The French Revolution: Crash Course World History #29

CrashCourse
10 Aug 201211:54
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe French Revolution video discusses the economic and social turmoil in late 18th century France that led to the overthrow of the monarchy. It covers the fiscal crisis and food shortages that angered commoners, the calling of the Estates General, the Tennis Court Oath, the storming of the Bastille, the Declaration of the Rights of Man that established equal rights, and the ensuing Reign of Terror under Robespierre. Finally, it analyzes the radical but uncertain legacy of the French Revolution, which questioned old assumptions about rights and governance but resulted in Napoleon's ascendancy.

Takeaways
  • 😠 France was in debt and the tax system was unfair, with nobles and clergy not paying taxes.
  • 😤 Popular discontent grew due to hunger from harvest failures and anger at the lavish lifestyle of the royals.
  • 🤬 The Third Estate broke away and formed the National Assembly, signaling the start of revolution.
  • 😡 The Bastille was stormed, feudalism abolished, and Declaration of Rights adopted as revolutionary fervor grew.
  • 🤯 Attempts to rein in the revolution led to increasing radicalization and The Terror under Robespierre.
  • 😨 16,000 enemies of the revolution including royals and Robespierre himself were guillotined.
  • 😓 France went through numerous constitutions and coups with rulers seizing power.
  • 😠 Napoleon rose to power and proclaimed the revolution was over but France was not a democracy.
  • 😟 The revolution saw a return of monarchy and nobility but without absolute monarchies.
  • 🧐 The ideas on universal rights were very radical and influential, but debated whether revolution succeeded.
Q & A

  • What were some of the systemic problems France faced in collecting taxes in the 18th century?

    -France had an unfair tax system called the Ancien Regime where the nobility and clergy who had all the money rarely paid taxes, leaving the peasants to carry the tax burden. This caused France to go deeply into debt.

  • How did the calling of the Estates General lead to the revolution?

    -The Third Estate broke off from the Estates General after disagreements and formed the National Assembly, starting the revolution. When King Louis XVI locked them out of their meeting hall, they moved elsewhere and took the Tennis Court Oath to write a constitution.

  • What major events helped galvanize the French revolutionaries early on?

    -The storming of the Bastille on July 14 to get weapons was a major flashpoint. Also, the Women's March on Versailles in October that brought the royal family back to Paris signaled the people's control.

  • What was the Reign of Terror and what were its effects?

    -The Reign of Terror from 1793-94 was a violent purge of counter-revolutionaries by Maximilien Robespierre's radical regime. Over 16,000 were executed by guillotine, including Marie Antoinette and eventually Robespierre himself.

  • How did the French Revolution change measurements of time?

    -During the radical phase of the revolution, the calendar was changed to have 10 days per week and months were renamed to remove religious references.

  • What was the Declaration of Rights of Man?

    -Ratified in 1789, it established equality and natural rights for all male citizens, making these intrinsic to the new French constitution. This was far more radical than the American Bill of Rights.

  • How did the French Revolution lead to Napoleon's rise?

    -The post-Terror instability led to Napoleon's coup as First Consul in 1799, making him dictator. He proclaimed the revolution was over but the Napoleonic Code preserved some Enlightenment ideals.

  • Why did other European monarchs oppose the revolution?

    -Leaders like Leopold II of Austria feared the growing republican sentiments and wanted to preserve monarchy. So they threatened counter-revolution, helping radicalize the revolutionaries.

  • How revolutionary was the final outcome of the French Revolution?

    - France returned to having a king and nobility, so it wasn't very democratic in the end. But Enlightenment ideals were spread and absolutist rule was over, making it quite radical.

  • What is the revolution's disputed legacy?

    -Some see the French Revolution as mostly spreading state domination rather than liberty. But its universal ideas on rights and sovereignty were highly influential, even if democracy didn't immediately result.

