french+revolution

=**Discussion Questions**= =**1.This program opens with a discussion of Louis XVI’s inexperience as leader. How do you think Louis XVI’s qualities as a leader led to the French Revolution? Louis did not know how to lead the people correctly, and the people knew this. Louis had never had to lead anything before in his life, so he wasn't really sure on how it was done. The people were tired of being lead by an unexperienced leader, so they started the revolution, hoping to get their freedom from the king. **= = = = = =**2. What were some of the causes of the French Revolution discussed in this program? The ideas and writings from the Enlightenment inspired the French to go against their king. The Americans overthrowing the British also encouraged the French to fight for their freedom. The common people were angry about having to work hard //and //  pay heavy taxes. Any time they wanted to vote on something the nobles and clergy could outvote them. The government had become bankrupt; Louis kept spending money when he should of been cutting back. **= = = = = =**3. What was the “Enlightenment”? Who were some of its major thinkers and writers? The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement of the 18th century, characterized by belief in the power of human reason and by innovations in political, religious, and educational doctrine. Issac Newton, John Locke, Voltaire, Charles-Louis of Secondat, and Jean-Jacques Rosseau were some of the most influential writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment. **= = = = = =**4. Why did the French people have such negative feelings toward Marie Antoinette? People didn't like Marie in the first place because she wasn't even from France, she was from Austria. Once she was married to the king, she could not produce an heir to the throne.It wasn't her fault, the king was the one with the problems, but everyone automatically blamed it on her. She was also going through all the money by spending it on clothes and jewels. **= = = = = =**5. What was the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen”? How does it relate to the U.S. Constitution? The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a document the defines the individual and collective rights of the nobility, clergy, and commoners. The Enlightenment principles that are in the Constitution influenced the Declaration. **= = = = = =**6. What was the Third Estate? Which groups in French society did it include? The Third Estate was one of the three estates that made up the country of France. The Third Estate was made up of the people that didn't qualify to be in the first two estates. It was made up of peasants. These were the ones that had to pay taxes because in the kind's mind they did nothing helpful for him. **= = = = = =**7. One of the historians interviewed in this program calls the French Revolution “the crossroads of the modern world.” What do you think this means? Do you agree with this claim? I think that they meant that it changed everything. It went against all of these concepts that had been going on for years. There were no longer any privileges or kings. Their whole way of life changed and they completely changed the way things were going to be done from then on. **= = = = = =**8. At first, it seemed that King Louis XVI would cooperate with some of the demands of the Third Estate. Why do you think he ultimately reacted so violently against them? I think that maybe at first he didn't want to upset them anymore than he already had. Then he remembered that he was the king and he was the one that was in charge. The idea that they would come together and go against him wasn't believable because it had not been done before. **= = = = = =**9. What kind of leader was Robespierre? Do you think he did a good job of representing the wishes of the French people? Maximilien Robespierre was a good leader of the French until it got to him. There was a point that he got to where it seemed like he thought that he was like god int he sense that all the French wanted to listen and follow his ideas. The more powerful he became the less popular he became. **= = = = = =**10.What was the role of women in the French Revolution? Can you think of some examples of their contribution to the Revolution from this program? The women of the French Revolution were the ones that provided the food, such as bread,to their family. Whenever the prices of bread went up, the women would riot about that. Most of these women were the ones that worked in the fish market so they were big, strong women. They mostly blamed Marie, so they rioted the palace with intentions of killing her. **= = = = = =**11.Why do you think the initial goals of the Revolution became so distorted during the “Reign of Terror”? Why do you think Robespierre had so much fear of political traitors? I think the initial goals became distorted because now Robespierre was too busy sending people to the guillotine when they spoke one wrong word about the Revolution. People were going to the guillotine so fast that Robespierre was afraid that the other political leaders would turn on him and sentence him to the guillotine. **= = = = = =**12.What do you think were the most important long-term effects of the French Revolution? What were its legacies? The liberation of the economy from royal control, the order of weight and measures, and the advancement of a uniform civil law code. All taken into account, the French Revolution probably put back the economy, rather than put it ahead. Starting the Revolution was a legacy in its self. Countries saw that the French did it, and now think "why can we?" Nationalism was also another legacy. After the Revolution, nationalist groups were forming. Also the thought that all the citizens were equal, instead of having a royal subject rule.  **=

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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">At the seat of the French monarchy in **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">1770 **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">, an alliance between **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">France **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;"> and **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">Austria **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;"> was created as King Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette. The king had inherited a financial crisis as France had sent millions of dollars and resources overseas to support the **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">war **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. Poverty and malnourishment devastated the nation as the population in France continued to increase. Unrest was brewing as King Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General to be held in May of **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">1789 **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. Meanwhile, a brilliant orator who will later become a leader of the French Revolution named **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">Maximilien Robespierre **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;"> sharpened his debating and political skills. ======

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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">There were three major social groups in France, referred to as “estates.” The three estates were the nobility, the clergy, and the common people known as the **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">peasants **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. This estate comprised over 95% of the French population. A political and philosophical awakening spearheaded by thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau inspired the members of the Third Estate. This transformation, known as _, created rising expectations among the French people at the same time that malnourishment and harsh taxes turned them against an inept crown. Politically inspired, the Third Estate demanded popular representation, forming a political body known as the **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">assembly **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. They demanded that France become a Constitutional Monarchy in which the Third Estate would be more fairly represented politically. ======

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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">After declaring their wishes to reorganize the French government in the “Tennis Court Oaths,” the Third Estate was met with violent repression. Though he recognized the need to compromise politically, Louis XVI soon started a campaign to re-establish power and put an end to the Revolution. The king’s repression incensed the French people, and hundreds of protestors stormed the **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">Bastille fortress **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;"> on July 14, **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">1790 **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. Later that summer, the National Assembly outlined a basic human rights platform in a document written by the Marquis de Lafayette entitled **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">the French Declaration of the Rights of Man **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. Furious at the monarchy, a group of Parisian women marched to Versailles and demanded that the king and queen return to Paris. ======

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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">The Revolution continued over the next few years, as the king ordered repressive measures against protestors and as factions emerged among the Third Estate. In 1791, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to flee Paris but were recaptured and, in **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">1793 **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">, Louis XVI was executed by the **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">guillotine. **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;"> Robespierre, who had been a major leader in the Revolution, responded to the chaos in France by handing over power to his **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">colleagues **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;"> with the goal of returning order. This attempt spiraled out of control as thousands of people suspected to be traitors of the Revolution were executed by guillotine. This chapter of the Revolution is known as the **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">Reign of Terror **<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">. ====== <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 800; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"> ==****<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-weight: 800;">Toward the end of the Revolution, in 1794, Robespierre himself was put to death by guillotine and a more moderate group assumed a leadership role. This transfer from radicalism to a more moderate form of government is known as a republic. Overall, the Revolution had transformed France. The era of divine right was over, the monarchy had been eliminated, and basic standards of human rights were established. The next phase of French history started shortly thereafter, as Napoleon took over through a coup in 1799 to become Emperor of France. ****== <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 19px;">

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What will happen in Europe over the next 30 years FROM THE FRENCH REVOLUTION?
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Because of the French Revolution, many other parts of Europe will start to follow the actions of the people in the French Revolution. They know the French could defeat their king and take over, so they should try. They also developed more nationalism and started to break away from each other, and eventually start to go to war.=====