The American Revolution

1. The American Revolution

2. Many of the ideas about independence came from the Enlightenment • leading Americans such as Jefferson and Franklin were francophiles and students of the Enlightenment • The ideas about the limited role of government were very appealing to the colonists who believed they were being treated unfairly by the Mother country • By the start of the French and Indian War (1756) the colonies had been established over one hundred years

3. In the 1660’s the British had started to pass legislation that inhibited the colonial trade • The Navigation Acts clearly favored the British government over the colonists • The distance between the two countries made enforcement of any legislation almost impossible. And the coastline of the colonies made smuggling and tax evasion easy • Most colonists were still loyal to the crown and that loyalty was proven in the French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War in Europe)

4. After the war the British government felt the need to recoup some of the financial loses from the colonists • Many people in England believed the colonies should bear the cost of the fighting since they gained the most with little expense • Starting in 1764 the British passed several new acts to collect taxes. The colonists were furious • The most offensive act was the Stamp Act (1765) which required a stamp or tax on almost all printed matter • The colonists declared these acts “taxation without representation” and boycotted British goods • In 1766 the British reluctantly repealed the Stamp Act

5. In 1767 the British passed the Townshend Acts which taxed every day items • In 1770 a group of British soldiers opened fire on group of protesters killing several. This became known as the Boston Massacre • Fearing more problems the British repealed the Townshend Acts, except on tea • The resentment continued and in 1775 a group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded ships in Boston Harbor and threw the tea into the harbor • The colonists cheered the Boston Tea Party. The British demanded compensation • To make the city pay the British passed the Intolerable Acts

6. These acts closed Boston Harbor and all but ended self-government for Massachusetts • To protest the Intolerable Acts a group of men met at Philadelphia in 1774. The was the First Continental Congress. • Delegates from 12 colonies demanded the repeal of the Intolerable Acts • The British refused to listen • The colonists started to arm and form militias

7. In 1775 British soldiers marching to Lexington and Concord came under fire • Once the fighting started and people had been killed there was no going back for either side. It was “the shot heard round the world.” • Even so, by 1775, few actually favored separation from Britain • In May 1775 the Second Continental Congress met to create an army and name George Washington the commander • On July 4, 1776 the colonies declared their independence from Britain when they adopted the Declaration of Independence

8. The declaration was mainly written by Jefferson and it encompassed the ideas of Locke • It stated that a person has the right to “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” • The actually fighting was a different story. Washington never had any money for supplies and he never knew how many men would be available • The colonists, called Patriots, fought bravely, using the terrain and surprise to demoralize the British • The British had problems keeping their men supplied. England was thousands of mile away • The war turned first one way then another. The British captured New York but were too thinly stretched to push the advantage

9. While the war was being fought Franklin was in France trying to gain support for his cause • The victory at Saratoga persuaded the French, Britain’s traditional enemy, that the Patriots might have a chance • French money and supplies soon started arriving • Because of French help, by 1780 the war was almost over • The victory at Yorktown in 1781 ended the war • The peace negotiations took almost two years, but 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed and Britain recognized the independence of the colonies

10. The French Revolution

11. Liberty and Equality • Political revolutionaries were fueled by the ideas of liberty and equality • Liberty was a call for human rightsLiberals protested governmental controls:a) an end to censorshipb) freedom of religionc) freedom of speech and expression • Equality meant all citizens were equal with the nobility having no extra rights • It was call for a new kind of government • People were sovereign

12. Liberals believed that men and women were not equal. Women should not have the same rights • People were not economically equal • Classic liberalism reflected the Enlightenmenta) human dignityb) human happiness • Attracted the well-educated and rich • Representative government did not mean democracy - because those who could vote would own property

13. Liberalism lacked popular support:i) comfortable Liberals did not have to worry about foodii) traditional practices and institutions that the Liberals wanted to abolish were important to the peasants • French Revolution was a direct consequence of the American Revolution, but it was more radical and more controversial. • It opened a new era of politics • Chateaubriand, “The patricians began the Revolution, the plebeians finished it”

14. Louis XVI • Represented the Old Regime (ancien regime) • Absolute monarch, but a very weak monarch • Married Marie Antionette who was the sister of Austrian King Leopold II

15. SOCIAL PROBLEMS

16. The Estates General • 25 million people divided into 3 Estates • First Estate - Clergy - 300 seats • Divided into:a) upper -bishops and abbots - sold offices - usually wealthyb) lower - priests - usually poor • i) 10% of landii) paid “voluntary tax once every five years”iii) Could levy a 10% tithe on landowners

