numbers ranging from 130,000. The second estates were made up of the nobility numbering roughly around 350,000. 1. In the First Estate, the clergy was exempted from the taile, which was Frances chief tax. 2. Under Louis XV and Louis XVI, the nobility continued to play an important role in French Society, because they held many of the leading position in the government. 3. Both the First Estates and Second Estates were radically divided among social status. -The Third Estate The Third Estate which composed of the commoners of society, constituted the majority of the French population 1. The Third Estate was also divided among the social status with the peasant making up roughly 75-85% of the total population 2. Another part of the Third Estate consisted of skilled artisans, shopkeepers, and other wage earners in the cities. 3. Roughly about 2.3 million people made up the total population of the middle class, who owned about 20 to 25% of the land. -Other Problems Facing the French Monarchy The common problems were the growing frustration at the monarchys inability to deal with social realities and problems; however that wasnt the only problems that contributed to the French Revolution. 1. Among the obvious cause of the French Revolution was the near collapse of the government finances, which continued to decline due to growing cost of wars and royal extravagance. 2. Although the country enjoyed a fifty years of economic growth, periodic economic crisis still occurred 3. One of the most famous economic crisis was the bad harvest of the 1787 and 1788, which resulted in food shortage. -The French Revolution In summoning the Estates-General, the government was merely looking for a way to solve the immediate financial crisis.

-From Estates-General to a National Assembly The summoning of the Estates-General consisted of representatives from the three orders of French Society to discuss and resolve problems that lingered in the French government. -The National Assembly The failure of the government to assume the leadership at the opening of the Estates-General created an opportunity for the Third Estate to push its demands for voting by head, and due to its double representation it could reform France into a single-chamber legislature -Intervention of the Common People In July and August 1789, a series of urban and rural uprisings caused by the common people saved the Third Estate form the Kings attempt to stop the revolution 1. The Storming of Bastille [An attack on a major prison in Paris] is one of the most famous urban uprisings that was caused by the common people. 2. At the same time of the Storming of Bastille, a numerous of popular revolutions broke out in smaller cities. 3. As a result of the fall of Bastille and the kings apparent capitulations to the demands of the Third Estates, the peasants took matters into their own hands. The peasants rebelled in five major areas of France. -The Destruction of the Old Regime One of the first acts of the National Assembly was to destroy the relics of feudalism or aristocratic privileges. -The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen On August 26, the assembly provided the ideological foundation for its actions and an educational device for the nation by adopting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. -The Womens March to Versailles Louis XVI refused to mind the common peoples problems (more specifically the women), so a group of women marched to the Hotel de Ville to demand attention for food. -The Catholic Church The Catholic Church was viewed as an important pillar of the old order, and it soon also felt the impact of the reform. -A New Constitution By 1791, the National Assembly had completed a new constitution that established a limited constitutional monarchy. 1. In 1789, the National Assembly undertook an administrative restructuring of France. They abolished all the old local and provincial divisions and divided France into 83 departments.

2. By 1791, France had moved into a revolutionary reordering of the old regime that had been achieved by a revolutionary consensus that was largely the work of the wealthier members of the middle class 3. The government was still facing with lingering problems dealing with severe financial difficulties due to massive tax invasions 4. Due to the self- denying ordinance that the National Assembly passed, the reelection of its members was prohibited 5. The king of the French There was still a monarch in France, but very restricted powers. -Opposition from Abroad Over a period of time, some European countries had become concerned about the French example and feared that he revolution would eventually spread to their country.

-Summary, reflection, analysis No single empire will ever remain in power. Eventually there will be a group of people who will think otherwise and rise to the occasion to bring change. The American Revolution was a great example of this. Then eventually others followed, resulting in the French Revolution. These revolutions witnessed a dramatic political and economic transformation that forever altered the world. The documents that were made in this transformation processed reflect the ideas of the fundamental ideas that were set by the brilliant minds of the Enlightenment. This also set forth a basic concept that the people are the source of political power, which differs the ideas that has been in place for decades, more specifically absolute monarchs. This time in history is the most important in setting the present that is now considered a life of freedom, liberty, and the right to pursuit happiness [The preamble of the United States Constition]