Outlines
00:00
🏛️ Establishing Context of French Revolution

The paragraph establishes context by mentioning how the French Revolution is seen as a bloody mess but argues it changed human history more than the American Revolution. It then sets up the systemic tax collection issues France faced due to the Ancien Regime system of kings and nobles not paying taxes.

05:03
🚩 Triggering the Revolution

The paragraph discusses factors triggering the revolution - debt from funding American Revolution, crop failures causing hunger, perceived excesses of nobles and royals. It then covers key events like formation of the National Assembly, Tennis Court Oath, storming of Bastille.

10:04
🗽 Ideals and Legacy

The paragraph evaluates the revolution's legacy - whether it succeeded in spreading Enlightenment ideals of universal rights though didn't bring democracy. It compares revolution's effects on inequality versus America and argues its insistence on universal ideals was most radical.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ancien Régime
The Ancien Régime refers to the social and political system in France before the French Revolution. It was characterized by an absolute monarchy, feudalism, and privileges for the clergy and nobility while most French people lived in poverty. This systemic inequality in French society eventually led to calls for social and political reform.
💡Estates General
The Estates General was an assembly representing the three estates of French society - the clergy, nobility and commoners. Louis XVI called a meeting in 1789 to try to fix France's financial crisis. However, disagreements between the estates led the Third Estate (commoners) to break away and form the National Assembly.
💡National Assembly
The National Assembly was created by representatives of the Third Estate during the Estates General meeting. They sought to establish a constitution and have a greater voice in governing France. After they were locked out of their meeting hall, they made the Tennis Court Oath to keep working until a constitution was achieved.
💡Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
Issued by the National Assembly in 1789, this Declaration laid out basic rights for all people, including liberty, property, security, and equal treatment under the law. This embodied Enlightenment ideals that power should come from the people.
💡Maximilien Robespierre
A Jacobin leader, Robespierre was a key figure during the radical phase of the Revolution called The Terror. Under the Committee of Public Safety, thousands were executed. Later Robespierre himself was guillotined as more moderate voices regained influence.
💡The Terror
The Terror refers to the final radical phase of the French Revolution from 1793-1794, marked by violence and mass executions of perceived enemies of the Revolution. Led by Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, The Terror showed how radical movements often turn against their own.
💡guillotine
The guillotine was introduced as a more egalitarian method of execution. However, it became strongly associated with the mass killings during the Terror. Enlightenment thinker Dr. Joseph Guillotine invented it.
💡Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte emerged from the political chaos after the Terror to become ruler of France. Though he called the Revolution over, his reign showed France did not achieve its democratic ideals. He crowned himself emperor in 1804.
💡plebeian
A member of the lower class commoners. Also referred to as the Third Estate, they resented the privileges of clergy and nobles. Their representatives spearheaded the drive for reform in the Estates General.
💡bourgeoisie
The urban middle class, including merchants, bankers, doctors, lawyers etc. They provided support for the early liberal stages of the Revolution but opposed its later radical phases.
Highlights

The French Revolution asked new questions about the nature of people’s rights and the derivation of those rights.

France had a systemic problem collecting taxes because nobles and clergy never paid taxes.

By 1789, France was deeply in debt from funding the American Revolution and half its budget went to paying interest.

The Third Estate broke off from the Estates General and formed the National Assembly, starting the revolution.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man established equal rights for all people, unlike the American Bill of Rights.

The Women's March on Versailles forced the royal family to move to Paris, signaling their reduced power.

The revolution became more radical, with calls for a republic instead of a constitutional monarchy.

The National Assembly fighting protesters made them lose revolutionary credibility.

Other monarchies feared the French Revolution would inspire revolutions elsewhere.

Invading Austria backfired and turned opinion against King Louis XVI.

After the king's execution, The Terror began, with thousands executed at the guillotine.

The revolution went through many constitutions and governments in a short period of time.

Napoleon rose to power promising to uphold revolutionary ideals but became an authoritarian ruler.

The revolution ultimately replaced one authoritarian regime with another.

The legacy is debated - did it spread Enlightenment ideals or enhance state power?

Transcripts

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