The FRENCH REVOLUTION, Explained [AP Euro Review—Unit 5 Topic 4]

Summary

The French Revolution was a pivotal upheaval aimed at ending the absolute monarchy and securing rights for the common people. Motivated by economic crises, the inequitable Estates General, and bread shortages, the 97% of French society who were neither clergy nor nobility sought representation and fairness. Initiated through key events like the Tennis Court Oath and the storming of the Bastille, the Revolution ushered in phases of liberal reform, epitomized by the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and radical change during the Reign of Terror. The Revolution ultimately redefined the political landscape in France, culminating in a drastic shift from monarchy to republic.

Highlights

• The French common people desired equality and power despite being suppressed by the avant-garde of nobility and clergy. 🏰
• The Estates General was heavily unbalanced, thwarting the common people's influence. ⚖️
• Bread shortages heightened the tensions, symbolizing the struggle for survival among the masses. 🍞
• The National Assembly emerged as a significant force, challenging the traditional power dynamics. 🆙
• The storming of the Bastille marked the beginning of the French Revolution. 🌩️
• The liberal phase saw transformative reforms with the Declaration of the Rights of Man. 📜
• Influence from the American Revolution was evident in liberal reforms. 🇺🇸
• The radical phase's Reign of Terror saw the notorious rise and fall of Robespierre. 🪓
• The Revolution prompted neighboring monarchies to react fearfully, influencing European politics. 🌍

Key Takeaways

• The French Revolution aimed to secure an equal representation for the common people at the table of power. 🎯
• Economic crises and inequality incited the citizens to demand change. 💸
• Key events like the Tennis Court Oath and the storming of the Bastille were pivotal in igniting the revolution. 🔥
• The Declaration of the Rights of Man marked the liberal phase, promoting freedom and equality. 📜
• The Reign of Terror, led by Robespierre, typified the radical phase, resulting in mass executions. ⚔️
• France transitioned from monarchy to republic, impacting the political landscape and inspiring future revolutions. 🇫🇷

Overview

The French Revolution was driven by the masses seeking representation and equality amidst an oppressive system dominated by a tiny fraction of nobility and clergy. The historic unrest originated from economic strain and the exclusionary policies of the Estates General, leading to a struggle that would redefine the principles of governance in France.

Significant events marked the Revolution's course, such as the Tennis Court Oath and the storming of the Bastille. These acts of defiance set the stage for a radical transformation, allowing the oppressed Third Estate to challenge monarchical authority. The ensuing phases of liberal and radical changes were underlined by pivotal developments like the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the National Assembly’s reforms.

As the Revolution intensified, internal and external pressures led to a period of extreme measures known as the Reign of Terror. This phase, orchestrated by Robespierre, saw mass executions and authoritarian control until it was ultimately dismantled. The dramatic shift from a monarchy to a republic in France impacted not only its own society but also inspired future revolutions around the world.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to the French Revolution The chapter introduces the key motivations behind the French Revolution, highlighting the desire for equality among the people of France. It explains that the revolution was driven by the 97% of the population who were not part of the nobility, clergy, or royalty. The chapter uses imagery related to the Guillotine to underscore the seriousness and violent nature of the revolution.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Economic Crises and the Estates General In this chapter, the focus is on the economic crises during the time of the Estates General. It begins with an overview of how the people, particularly the Third Estate, had no power to change their circumstances as all political power was held by the other estates. Despite this long-standing power imbalance, several converging factors during this period led people to demand political change. One significant factor was the economic crises. The chapter details how the expensive and continuous wars waged by Louis XIV to establish French dominance contributed significantly to national debt. Even though the territorial expansions were supposed to benefit the whole of France, the financial burden was not evenly distributed among the estates.
• 02:00 - 04:00: Bread Shortages and Formation of the National Assembly The chapter titled "Bread Shortages and Formation of the National Assembly" discusses the economic and political causes that contributed to the French Revolution. Specifically, it highlights the tax exemption privileges enjoyed by the clergy and nobility, which placed the financial burden of King Louie's wars onto the common people, exacerbating their struggle to afford basic necessities. The chapter also points to the imbalance within the Estates General, a representative body in France composed of three classes: the clergy, the nobility, and the common people, as a significant factor leading to revolutionary discontent.
• 04:00 - 06:00: The Liberal Phase of the Revolution During France's economic crisis, King Louis XVI convened the Estates General to approve tax increases. Though it was the age of absolute monarchs, Louis’ timid nature and the power of the nobles and clergy constrained his authority. When Louis attempted to impose taxes unilaterally, the noble judges in the parliament of Paris overruled him, necessitating the convening of the Estates General.
• 06:00 - 08:00: The Radical Phase and the Reign of Terror The chapter discusses the significant power imbalance within France during the period of the Estates General. The Estates General consisted of three estates: the Catholic clergy (1% of the population), the nobility (2% of the population), and the Third Estate which represented everyone else. Each estate was allowed one vote, resulting in the first two estates often siding together and, consequently, their interests dominating decisions. This meant that 3% of the population could control the fate of the rest 97%.
• 08:00 - 08:30: Conclusion and Call to Action The chapter "Conclusion and Call to Action" discusses key causes leading up to the French Revolution. It outlines how the inability of the common people to gain representation in the Estates General, exacerbated by bread shortages due to famine, precipitated the uprising. The meeting of the Estates General in 1789 is highlighted, showing the first and second Estates' unwillingness to address these issues unless it served their own interests, showcasing the power imbalance and social injustices of the time.

