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===France===

===France===

The French Revolution is the most famous in all of world history.  It started out with the hope and promise of the American Revolution, but ended up with nearly everyone being executed by the guillotine.  There was a “Reign of Terror” which was exactly what it name implies:  terrifying chaos when anyone and everyone could be killed at any time.

The French Revolution is the most famous in all of world history.  It started out with the hope and promise of the American Revolution, but ended up with nearly everyone being executed by the guillotine.  There was a “Reign of Terror” which was exactly what it name implies:  terrifying chaos when anyone and everyone could be killed at any time, for any reason or no reason at all.

In its Old Regime prior to the revolution, France had three tiers or levels in its social system:  the First, Second and Third Estates.  The First Estate was only 1% of the population but it controlled 10% of the land.  This was the clergy and they paid no taxes.  To be fair, however, much of this land was church land made available to the public, and clergy do not pay any taxes today in the United States either.  The Second Estate was only about 2% of the population but they controlled 20% of the land.  This was the landed nobility, and they paid very little in taxes.  The Third Estate was everyone else:  the peasants, the merchants and the laborers, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch, King Louis XVI.  Recall that taxes were a major cause of the American Revolution also.

In its Old Regime prior to the revolution, France had three tiers or levels in its social system:  the First, Second and Third Estates.  The First Estate was only 1% of the population but it controlled 10% of the land.  This was the clergy and they paid no taxes.  To be fair, however, much of this land was church land made available to the public, and clergy do not pay any taxes today in the United States either.  The Second Estate was only about 2% of the population but they controlled 20% of the land.  This was the landed nobility, and they paid very little in taxes.  The Third Estate was everyone else:  the peasants, the merchants and the laborers, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch, King Louis XVI.  Recall that taxes were a major cause of the American Revolution also.

The leaders of the Third Estate were the middle class, also known as the bourgeoisie.  They did better than the peasants and worked as merchants or skilled artisans.  They were educated and trained in many of the ideas of the Enlightenment, most notably Jean Jacques Rousseau.  His work “The Social Contract” (1762) supported a direct democracy rather than the republican form of government adopted in America.  The “social contract” was a contract among free people to create government.  Rousseau disapproved of titles like nobility, and demanded complete equality between all people.

The leaders of the Third Estate were the middle class, also known as the bourgeoisie.  They did better than the peasants and worked as merchants or skilled artisans.  They were educated and trained in many of the ideas of the Enlightenment, most notably Jean Jacques Rousseau.  His work “The Social Contract” (1762) supported a direct democracy rather than the republican form of government adopted in America.  The “social contract” was a contract among free people to create government.  Rousseau disapproved of titles like nobility, and demanded complete equality between all people.

France was near bankruptcy in 1789 due to King Louis XVI’s extravagance and high taxes, which discouraged work.  The Second Estate then made a big mistake in demanding a meeting of the Estates-General, which was a French Assembly that had not met in 175 years.  The defect in this strategy was that each Estate had one vote in the Assembly, such that the First and Second Estates could always outvote the Third Estate.  That was acceptable in the early 1600s, but the Third Estate would not allow this in 1789 after learning the Enlightenment ideas.  They wanted a system of one vote per delegate, which would have given the Third Estate the same number of votes as the First and Second Estate combined.

France was near bankruptcy in 1789 due to King Louis XVI’s extravagance and high taxes, which discouraged work.  The Second Estate then made a big mistake in demanding a meeting of the Estates-General, which was a French Assembly that had not met in 175 years.  Each Estate had one vote in the Assembly, such that the First and Second Estates could always outvote the Third Estate.  That was acceptable in the early 1600s, but the Third Estate would not allow this in 1789 after learning the Enlightenment ideas.  They wanted a system of one vote per delegate, which would have given the Third Estate the same number of votes as the First and Second Estate combined.

When the First and Second Estates refused this request by the Third Estate, it left and formed a new National Assembly.  When the Third Estate was locked out of its meeting place, it met on tennis court and took the “Tennis Court Oath” to draft a new French constitution.

When the First and Second Estates refused this request by the Third Estate, the Third Estate left and formed a new National Assembly.  When the Third Estate was locked out of its meeting place, it met on a tennis court and took the “Tennis Court Oath” to draft a new French constitution.

Violence soon hit the streets.  On July 14, 1789 (“Bastille Day”), French peasants stormed the large Paris prison known as Bastille, freeing the inmates.  The Great Fear or panic resulted, as riots occurred and peasants proceeded to burn wealthy homes.  Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were forced from their home in Versailles by a riot of women over the high price of bread.  Supposedly the snobby Antoinette responded unsympathetically to the lack of bread for the peasants by declaring, “Let them eat cake!”  Historians doubt she ever actually said that.

Chaos and violence soon hit the streets.  On July 14, 1789 (“Bastille Day”), French peasants stormed the large Paris prison known as Bastille, freeing the inmates.  The Great Fear or panic resulted, as riots occurred and peasants proceeded to burn wealthy homes.  Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were forced from their home in Versailles by a riot of women over the high price of bread.  In a classic example of class warfare that can be seen even today, people accused the privileged Antoinette of responding unsympathetically to the lack of bread for the peasants by declaring, “Let them eat cake!”  But cake was a sensible substitute for bread in times of need, and it is doubtful Antoinette ever said that anyway.

