French Revolution - Class 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


French Revolution 
A watershed event in modern European history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and ended 
in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens 
razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such 
as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French 
Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular 
sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times 
degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping modern 
nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. 
? Contents  
o Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis 
o The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate 
o The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear 
o The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution 
o The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt 
o The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise 
Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis  
As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution 
and extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the 
country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of 
poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest 
among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward a 
regime that imposed heavy taxes yet failed to provide relief by rioting, looting and striking. 
Did You Know? 
Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of Terror, and an 
unknown number of others died in prison or without trial. 
In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), 
proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged 
classes would no longer be exempt. To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing 
aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the Estates-General (“les états généraux”)–an assembly 
representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class–for the first time since 1614. The 
meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from 
each locality would compile lists of grievances (“cahiers de doléances”) to present to the king. 
The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate  
France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic members of the 
Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other 
Page 2


French Revolution 
A watershed event in modern European history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and ended 
in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens 
razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such 
as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French 
Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular 
sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times 
degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping modern 
nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. 
? Contents  
o Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis 
o The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate 
o The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear 
o The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution 
o The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt 
o The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise 
Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis  
As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution 
and extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the 
country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of 
poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest 
among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward a 
regime that imposed heavy taxes yet failed to provide relief by rioting, looting and striking. 
Did You Know? 
Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of Terror, and an 
unknown number of others died in prison or without trial. 
In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), 
proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged 
classes would no longer be exempt. To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing 
aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the Estates-General (“les états généraux”)–an assembly 
representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class–for the first time since 1614. The 
meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from 
each locality would compile lists of grievances (“cahiers de doléances”) to present to the king. 
The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate  
France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic members of the 
Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other 
two bodies. In the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for 
equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto–in other words, they wanted voting 
by head and not by status. While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial 
reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath 
to give up the privileges they enjoyed under the traditional system. 
By the time the Estates-General convened at Versailles, the highly public debate over its voting 
process had erupted into hostility between the three orders, eclipsing the original purpose of the 
meeting and the authority of the man who had convened it. On June 17, with talks over 
procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National 
Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-called 
Tennis Court Oath (“serment du jeu de paume”), vowing not to disperse until constitutional 
reform had been achieved. Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had 
joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new 
assembly. 
The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear  
On June 12, as the National Assembly (known as the National Constituent Assembly during its 
work on a constitution) continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. 
Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as 
rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on 
July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and 
weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the 
start of the French Revolution. 
The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. 
Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, 
landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as the Great Fear (“la Grande peur”), the agrarian 
insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National 
Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what the historian 
Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.” 
The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution  
On August 4, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 
(“Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen”), a statement of democratic principles 
grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques 
Rousseau (1712-1778). The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the 
ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty 
and representative government. 
Drafting a formal constitution proved much more of a challenge for the National Constituent 
Assembly, which had the added burden of functioning as a legislature during harsh economic 
times. For months, its members wrestled with fundamental questions about the shape and 
expanse of France’s new political landscape. For instance, who would be responsible for electing 
Page 3


French Revolution 
A watershed event in modern European history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and ended 
in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens 
razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such 
as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French 
Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular 
sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times 
degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping modern 
nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. 
? Contents  
o Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis 
o The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate 
o The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear 
o The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution 
o The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt 
o The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise 
Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis  
As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution 
and extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the 
country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of 
poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest 
among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward a 
regime that imposed heavy taxes yet failed to provide relief by rioting, looting and striking. 
Did You Know? 
Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of Terror, and an 
unknown number of others died in prison or without trial. 
In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), 
proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged 
classes would no longer be exempt. To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing 
aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the Estates-General (“les états généraux”)–an assembly 
representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class–for the first time since 1614. The 
meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from 
each locality would compile lists of grievances (“cahiers de doléances”) to present to the king. 
The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate  
France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic members of the 
Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other 
two bodies. In the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for 
equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto–in other words, they wanted voting 
by head and not by status. While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial 
reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath 
to give up the privileges they enjoyed under the traditional system. 