17. Second Estate - Nobility- 300 seats • Nobility of the Sword - lineage • Nobility of the Robe - appointed officesi) 400,000 noblemenii) owned 25% of landiii) labor dues (corvee)iv) could tax peasants for privileges, i.e. wine press or mill.v) supported the philosophes - but criticized by themvii) wanted a constitutional monarchy to limit the king

18. Third Estate - The rest - 600 seatsi) The peasants, Middle Class, Urban workersii) some commoners were educated and rich - bourgeoisieiii) they wanted status which was not recognized through wealthiv) felt frustration with the second estatev) wanted positions in the church, government, and army open to the most qualified

19. FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

20. Population Debt Food shortages Inflation Disease Recession in textiles Nobility demanded more power The main cause of the revolution was the financial problems:50% interest25% military6% Versailles

21. AGRARIAN PROBLEMS

22. Four-fifths of the population were rural • Foreign trade had increased fivefold between 1713 and 1789 • Consumer prices rose 65%; wages rose 22% between 1730-80 • But lord peasant relations were not master/man. • The participants were motivated by economic distress

23. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

24. Louis’ minister of finance proposed a general tax on all landed people, he persuaded the king to call an Assembly of Notables in 1787 • The Assembly promised support if the provincial assemblies could control spending • The king dismissed the Assembly of Notables and tried to reassert his authority • Parlement declared the king’s power null

25. In July 1788 Louis was forced to call the Estates General first time since 1614- absolutism was collapsing • People started to elect representatives and organize their demands • Two-thirds of the clergy delegates were commoners by birth; one-third of the nobility were committed to liberalism; but no delegates were actually poor. • The Estates wanted:a) absolutism to give way to constitutional monarchyb) liberties would have to be guaranteed

26. But how would they vote? • The old system virtually guaranteed control by the first and second estates • The government “doubled” the Third Estate but still useless as long as they voted as estates. • Abbé Sieyès wrote, “What is the Third estate?” • May 1789 the Estates General met at Versailles • June 13, delegates from the Third Estates refused to transact business, a few clergy moved into the Third Estate • June 17 Third Estate became the National Assembly

27. Tennis Court Oath • Moved to an indoor tennis court and pledged not to disband until they had written a new constitution • Louis allied with the nobility • The king moved the army to Versailles and dismissed the Liberals

28. The Bastille • By 1789 almost half the people needed relief • In July 14 1789 they stormed the Bastille • A traditional symbol of power, but it held 7 prisoner • Turned a political event into revolution • Great Fear

29. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen • August 1789 • “All men are born free and equal” • Natural rights: liberty, property, security freedom from oppression, innocent until proved • Didn’t guarantee economic equality • October 1789 7,000 women marched to Versailles to protest the price of bread. • King, queen and National Assembly taken to Paris

30. The National Assembly passed major reforms • July 1790, Louis agreed to a constitutional monarchy. • New laws increased opportunities for women, but still no vote. • Reorganized the provinces into 83 departments • Weights and measures were standardized (metric), guild restrictions lifted. • Abolition of special privileges for the nobility • Wrote a constitution which limited the monarchy • Torture was abolished, citizen juries introduced, sale of offices was abolished

31. Customs tax on internally transported goods was lifted • The government used assignats as paper currency • Subordinated the church to the state • The clergy was required to take an oath of loyalty to the state. Only half did. • The Assembly declared the Revolution over! • Louis made several concessions to the Assembly but he never intended to keep them • The people still loved the king and blamed his ministers for the problems

32. But in June 1791 Louis and his family had tried to escape to Austria, “flight to Varennes” (Leopold was Marie’s brother) • Louis was captured at Varennes and returned to Paris • August 1791, Declaration of Pillnitz - Austria and Prussia to show support for the king “if” • Political clubs take over the Assembly • By September 1791 the National Assembly announced its work completed, Louis accepted the constitution. • By 1792 the Revolution had turned radical because of:a) a counter revolution led by the king, church, and Catholic peasantsb) economic, social, and political discontent among the peasants, artisans, and wage earners (sans-culottes)

33. In April 1792 France declared war on Austria • July 25, Brunswick Manifesto: Austria and Prussia promise revenge if the monarch is hurt • Prussia joined Austria to create the First Coalition • The French were easily defeated, but the leaders of the Coalition argued amongst themselves • Gradually the French the gained the upperhand and a wave of patriotism swept the country

34. The Second Revolution • The sans-culottes insisted it was the duty of the government to protect them • Wanted the government to increase wages, fix prices, and end shortages • They wanted to prevent extremes of wealth • Wanted a democratic republic liked the ideas of Thomas Paine • In August 1792 they attacked the palace and killed several hundred guards

