CCR - The French Revolution and It’s Origins (Lesson)

The French Revolution and It’s Origins.

Anatomy of a Revolution

In 1938, historian Crane Brinton published his studies of the English Revolution, French Revolution, and Russian Revolution. In studying all three, he noted several similarities and ultimately determined that revolutions tend to follow the same course.

In his work, Anatomy of a Revolution, he outlines this course, borrowing many of his terms from pathology, comparing a revolution to a fever or a disease:

• The revolutionary "fever" begins with the appearance of certain "symptoms."
• It proceeds by advances and retreats to a crisis stage, or "delirium."
• The crisis ends when the "fever" breaks.
• A period of convalescence follows, interrupted by a relapse or two before the recovery is complete.

Let's take a look at the first part of a revolution: Conditions Present Before a Revolution Occurs. Take a close look at these items and see how true they are as we study the origins of the French Revolution.

 

 

France on the Eve of the Revolution

The French Revolution was not an overnight event nor was it inevitable as economic crises from the previous 2 decades made any sort of change a possibility. However, there are several reasons for the onslaught of revolutionary fervor:

• Enlightenment ideals
• Royal Neglect
• Droughts and Famines
• Fiscal Irresponsibility
• War Debt
• Tax Inequities

The French Revolution was fought because of . . . bread? Could bread, or the lack thereof actually cause the French Revolution? While it is not the sole reason for the revolt, it does actually play a pretty key role. Major droughts in the decades leading to 1790 caused the price of grain to skyrocket. Peasants, already overburdened by being the majority of the tax base, could no longer afford to purchase bread, a leading staple of French diets. This led many to begin demanding a revision of the tax code and the lowering of grain costs.

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment had its beginnings in France and, after an excursion in America, those same ideals re-found their way back home. Many of the theories stressed equality before law and placed monarchies under greater scrutiny.

Royal Neglect

When he took the throne, Louis XVI was in his 20s and had never traveled beyond Paris. The majority of his life had been spent at Versailles. He was more interested in hunting, carpentry, and clock workings than ruling.

Marie Antoinette was Austrian and married Louis as the result of an arrangement to strengthen French and Austrian ties. Louis, however, is uninterested in family life, leaving his wife to try more and more outlandish ways to gain his attention, including modeling her fashion style after Madame Pompadour, Louis XV's mistress. She was widely resented for being a foreign queen and living extravagantly. She appeared to be out of touch with many of the citizens of France including having a country home built at Versailles so that she could "live like a peasant" though she never did utter the words "Let them eat cake." She was extremely unhappy and the root of several scandals.

 

 

Quick facts about France's economy.

High unemployment in the 1770s and 1780s.

Bad harvest in 1775 ( worst in those 20 years).

Poor harvest led to high grain thus higher cost for bread.

Demand for manufactured goods collapses.

1000s out of work as a result.

By end of 1789 1/2 of the French people would need relief.

1 in 8 lived in extreme want.

In Paris, 150,000 out of 600,000 were out of work as of July 1789.

 

 

War Debts

By the late 1700s, France had been fighting with Britain and others on and off for the last 100 years. Financial support to the American Revolution was via loans arranged by Jacques Necker (finance minister for Louis XVI). Three-fourths of the state’s expenses went to maintaining the army and navy as well as paying debts owed from the War of Austrian Succession, the 7 Years' War, and the American Revolution.

The totals above list what obligations the King and France had, but not necessarily what was paid out each month. So where did France's money actually go?

• 50% went to interest.
• 25% went to expenses maintaining the Army & Navy & paying off war debts.
• 6% to the king.
• 19% to the country.

Where to find the money? The third estate pays most all of the taxes as the clergy are exempt, and the second estate pays very little. Under absolutism, France was inept at collecting taxes and there was no central bank, which meant France relied on loans from individuals in order to stay afloat.

Social lines between nobles and bourgeois became blurred over the last century - despite opposition from older established nobles. Between 1774-1789, 2,500 families bought titles. This serves to create a new class distinction: Nobles of the Sword (old nobility, inherited titles, family earned title by defending the king) and Nobles of the Robe (new nobility, purchased titles). Many Nobles of the Sword had fallen on hard times and are doing everything they can to distinguish themselves, including clinging to any and all privileges. Though common during the middle ages, many of the privileges/feudal obligations had fallen by the wayside. When several nobles began to re-establish them, peasants protested. Nobles of Sword depended on privileges to maintain status and resented provincial parlements that became filled with new nobles. The monarchy became dependent upon the sale of titles and offices for long term credit and by 1789 there were over 50,000 offices. But sales were coming to a close as any more could destroy confidence and lessen the values of already held offices.

 

Everybody's Talkin' Bout Revolution.

In 1771, Louis XV exiled the Parlement of Paris and established new law courts that are more subservient than before. Many believe Louis was trying to circumvent long-accepted privileges by doing so, thus they force his son, Louis XVI into relenting and recalling the Parlement.