By the time the Estates-General convened at Versailles, the highly public debate over its voting 
process had erupted into hostility between the three orders, eclipsing the original purpose of the 
meeting and the authority of the man who had convened it. On June 17, with talks over 
procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National 
Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-called 
Tennis Court Oath (“serment du jeu de paume”), vowing not to disperse until constitutional 
reform had been achieved. Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had 
joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new 
assembly. 
The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear  
On June 12, as the National Assembly (known as the National Constituent Assembly during its 
work on a constitution) continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. 
Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as 
rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on 
July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and 
weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the 
start of the French Revolution. 
The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. 
Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, 
landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as the Great Fear (“la Grande peur”), the agrarian 
insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National 
Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what the historian 
Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.” 
The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution  
On August 4, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 
(“Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen”), a statement of democratic principles 
grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques 
Rousseau (1712-1778). The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the 
ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty 
and representative government. 
Drafting a formal constitution proved much more of a challenge for the National Constituent 
Assembly, which had the added burden of functioning as a legislature during harsh economic 
times. For months, its members wrestled with fundamental questions about the shape and 
expanse of France’s new political landscape. For instance, who would be responsible for electing 
delegates? Would the clergy owe allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church or the French 
government? Perhaps most importantly, how much authority would the king, his public image 
further weakened after a failed attempt to flee in June 1791, retain? Adopted on September 3, 
1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the more moderate voices in the Assembly, 
establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and the 
ability to appoint ministers. This compromise did not sit well with influential radicals like 
Maximilien de Robespierre (1758-1794), Camille Desmoulins (1760-1794) and Georges Danton 
(1759-1794), who began drumming up popular support for a more republican form of 
government and the trial of Louis XVI. 
The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt  
In April 1792, the newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, 
where it believed that French émigrés were building counterrevolutionary alliances; it also hoped 
to spread its revolutionary ideals across Europe through warfare. On the domestic front, 
meanwhile, the political crisis took a radical turn when a group of insurgents led by the extremist 
Jacobins attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king on August 10, 1792. The 
following month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists massacred hundreds 
of accused counterrevolutionaries, the Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National 
Convention, which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French 
republic. On January 21, 1793, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and 
crimes against the state, to the guillotine; his wife Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) suffered the 
same fate nine months later. 
Following the king’s execution, war with various European powers and intense divisions within 
the National Convention ushered the French Revolution into its most violent and turbulent phase. 
In June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention from the more moderate 
Girondins and instituted a series of radical measures, including the establishment of a new 
calendar and the eradication of Christianity. They also unleashed the bloody Reign of Terror (“la 
Terreur”), a 10-month period in which suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotined by 
the thousands. Many of the killings were carried out under orders from Robespierre, who 
dominated the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his own execution on July 28, 1794. 
His death marked the beginning of the Thermidorian Reaction, a moderate phase in which the 
French people revolted against the Reign of Terror’s excesses. 
The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise  
On August 22, 1795, the National Convention, composed largely of Girondins who had survived 
the Reign of Terror, approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature. 
Executive power would lie in the hands of a five-member Directory (“Directoire”) appointed by 
parliament. Royalists and Jacobins protested the new regime but were swiftly silenced by the 
army, now led by a young and successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). 
The Directory’s four years in power were riddled with financial crises, popular discontent, 
inefficiency and, above all, political corruption. By the late 1790s, the directors relied almost 
entirely on the military to maintain their authority and had ceded much of their power to the 
Page 4


French Revolution 
A watershed event in modern European history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and ended 
in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens 
razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such 
as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French 
Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular 
sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times 
degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping modern 
nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. 
? Contents  
o Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis 
o The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate 
o The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear 
o The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution 
o The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt 
o The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise 
Prelude to the French Revolution: Monarchy in Crisis  
As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution 
and extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the 
country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of 
poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest 
among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward a 
regime that imposed heavy taxes yet failed to provide relief by rioting, looting and striking. 
Did You Know? 
Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of Terror, and an 
unknown number of others died in prison or without trial. 
In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), 
proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged 
classes would no longer be exempt. To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing 
aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the Estates-General (“les états généraux”)–an assembly 
representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class–for the first time since 1614. The 
meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from 
each locality would compile lists of grievances (“cahiers de doléances”) to present to the king. 