By then the French Revolution was in full swing.  The National Assembly approved the “Declaration of the Rights of Man,” which combined ideas of the American Declaration of Independence with some Enlightenment concepts.  The result of this combination had many debatable claims.  The entire document is short and worth reading in full:

By then the French Revolution was in full swing.  The National Assembly approved the “Declaration of the Rights of Man,” which combined ideas of the American Declaration of Independence with some Enlightenment concepts.  The result of this combination was a liberal document guaranteeing more to the people than a government could or should provide:<ref>http://www.hrcr.org/docs/frenchdec.html</ref>

http://www.hrcr.org/docs/frenchdec.html

Unlike the American declaration that “all men are created equal,” the French version declared that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.”  Unlike the American declaration that all men have inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the French version declared that all men have natural rights of “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.”  Some of the French declarations seem silly, like this one:  “Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.”  What is the meaning of a freedom if it is arbitrarily limited by undefined “abuses of this freedom”?

:Unlike the American declaration that “all men are created equal,” the French version declared that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.”  Unlike the American declaration that all men have inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the French version declared that all men have natural rights of “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.”  Some of the French declarations seem silly, like this one:  “Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.”  What is the meaning of a freedom if it is arbitrarily limited by undefined “abuses of this freedom”?

In 1791, a French journalist named Olympe de Gouges proposed a “Declaration of the Rights of Woman,” but the National Assembly rejected her proposal.  She, like many other leaders of that time, was eventually executed by guillotine.

In 1791, a French journalist named Olympe de Gouges proposed a “Declaration of the Rights of Woman,” but the National Assembly rejected her proposal.  She, like many other leaders of that time, was eventually executed by guillotine.

Meanwhile, Prussia and Austria were at war with one another, and Prussia offered to help the French King Louis XVI and his royal family.  In response, in August 1792, the French revolutionaries imprisoned the king and his family.

Meanwhile, Prussia and Austria were at war with one another, and Prussia offered to help the French King Louis XVI and his royal family.  In response, in August 1792, the French revolutionaries imprisoned the king and his family.

A new National Convention replaced the Legislative Assembly and abolished the monarchy in order to establish a republic in 1792, which gave all adult males the right to vote.  A radical political group called the Jacobins gained power, led by Georges Danton and Jean Paul Marat.  Under the influence of the Jacobins, the National Convention used the guillotine to execute Louis XVI in January 1793.  By this time many countries, including Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria, had formed a First Coalition to prevent the violence in France from spreading outside.  The National Convention responded by drafting people into an army.  Historians claim women were drafted, but such a politically inspired claim is worth investigating before accepting it.

A new National Convention replaced the Legislative Assembly and abolished the monarchy in order to establish a republic in 1792, which gave all adult males the right to vote.  A radical political group called the Jacobins gained power, led by Georges Danton and Jean Paul Marat.  Under the influence of the Jacobins, the National Convention used the guillotine to execute Louis XVI in January 1793.  By this time many countries, including Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria, had formed the First Coalition to prevent the violence in France from spreading outside.  The National Convention responded by drafting people into an army.  Historians claim that women were drafted too, but that is a dubious claim.

   

   

The execution of Louis XVI led almost immediately to the Reign of Terror.  Maximilian Robespierre, head of the Committee of Public Safety, proceeded to guillotine numerous alleged enemies, including Marie Antoinette.  In a classic illustration of Jesus’s teaching that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” Jacobin leaders Georges Danton (a fiery orator) was guillotined, and Jean-Paul Marat (a scientist) was stabbed to death in his bathtub.  Eventually Robespierre himself was guillotined in 1794, and the Reign of Terror ended with his death.

The execution of Louis XVI led almost immediately to the Reign of Terror.  Maximilian Robespierre, head of the Committee of Public Safety, proceeded to guillotine numerous alleged enemies, including Marie Antoinette.  In a classic illustration of Jesus’s teaching that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” Jacobin leaders Georges Danton (a fiery orator) was guillotined, and Jean-Paul Marat (a scientist) was stabbed to death in his bathtub.  Eventually Robespierre himself was guillotined in 1794, and the Reign of Terror ended with his death.

At last the government of France was in the hands of a legislature, and an executive branch of five men called the Directory.  The Directory picked a young, highly successful military genius named Napoleon to lead the French army.  The very next day Napoleon seized all power in France as its dictator, in November 1799.

At last the government of France was in the hands of a legislature, and an executive branch of five men called the Directory.  The Directory picked a young, highly successful military genius named Napoleon to lead the French army.  The very next day Napoleon seized all power in France as its dictator, in November 1799.

The influence of the French Revolution was immense throughout the western hemisphere, as other peoples felt that they, too, could rise up against their rulers and defeat them.  Historians credit the French Revolution with spreading the ideas of the Enlightenment, limiting the power of nobility and clergy, and ending an absolute monarchy.  But many who supported the French Revolution in its beginning were horrified by where it led, including numerous executions and terror.  Some would say that France never fully recovered, as the French Revolution unleashed an hostility towards Christianity that continues to this day in France.  Islam has recently risen in power there.

The influence of the French Revolution was immense throughout the western hemisphere, as other peoples felt that they, too, could rise up against their rulers and defeat them.  Historians credit the French Revolution with spreading the ideas of the Enlightenment, limiting the power of nobility and clergy, and ending an absolute monarchy.  But many who supported the French Revolution in its beginning (including Thomas Jefferson) were horrified by where it led, including numerous executions and terror.  Some would say that France never fully recovered, as the French Revolution unleashed an hostility towards Christianity that continues to this day in France.  Islam has recently risen in power there.

===Napoleon’s Empire===

===Napoleon’s Empire===