Chapter 21:

The Revolution In Politics, 1775-1815

 

1)Liberty and Equality

a)Call for liberty was a call for individual human rights, enlightened monarchs often believed it was their duty to regulate what ppl read and believed

b)Liberals believed ppl had sovereignty- ppl alone had authority to make laws limiting an individuals freedom of action

c)Equality- al citizens should have identical rights and civil liberties, nobility had no special privileges based on their birth

i)Liberals were often men, did not believe male and female equal

ii)Never believed everyone economically equal, but equal chance to get wealth

d)Society still legally divided into groups w/ special privileges (nobility, clergy) and burdens (peasantry). Criticized economic inequality based on legal distinctions for different social groups

e)Liberal ideas stressed human dignity, personal liberty, human happiness, faith n science, rationality, progress

i)John Locke- representative govt, if govt oversteps function of protecting natural rights of life, liberty, property, it becomes tyranny

ii)de Montesquieu- powerful intermediary groups defend liberty against despots

f)Representative govt appealed to bourgeoisie- well educated, prosperous middle-class groups; as well as nobility

i)Rep. govt did not mean democracy, voting for reps limited to those who owned property who had “stake in society”, restricted franchise w/ strong aristocratic pre-eminence

g)Liberalism lacked popular support from beginning

i)Common ppl worked about immediate and economic problems, not theoretical and political

ii)Some practices and institutions to abolish dear to peasants and urban workers

2)The American Revolutionary Era, 1775-1789

a)Liberal political revolution began in New World, Revolution was conservative and defensive in that its demands were for the traditional liberties of English citizens; radical in that it split families. Set up govt based on liberal principles

b)Origins of the Revolution

i)After 7 Years War British debt doubled- kept large army in N.A. after peace in 1763, 1765 Stamp Act levied taxes on colonies. After protest, Parl. repealed

ii)After Stamp Act questions: What extent could home govt assert power while limiting authority of colonial legislatures? Who should represent and make laws for colonies?

iii)Parliamentary supremacy appeared as grace threat to American’s liberties and institutions

iv)In colonies no official church, voting more widespread, greater social and economic equality—colonial experience formed ppl who felt distinct and separate from home country

v)1773 East India Company allowed to ship tea from China to US w/o middlemen, established monopoly

(1)Boston Tea party to protest

(2)Coercive acts closed port of Boston, no local elections, expanded governors power Sept 1774 1st Continental Congress met to protest

3)The French Revolution, 1789-1791

a)The Breakdown of the Old Order

i)Immediate origin financial difficulties- tax reform by Louis XV thwarted, France forced to finance American war with borrowed money—huge debt

(1)High interest payments, little spent on govt functions

(2)1786 only choice raise taxes, tax system out of date, unfair, reforms needed

b)Legal Orders and Social Realities

i)France divided into 3 social orders (estates)- clergy, nobility, everyone else

(1)Clergy owned 10% of land, special privileges, no regular taxes, tithe

(2)Nobles owned 25% of land, taxed lightly, manorial rights- allowed them to tax peasantry for own profit, honorific privileges

(3)Few commoners- lawyers, merchants, officials- were well educate and rich. Some artisans and unskilled laborers. Most were peasants and agricultural. All united by legal status

(4)Tension btwn reactionary nobility and bourgeoisie (middle class, top of the third estate) increased, eventually would lead third estate in social revolution against feudal privileges and would establish a capitalist order based on individualism and a market economy

(5)Some historians hold both nobility and bourgeoisie were very fragmented

(a)Nobility fluid and open, commoners sought and obtained noble status

(b)Some nobility no less liberal than middle class

(c)Nobility and bourgeoisie not really at odds in economic sphere- both favored investment in land and govt service

(6)Either way, Old Regime had ceased to correspond with social reality of the 1780’, society sill legally based on rigid order from Middle Ages. Both aristocrats and bourgeois frustrated by bureaucratic monarchy that continued to claim absolute power

c)The Formation of the National Assembly

i)1787 Louis XVI’s finance minister wanted to impose general tax on all laded property, convinced king to call assembly to gain support for idea

ii)Assembled notables, noblemen and clergy, opposed to reform

iii)Govt refused negotiation, notables said sweeping changes required approval of the Estates General, representative body of the 3 estates

iv)Facing bankruptcy, king asserted authority and issued new taxes by decree. Parlement of Paris declared initiative void, when king tired to exile the judges wave of protest swept country

v)1788 beaten Louis XVI called session of Estates General- absolute monarchy was collapsing

vi)Representatives of clergy mostly poor parish priests, majority of nobility reps from poorer provincial nobility (1/3 liberals), most of third estate reps from well educated prosperous middle class (most lawyers + govt officials)

(1)Most all agreed in constitutional monarchy checked by Estates General, individual liberties guaranteed by law, economic reforms—reflected France’s educated elite’s commitment to liberalism

(2)Quarrel over how Estates would vote, who lead political reorganization. Estates had 3 houses, voting reqrd 2 branches (clergy and nobility would dominate)

(3)What is the Third Estate? By Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes argued third estate constituted true strength of French nation

vii)May 1789 Estates met, delegates of 3rd E refused to do business until king ordered clergy and nobility to sit with them in a single body

