INO-+French+Revolution+Notes+September+3+2010

= = = French Revolution Notes Pg. 21-25 = toc

= Awesome Stuff = Questions 1-2 on pg, 26-27 1.
 * || Things That People Disliked_ || Kind of people who dislike ||
 * Society || * 3rd Estates had no rights or privileges
 * the clergy and nobles were wealthy but they could be exempted from some taxes || 3rd Estate ||
 * Taxation || * 3rd Estate had no exemptions
 * Clegy and nobles could avoid or exempt from some taxes || 3rd Estate ||
 * Feudal Rights+ Dues || * Other than taxes, people had to pay dues to high class people
 * Feudal Rights || 3rd Estate ||
 * Law || * non-humane torturous system || All ||
 * Gov. || * Royal family spent too much money
 * King had the right to use the Sealed Letter at any time for anyone
 * News taxes were made on their will || All (except royal family) ||

2. Why French people wanted to change the way France was ran Firstly, the society and taxation was unfair to the largest group of people, the 3rd estate. They had no rights or privileges and they still had to pay most of the taxes. Compared the the nobles and clergy, some had a hard time paying them and had to rely on charities to survive. Secondly, the feudal rights and dues and the law were unfair. Like previously stated, the 3rd estate had no rights, they had to pay for everything they use from their landowners and still had to be careful not to break any feudal rights. When a criminal was captured, the law gave people the right to torture them before killing them. Lastly, the government was unfair. Even though France was heavily in debt, Marie and Louis still spent lots of money for themselves. The king also had the right to use the sealed letter to put anyone in prison or exile them. If there were debts to pay, he also had the right to create new taxes.

= Boring Notes =

The Estates General

 * The nobles and clergy welcomed the king's decision to call an Estates General.
 * They thought they could use it to block his plans to tax them because of the voting system

The Voting System
2. The 3rd estate now complains that the voting system was unfair 3. December 1788, the king reluctantly agreed
 * 1) the Estates General met whenever the king wanted to consult it
 * not often
 * Made up of 750 members, about 250 from each estate
 * met in 3 separate rooms, each person has one vote
 * the Nobles and clergy could easily out vote them
 * they asked the king to double their vote
 * By now the government was bankrupt
 * It could not pay all its interest it owed in debts
 * a new finance minister, Jacques Necker, advised him to double the 3rd estate

The Food Crisis
2. the result of the awful weather was a sharp rise in the price of bread
 * 1) Finance wasn't the only problem in France, mass hunger
 * Caused by freak weather
 * 13 July 1788 a massive hailstorm destroyed crops all over central France, followed by a drought
 * the weather didn't get any better, the drought followed by a cold winter
 * Rivers froze, windmills stopped to grind crops, roads were frozen up for transportation and floods destroyed the farmlands during spring
 * the price of one loaf rose to 15sous in Feb 1789
 * many families spent all their money on buying bread and stopped buying other things like fuel, candles and clothes etc.
 * many factories lost business and workers went unemployed
 * this caused strikes and riots

The Complaints Lists

 * 1) With hunger and unemployment spreading, elections for the Estates General were held in Spring 1789
 * As well as voting for deputies, voters were also asked to draw up a lists of changes to discuss with the king
 * over 60,000 lists of complaints were drawn up, this showed that millions of French people wanted change
 * when the Estates General met at Versailles in May 1789, millions of people very excited because it seemed like the king wanted to discuss the problems and solve them

The Estates Meet
2. The nobles and clergy refused to do so 3. Louis, however, was losing control of events at Versailles
 * 1) the first meeting of the Estates General took place on 5 May 1789
 * thousands of deputies met at he largest hall in Versailles
 * after long speeches by the king and the chief ministers, the estates for told to separate into different rooms to discuss
 * the 3rd estate deputies were unhappy because the nobles and clergy could easily out vote them
 * they refused to discuss anything if the other 2 estates would join them in a single "National Assembly"
 * After weeks of arguments, the 3rd Estate gave them a ultimatum
 * if by the end of the week, the nobles and clergy had not joined them, they would start the work of the Estates General by themselves
 * this was an act of defiance against the king
 * Louis angrily ordered a Royal Session of the Estates General
 * He warned the 3rd Estate to stop defy him any further
 * on 19 June, the clergy decided to join the 3rd Estate
 * The deputies arrived at the palace to welcome the clergy
 * but they found the doors locked and guarded by soldiers, the workmen inside were preparing for the king's royal session

The Tennis Court Oath
2. Louis could've ordered his soldiers to make them leave
 * 1) ﻿This angered and excited the 3rd Estate deputies
 * With the rain falling, they took shelter at a close by tennis court
 * inside, they took an oath to continue meeting until they had changed the way France was governed
 * this dramatic oath tied the deputies together in a common cause
 * when the king held his royal session on 23 June, they refused to move to separate halls for meeting
 * but faced with such determination, he gave in to them
 * on 27 June, the king ordered the nobles and clergy to join the 3rd Estate for a National Assembly
 * this which became the France's legal parliament
 * This was just the beginning of the revolution

= Summary = The Estates General was created to decide if there should be a new tax to solve the bankruptcy problem. The Estates General voting system was unfair because the nobles and clergy could easily double the 3rd estate's votes, so they asked the king to double their votes. Besides the bankruptcy issue, the weather was severe and all the crops failed in central France. Cause of that, many people spent all of their money on the high-priced bread. Soon, the factories that produced clothes, fuel candles etc went out of business and the workers became unemployed. This cause many strikes and riots.Before the actual elections, voters around France wrote 60,000 lists of complaints hoping for the king to solve some of the problems.

During the first meeting, the king ordered each estate to separate into different halls for a meetings but the 3rd estate refused to do so because they thought it was unfair. They demanded the other 2 groups to join them in a National Assembly. The king ordered to setup a Royal Session as a warning but the other 2 groups decided to join them. When they went to the palace for the final meeting, it was locked and guarded with soldiers. Since it was raining, the deputies of the 3rd estate took cover in a nearby tennis court. When they were there, they took an oath that they will continue the meeting until France had changed the way it was ran. Finally, the 3 Estates joined for a National Assembly.

This marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

= Questions Due = 3. Sequence: E,B,G,A,C,I,D,H,F Causes: E,B,G,A,C Consequence: I,D,H,F

4: Political: People thought the king and the officials had too much power Social: Marie was Austrian Economic: Nobles disliked the government's plans for a new tax land because they would lose their privilege of tax exemption People disliked Marie Antoinette's extravagant spending Many poor people blamed the government for high prices and unemployment.

5. The king and the officials had too much power Because the society was completely unfair. The king could send anyone to prison or exile them with just a single letter, everyone hated it. The king also had the power to establish new tax laws if the government needed some more money.

6.Yes, because Louis was the leader of the country, he had the most power and influence to see how the country was ran. Marie was only one of the reasons people disliked the royal family.

= Questions =
 * 1) If it was raining, then where did the other 2 group go? Weren't they going to have a meeting together?