And so it begins - the snowballing of activities that lead directly to the revolution. Jacques Necker attempts to float more loans while straightening out the finances. In 1781, ministers convince Louis XVI to fire Necker, which he does. But by 1782, Necker is rehired and inflates the figures to reassure the French and get new loans. This tactic doesn't work; instead, most nations refuse to loan France any more money. Necker is thus replaced with Charles Alexandre de Calonne. He demonstrates that Necker's figures were inflated, but attempts to reassure the king and queen by buying 2 chateaux and building 4 more.

The Parlements highly dislike Calonne as they think he is arrogant, wants to tax the land, and identify him with fiscal irresponsibility. Thus, Calonne attempts to sidestep Parlement by having the king convene the Assembly of Notables (hand-picked representatives from each of the 3 estates), expecting the assembly to endorse its proposals, which did include a land tax, as well as overhaul the tax system. The assembly refused. The upper 2 estates were concerned they would lose privileges and thus the nobles convinced Louis to fire Calonne on April 8, 1788. He is replaced with Archbishop of Toulouse who asked for a land AND stamp tax. Some of the assembly had been willing to consider the new taxation provided it came with some concessions they requested such as:

• Calling regular meetings of Estates-General
• Allow more power to the Parlements
• Reforms to guarantee protection of rights

Louis is now caught between a rock and a hard place. He needs the nobles to resolve the financial crisis but doesn't want to give in to demands. Instead, Louis banishes them to a town south of Paris. Soon smaller parlements followed suit - one even called for a meeting of its estates without monarchical approval. Other provincial parlements began demanding meetings of the Estates-General. In response to the growing situation, land and stamp taxes are withdrawn in exchange for a tax on income and the Parlement of Paris is recalled from exile. Louis ordered new loan edicts without presenting them to Parlement which is technically illegal as Parlement has control of monetary issues. In May 1788, the king arrested 2 of the Parlement's most radical members. Small riots soon broke out, with one town throwing roof tiles and stones at royal soldiers. On August 8, 1788, Louis announced he would convene Estates-General in May of the following year. He reappointed Necker.

With the announcing of the Estates-General, questions were raised as to the voting process. In the past, the representatives at the Estates voted by block, meaning each estate received one vote:

The Society of 30 forms with Lafayette at the head. They met to discuss, debate, and distribute pamphlets. Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, previously an obscure priest, issues a public statement:

 

Many of the 3rd estate begin advocating for "One Man, One Vote." Meaning rather than voting by block, many request that each representative be allowed a vote. Fear led Louis to double the number of 3rd estate representatives, but maintained each block would have only 1 vote. Louis asked local assemblies to draw up a list of grievances known as the cahiers d'oleances. What resulted was a wide variety of complaints from concrete reforms to the foul breath of sheep ruining Lorraine's pastures. Some listed problems with the king. The predominant issue, however were the lettres de cachet which allowed a person to be arrested for any reason, without cause. Some of the cahiers praised the king while shifting fault to his advisors, yet most were edited before reaching the king.

On May 5, 1789, over 1,000 members met at Versailles for the Estates-General. Louis quickly greeted the 1st and 2nd estates, but kept the 3rd estate waiting for 2 hours. During his speech, they put their hats back on - a privilege reserved for the first and second estates and a major sign of disrespect. After announcing that each estate would be a block vote, the 3rd estate began delaying the proceedings by requesting all 3 estates meet together. Traditionally each estate met in separate rooms to vote. With the decision to continue voting by block, the third estate began pushing for each block to vote in the same room. The idea was that if they were to meet and discuss the issues together, there was a chance that one of the other 2 estates could be swayed to vote with the 3rd estate. On June 17th, when the request is denied, the 3rd estate declares itself the National Assembly and the true representatives of sovereignty, thereby giving them as much, if not more power than the king. The 1st estate considers joining them. On June 20, the meeting hall where the 3rd estate had been gathering was locked ("for repairs.") Rather than leaving, the 3rd estate met at a nearby indoor tennis court and demanded defined limits on the king's authority. They also swore the Tennis Court Oath, in which they swore not to disband until a new constitution was written. In the past, the Estates-General would be called for a meeting, then go home after a couple of weeks with no clear-cut time as to when they would reconvene. This means years could pass between meetings. This declaration stated that they would continue to meet regularly until they completed a new constitution NOT that they would stay together 24/7 until one was written.

Louis initially declared the National Assembly invalid, but on June 23, he announced substantial reforms:

• Would periodically convoke Estates-General
• Abolish the taille (land tax) and corvee (labor tax)
• Eliminate tariffs and tolls
• Allowed the three estates to vote by head so long as it did not concern "ancient and constitutional rights of the 3 orders"

But many didn't think it was enough. On June 22nd, Louis fires Necker again, only to be forced to rehire him after thousands invade the Tuileries Palace. On June 27, Louis orders the 2 remaining estates to join the 3rd estate. Necker is once again fired on July 11th and the next day demonstrators carry statue busts of Necker. People began to arm themselves due to increased military presence. Shortly after the final dismissal of Necker, Parisian crowds went in search of weapons.

 

 

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