Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

- World History -
The French Revolution and
The Napoleonic Era

The French Revolution

The Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789)
The Estates General met separately at the King's insistence. The Third Estate established the National Assembly, but was locked out of their regular meeting place at Versaille. They moved to the indoor tennis court. On June 20, 1789, the Tennis Court Oath was taken. They pledged not to leave until France had a new Constitution. The king gave in and told the First and Second Estates to join them.

Members of the Third Estate, meeting in a building that housed the royal tennis courts, swear to remain united until they are allowed to draft a new constitution.

Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)
The prison had seven people inside, a symbol of oppression to Parisians. King Louis XIV had sent troops to Paris. People had thought the Estates General would help them, but they were afraid the King and the army would stop reforms. They stormed the Bastille looking for gunpowder and weapons.

Soldiers defend themselves by firing on the mobs storming the Bastille.

The army killed hundreds - six soldiers were killed by the mob. The Governor and the mayor of Paris were killed. Peasants revolted in the countryside, the "Great Fear," destroying the last feudal privileges of the nobility. The peasants burned houses and destroyed records of peasants owing money.

Left: Bread rioters take over the Hall of the Constitution, carrying the heads of
murdered guards on poles. Right: Marie Antoinette give alms to the poor.

Declaration of the Rights of Man (August 20, 1789)
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was similar to and influenced by the American Declaration of Independence.

Political Clubs
The Committee of Public Safety, the Jacobins, was founded by Robospierre and Danton. The Jacobins were moderate at first. Later, they became the most radical. They wanted no monarchy from Versaille. (Versaille is 12 miles from Paris.)

Meeting place of the Jacobins.

Sansculottes threaten and humiliate Louis XVI and force the king to wear the red cap of a revolutionary.

The Women of Paris brought the royal family to Paris so they could keep a better watch over them. The National Assembly went, too. From this time onward, the French government has been seated in Paris.

The Constitution of 1791
The Constitution of 1791 set up a constitutional monarchy. It used the separation of powers concept, and it set up a legislative assembly. The king had "Executive Powers" only; his power was limited, not absolute.

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