The FRENCH REVOLUTION, Explained [AP Euro Review—Unit 5 Topic 4] Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 if you want to know what the French Revolution was all about it's this the people of France wanted an equal seat at the table of power and the symbol of that power is this head right here this is an important head you got to know this head and I'm going to tell you all about so if you're ready to get them bring cows milk to Guillotine style then let's get to now when I say the people of France I don't mean all the people of France I'm talking about the average French citizen like if you were among the 97 of French people in the 18th century who were not the king or part of the nobility or the clergy then your life was not going to be easy nor was it going to be just moreover you would have
• 00:30 - 01:00 had precisely zero power to change your circumstances because all the power for political change was held by those other groups I just mentioned now it had been this way for centuries but during this period several factors are going to converge and Rouse the people to claim their rightful seat at the table of power first were economic crises remember our boy Louis XIV fought nearly endless Wars to establish his dominance on the continent but those wars were expensive and plunged France deep into debt and you would think that since all of France would potentially benefit from Louie's territorial expansion that everyone would shoulder the cost of those War but here's where I tell you
• 01:00 - 01:30 you so crazy no the Nobles and the clergy were Exempted from these taxes and that meant that the entire economic burden of Louie's Wars fell on the shoulders of the common so the very people who could afford to have their taxes raised were exempt and the people who struggled just to get the next meal in their bellies were saddled with new taxes and the worst part the people could do precisely nothing about it and why is that so glad you asked because that leads us to the second cause of the French Revolution the second cause was the imbalance of the Estates General now the Estate General was a representative body of France who was made up of three Estates the clergy the nobility and then
• 01:30 - 02:00 everyone else under the growing pressure of France's economic crisis Louis XVI called the Estates General into session to approve an increase in taxes and you might be wondering wasn't this during the age of absolute monarchs like why didn't Louis just say everybody's getting taxed and if you don't like it you can kiss my croissant well as it turns out Louis was a timid kind of guy in The Nobles and the clergy asserted their power and weakened the monarchy so when Louis did try to impose new taxes by his own authority the noble judges of the parliament of Paris shut him down so Louis was forced to call this body the Estates General in the session to get
• 02:00 - 02:30 approval for new taxes okay but here's the imbalance that I was talking about the Estates General as I said was made up of France's three estate the first estate the Catholic clergy made up about one percent of the population the second estate the nobility made up about two percent of the population and then the Third Estate represented everyone else in the Hall of Fame but within the Estates General each estate only got one vote and since the first and second estates had similar interests they always voted together so get this right three percent of the population decided how life would go for the other 97 so
• 02:30 - 03:00 the people wanted a place at the table of power and the Estates General prevented them from that and the third immediate cause of the French Revolution was bread shortages if it wasn't bad enough that the people of France were bowed down under the weight of unfair tax policies and they had no power in the Estates General to fix it now by 1788 famines had made bread scarce in a large bulk of the French lower classes were suffering hunger and War now in 1789 the Estates General met to solve these crises and the first and second Estates made it clear that they would do nothing to solve these problems unless it was in their own interests after all they're the one who had all the power at
• 03:00 - 03:30 the table and they weren't eager to give it over to the rabble in the Third Estate and so seeing that their cause was feudal members of the Third Estate stood up left the meeting and in an act of unprecedented hutzpah declared themselves to be the one true representative body of France and they named themselves the National Assembly and their first order of business was to Grant themselves the power over taxation in France so hey victory for the people right they got their place at the table of power well not really in June 1789 the representatives of the Third Estate tried to enter another meeting of the estate General and were barred from getting in so they went to a nearby
• 03:30 - 04:00 tennis court and swore the Tennis Court Oath by which they promised not to leave that place until they had drafted a new constitution for France when they had finally completed it Louis XVI was forced to accept this new limitation on its power but was secretly assembling French troops to crush the assembly once this plot was discovered a rebel group known as the son culat stormed the Bastille which was a prison that symbolized the tyranny of the king this event was the first real uprising of the French Revolution people had their place at the table of power and they refused to let it go so now the French Revolution has proper properly started