35. The second phase was much more radical • By September Paris was in turmoil • “September Massacres” slaughtered prison inmates • On September 1st, 1792 France was declared a Republic • The king was imprisoned and tried in December - executed by one vote • After the execution the Assembly became the National Convention

36. British Prime Minister Pitt said France had to leave Belgium • Problems stopped them from being successful • February 1, 1793 France declares war on Britain, Holland, Austria, and Prussia (later Spain) • Members of the National Convention were republican and Jacobins • Jacobins divided into two groups: Girondists from western France, and the Mountain led by Robespierre and Danton • Both advocated war • In the spring France was pushed from Belgium

37. National Constitutional Convention • Republican armies captured Nice, invaded the Rhineland and occupied Austrian Netherlands • Girondists and Mountainist became very suspicious of each other • May 31 1793, the Commune, under sans-culottes pressure, has the Girondists arrested • Sans-culotte emerge as the most powerful group in Paris

38. Robespierre (disciple of Rousseau) formed the Committee of Public Safety to ensure success of the revolution • Mandated economic controls, but too weak to enforce, except the price of bread • Nationalized the war effort • Arrested thousands of suspected counter-revolutionaries • Robespierre wanted to create a Republic of Virtue • To ensure his ideals he implemented the Reign of Terror (1793-4)

39. Reign of Terror • Leaders of the Girondins were executed including Danton • Revolutionary courts tried enemies of the state • Dictatorship • 40,000 executed, 300,000 imprisoned • Levée en masse • Abolished feudalism

40. Robespierre tried to dechristianize the country • New calendar with no Christian holidays or Sundays - Sept. 1, 1792 was day one, year one. • Each month had 30 days, with 10 day weeks • June 1794 Robespierre introduced the cult of the Supreme Being in which the Republic acknowledged the existence of God • Alienated Catholics

41. Marie Antoinette • Beheaded Oct. 16 • “Terror is the order of the day” • 1794 French armies successful on all fronts • 1795 Spain and Prussia quit • 1796 Austria quit leaving only Britain

42. Thermidorean Reaction • Robespierre wanted an ideal democratic republic without rich or poor • Through despotism and the guillotine he eliminated all opposition • Robespierre was arrested by the Convention and executed (July 28, 1794) by fearful middle class who really benefited from his removal • Inflation increased, self-indulgence increased, people turned to religion • National Convention abolished economic controls and wrote a new constitution

43. The Directory • 1795 leadership passed to five Directors, but same old leaders - people who had survived - dominated by bourgeoisie • Lowered prices; alleviated hunger; reorganized the tax system; won military victories; wrote a constitution which incorporated Belgium • Faced revolts from the left - “Gracchus” Babeuf and the “conspiracy of equals”from the monarchists - Barthelemy and Carnot

44. 1795 Louis “XVII” died, the Count de Provance claimed to be Louis “XVIII” • Declaration of Verona:a) restore the Old Regime b) return all confiscated landc) restore old privileges, taxes, and dues • 18 Fructidor (Sept 4, 1797) three Directors occupy Paris and stage a coup • They annulled the elections, imposed censorship, and exiled troublemakers • Napoleon sent deputy to Paris to ensure the success of the coup

45. Napoleon Bonaparte

46. March 1795 France signed a treaty with Prussia • June Spain dropped out of the coalition • Napoleon had sweeping success in Italy • April 1796 defeated the Austrians at Millesimo • The British had problems: social unrest, rebellion in Ireland, cost of the war, naval mutinies and started talks with the French • The French demanded more concessions and talk stopped

47. October 1797 the Hapsburgs signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, which left only Britain at war • November 1797 Napoleon returned to Paris a hero, and planned to invade Britain • He persuaded the Directory to let him invade Egypt to cut Britain off from India • August 1, 1798 Admiral Nelson annihilated the French fleet at Abukir • In Egypt he lost to the British but kept his reputation • Dec. 1798, Tsar Paul I signed with Britain to create the Second Coalition, later Austria and the Ottomans joined

48. May 1799 Sieyes was elected a Director and started to plot against the government • “confidence from below, power from above” • In October Napoleon appeared on French soil • 18 Brumaire Napoleon led a coup and almost messed up the coup saved only by his brother Lucien • By December the Consulate ran the country and Napoleon was in charge

49. The Consulate

50. Napoleon offered King George III peace but Britain refused to negotiate • June 1800 at Marengo he crushed the Austrians • 1801 Treaty of Luneville expanded French control over Italy and western Germany • 1802 Peace Amiens with Britain restored peace to Europe • Napoleon could now focus on France • Created a new administrative system run by prefects • Wanted peace with the Catholic Church