8 Chapter 8: The French Revolution Sources
The French Revolution Sources
Christopher Ohan
The story of the French Revolution is one of the most dramatic chapters in human history. Imagine a time when France, one of Europe’s most powerful kingdoms, was about to undergo a complete transformation that would change not just France, but the entire world.
The Causes
By 1789, France was in serious trouble. The country was deeply in debt, partly because of its support of the American Revolution. While the nobles and clergy lived in luxury, paying almost no taxes, ordinary French citizens (called the Third Estate) carried the heavy burden of taxation. Food was scarce, and bread prices were so high that many people were starving. This created a powder keg of social unrest just waiting to explode.
The Estates General and the Birth of the National Assembly
King Louis XVI, desperate to solve the financial crisis, called a meeting of the Estates General – a gathering of representatives from all three social classes (estates) of France. However, this meeting, the first in 175 years, quickly revealed the deep divisions in French society. When the Third Estate realized they would be outvoted by the nobles and clergy despite representing 98% of the population, they took a bold step. They declared themselves the National Assembly and promised to write a constitution for France.
The Revolution Begins
The tension reached its breaking point on July 14, 1789, when angry Parisians stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of royal authority. This event, now celebrated as Bastille Day, marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The National Assembly abolished feudal privileges and created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, establishing basic rights for all citizens.
The Fall of the Monarchy
King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, tried to escape France in 1791 but were caught and brought back to Paris. The monarchy’s fate was sealed when evidence showed they had been plotting with other European monarchs to crush the revolution. In 1792, France became a republic, and in 1793, both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed by guillotine.
The Reign of Terror
What followed was one of the darkest periods of the revolution. Maximilien Robespierre, leading the Committee of Public Safety, launched the Reign of Terror. Anyone suspected of opposing the revolution could be arrested and executed. About 40,000 people were killed during this period, which only ended when Robespierre himself was sent to the guillotine in 1794.
The Rise of Napoleon
As France struggled to find stability, a young military commander named Napoleon Bonaparte began gaining power. By 1799, he had enough support to take control of the government in a coup d’état. Napoleon brought order to France’s chaos, created a new legal system (the Napoleonic Code), and eventually crowned himself Emperor in 1804. While he ended many of the revolution’s democratic reforms, he maintained some of its core principles, like equality under the law.
The Revolution’s Legacy
The French Revolution introduced powerful new ideas about democracy, citizenship, and human rights that spread throughout Europe and the world. Its famous slogan – “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” – continues to inspire people today. While the revolution didn’t create the perfect society its leaders dreamed of, it showed that ordinary people could change their government and society, a lesson that would echo through history.
Crash Course Content
Sources
Declaration of Rights of Man and of Citizen (1789)
Petition of the Jews of Paris, Alsace, and Lorraine to the National Assembly (1790)
Society of the Friends of Blacks, “Address to the National Assembly in Favor of the Abolition of the Slave Trade” (1790)
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)