The French Revolution at Versailles: Rise of the Third Estate  
France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic members of the 
Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other 
two bodies. In the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for 
equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto–in other words, they wanted voting 
by head and not by status. While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial 
reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath 
to give up the privileges they enjoyed under the traditional system. 
By the time the Estates-General convened at Versailles, the highly public debate over its voting 
process had erupted into hostility between the three orders, eclipsing the original purpose of the 
meeting and the authority of the man who had convened it. On June 17, with talks over 
procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National 
Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-called 
Tennis Court Oath (“serment du jeu de paume”), vowing not to disperse until constitutional 
reform had been achieved. Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had 
joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new 
assembly. 
The French Revolution Hits the Streets: The Bastille and the Great Fear  
On June 12, as the National Assembly (known as the National Constituent Assembly during its 
work on a constitution) continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. 
Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as 
rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on 
July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and 
weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the 
start of the French Revolution. 
The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside. 
Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, 
landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as the Great Fear (“la Grande peur”), the agrarian 
insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National 
Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what the historian 
Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.” 
The French Revolution’s Political Culture: Drafting a Constitution  
On August 4, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen 
(“Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen”), a statement of democratic principles 
grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques 
Rousseau (1712-1778). The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the 
ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty 
and representative government. 
Drafting a formal constitution proved much more of a challenge for the National Constituent 
Assembly, which had the added burden of functioning as a legislature during harsh economic 
times. For months, its members wrestled with fundamental questions about the shape and 
expanse of France’s new political landscape. For instance, who would be responsible for electing 
delegates? Would the clergy owe allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church or the French 
government? Perhaps most importantly, how much authority would the king, his public image 
further weakened after a failed attempt to flee in June 1791, retain? Adopted on September 3, 
1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the more moderate voices in the Assembly, 
establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and the 
ability to appoint ministers. This compromise did not sit well with influential radicals like 
Maximilien de Robespierre (1758-1794), Camille Desmoulins (1760-1794) and Georges Danton 
(1759-1794), who began drumming up popular support for a more republican form of 
government and the trial of Louis XVI. 
The French Revolution Turns Radical: Terror and Revolt  
In April 1792, the newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, 
where it believed that French émigrés were building counterrevolutionary alliances; it also hoped 
to spread its revolutionary ideals across Europe through warfare. On the domestic front, 
meanwhile, the political crisis took a radical turn when a group of insurgents led by the extremist 
Jacobins attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king on August 10, 1792. The 
following month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists massacred hundreds 
of accused counterrevolutionaries, the Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National 
Convention, which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French 
republic. On January 21, 1793, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and 
crimes against the state, to the guillotine; his wife Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) suffered the 
same fate nine months later. 
Following the king’s execution, war with various European powers and intense divisions within 
the National Convention ushered the French Revolution into its most violent and turbulent phase. 
In June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention from the more moderate 
Girondins and instituted a series of radical measures, including the establishment of a new 
calendar and the eradication of Christianity. They also unleashed the bloody Reign of Terror (“la 
Terreur”), a 10-month period in which suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotined by 
the thousands. Many of the killings were carried out under orders from Robespierre, who 
dominated the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his own execution on July 28, 1794. 
His death marked the beginning of the Thermidorian Reaction, a moderate phase in which the 
French people revolted against the Reign of Terror’s excesses. 
The French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise  
On August 22, 1795, the National Convention, composed largely of Girondins who had survived 
the Reign of Terror, approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature. 
Executive power would lie in the hands of a five-member Directory (“Directoire”) appointed by 
parliament. Royalists and Jacobins protested the new regime but were swiftly silenced by the 
army, now led by a young and successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). 
The Directory’s four years in power were riddled with financial crises, popular discontent, 
inefficiency and, above all, political corruption. By the late 1790s, the directors relied almost 
entirely on the military to maintain their authority and had ceded much of their power to the 
generals in the field. On November 9, 1799, as frustration with their leadership reached a fever 
pitch, Bonaparte staged a coup d’état, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s 
“first consul.” The event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the 
Napoleonic era, in which France would come to dominate much of continental Europe.