• 04:00 - 04:30 and you should know that traditionally we talk about two phases of the revolution first is the liberal phase during this phase the National Assembly drafted the Declaration of the rights of man and citizen which provided for freedom of speech a representative government which is to say a constitutional monarchy and maybe most significant of all abolished hereditary privileges of the first and second Estates and not to brag or anything but you should know that this document was deeply inspired by the American Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights so you know America anyway the National Assembly also nationalized the Catholic church in passing the Civil constitution of the clergy in 1790 the
• 04:30 - 05:00 assembly disbanded the church's monastic orders confiscated Church lands eliminated the tithe which was attacks The Peasants had to pay to the church and clergy were placed under the authority of the state now during the liberal phase women played a big role as well specifically in the October march on Versailles in 1789. now remember that bread was scarce during this time and so whipped into a fury by the extravagant excesses of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette thousands of women marched in the pouring rain to Versailles and demanded that the king and his wife give them all the bread that they were boarding within the palace wall now of
• 05:00 - 05:30 course they did not do that and so the women stormed the palace and in doing so killed several guards and put their heads on pipes and that's where the old French saying comes from if you mess with a woman's bread she'll cut off your head anyway the women forced the king to accept the Declaration of the rights of man as Citizens and they would have killed him if it weren't for the intervention of everyone's favorite fighting Frenchman the Marquis De Lafayette now what's kind of astonishing is that these women did all of this despite the fact that women's rights were not even represented in the Declaration later Olympic gouge would craft the Declaration of the rights of woman and the female citizen which would
• 05:30 - 06:00 articulate and fight for the rights of women in France due to her work along with other women's groups at the time the legal status of women improves but eventually much of this would be overturned and citizenship would be restricted to men so the people are very much getting their place at the table of power but now we get to the radical phase of the Revolution and the people are going to get a little drunk in that power now by 1790 the National Assembly had broken into factions the most radical of which were the Jacobins in 1792 the National Assembly voted to dissolve itself and create a more permanent Parliament called the National Convention the Jacobins were able to seize control of the invention and
• 06:00 - 06:30 implemented a more radical set of policies first they fundamentally reordered Time by declaring that year one was no longer the year of Christ's birth but rather 1792 which they called the era of Liberty second they dissolved the constitutional monarchy which had been established by the National Assembly they decided to punt the king and declare France a true Republic now when I say punted the king that's just another way of saying he went ahead and got his head cut off that's the head people that's the head you gotta know what you're seeing here is the people of France holding up the head of King Louis XVI and so the monarchy was done and the people reigned supreme but unfortunately
• 06:30 - 07:00 for the Jacobins that's not where the story ends other European States who happen to like the system of monarchy were truly horrified by the people beheading their king after all if the French cut off their King's Head what would stop our people from cutting off our heads and so some of these surrounding states Allied against France and in the face of this crisis the Jacobins and the more moderate members of the National Convention could not agree on a solution and so with the fractures of their movement beginning to show and fearing that the gains of the Revolution were at risk that Jacob and dominated convention clamped down hard on any descent from the French population this phase the revolution
• 07:00 - 07:30 became known as the reign of terror now the leader to associate with the reign of terror is radical Jacobin Maximilian day robespier as it turns out robe sphere was a fan of cutting off heads because under his leadership over 40 000 people were put to death at the guillotine by a group that he established called the Committee of Public Safety now to accomplish this kind of control in order to protect France from the enemy States that had threatened the revolution they built the largest army Europe had ever seen through Mass conscription any man 18 to 25 was required to serve in the Army Not only was this Army charged with protecting the revolution at home but
• 07:30 - 08:00 also to spread those ideals to surrounding Europe now eventually the reign of terror became so brutal and the committee was acting like such an authoritarian turd that some detractors of the committee itself began to challenge its actions like this whole Revolution was fought to give people an equal place at the table of power and we've got forty thousand heads and baskets all over France and so these Challengers themselves put an end to the reign of terror which was accomplished by putting Rose Beer himself in the guillotine in 1794. now you can click right here for the next video in unit 5 which is going to explore the effects of the French Revolution if you want to send me this signal to keep making these
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