(1)Some parish priests joined 3rd E, called itself the National Assembly

(2)3rd E kicked out of assembly hall, took the Oath of the Tennis Court- met on tennis court, swore not to disband until new Constitution

viii)King urged joint session, but sent troops to disband Estates General by force. Dismissed liberal ministers, sought to reassert divine right

d)The Revolt of the Poor and the Oppressed

i)While third estate pressed for equality at Versailles, economic hardship gripped common ppl

(1)Grain basis of diet, 1788 poor harvest increased grain prices + bread prices, economic depression, by end of 1789 more than half of French needed relief

ii)People of Paris believed should have steady work, enough bread at fair prices to survive, disliked dismissal of finance minister

(1)July 13 seized arms to defend city against kings army as they moved toward Paris

(2)July 14 ppl stormed Bastille to search for weapons and gun powder

(a)Governor refused to give up the powder of the fortress, ordered guards to shoot on invaders, killed 98 ppl

(b)Governor and mayor of Paris’s heads were put on pikes

(c)Popular uprising had broken the power monopoly of the royal army and thereby saved the National Assembly

iii)Throughout France peasants began to rise in violent insurrection against their lords. Neither middle-class landowners nor prosperous farmers were spared

(1)In some areas reconquered common lands, undid enclosures, taxes went unpaid

(2)The Great Fear- fear of vagabonds and outlaws, seized the countryside

iv)Some liberal nobles and middle class delegates, afraid to call on king to restore order

(1)Duke of Aiguillon proposed on August 4, 1789 equality in taxation and elimination of feudal dues- serfdom, justice fees, village monopolies

(2)Henceforth peasants would seek to protect their revolutionary triumph, as Great Fear subsided became force for order and stability

e)A Limited Monarchy

i)August 27, 1789 National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man- men are born free and equal in rights, guaranteed equality before law, rep govt for sovereign ppl, and individual freedoms

ii)Women customarily bought fought, managed family resources, worked under putting out system

(1)After many nobles fled, demand for goods declined and unemployment and hunger put pressure on household managers

(2)October 5 7,000 women marched to Versailles, invaded royal apartments, wanted to kill Marie Antoinette + royal family

(3)Lafayette and N.A. intervened, king and family forced to move to Paris

iii)National Assembly followed king to Paris, until 1791 liberal revolution consolidated

(1)Under middle-class leadership French nobility abolished as a legal order, created constitutional monarchy—accepted in 1790

(2)Women gained some rights but not allowed to vote or hold political office- Rousseau’s Emile – excluding women would create civic virtue, allow them to raise high-minded sons needed to govern

(3)Provinces organized, metric system standardized 1793, promoted economic freedom—monopolies + guilds prohibited

(4)N.A. granted religious freedom to Jews and Prot., nationalized Cath church’s property so create assignats  (paper money) to solidify state finances

(5)Attempts to reform church and force clergy to take oaths of allegiance to govt condemned by pope, created divide btwn educated classes and common ppl

4)World War and Republican France, 1791-1799

a)Foreign Reactions and the Beginning of the War

i)Edmund Burke deeply troubled by aroused spirit of reform, 1790 Reflections on the Revolution in France defended European conservatism, defended inherited privileges of aristocracy and monarchy, reform leads to chaos and tyranny

ii)Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Man (1790), A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)- eliminate sexual inequality. Similar ideas advocated by Olympe de gouges

iii)Monarchs felt threatened by Revolution, monarchs of Austria and Prussia issued Declaration of Pillnitz 1791- willing to intervene in France in certain circumstances

iv)Members of N.A. could not be elected to new Legislative Assembly, new body was younger, less cautious, many loosely allied as Jacobins

(1)Committed to liberal revolution, many argued for attacks on monarchs

(2)April 1972 France declared war on Francis II, Hapsburg monarch

(a)Prussia joined Austria in the Austrian Netherlands, French fled at first encounter with this First Coalition

(b)France in danger, country armies formed and gathered in Paris, August 172 revolutionary crowd attacked Royal Palace, king imprisoned and new National Convention called

b)The Second Revolution

i)Fall of monarchy marked rapid radicalization of the Revolution

ii)September Massacres against counter- revolutionaries, National Convention declared France a republic

iii)Govt organized events and took measures to increase patriotism and secular gatherings

iv)At first most members of NC were Jacobins, but increasingly contested by the Girondists and the Mountain

v)January 1793 Louis XVI convicted of treason and beheaded- new division apparent

vi)Girondists and Mountain continued war against tyranny, after decisive Battle of Valmy in 1792 over Prussians, continued to conquer much of Austrian Netherlands

(1)Feb 1793 National Convention declared war on Britain, Holland, Spain

(2)As First Coalition forces pushed French out of Austrian Netherlands, peasants in W. France rebelled against being drafted

vii)Increased tension btwn Girondists and the Mountain in NC, laboring poor of Paris- the sans-culottes- became decisive political factor

(1)Immediate economic needs, later demanded radical political action to guarantee their daily bread

(2)Mountain + Robespierre joined with san-culottes activists to engineer popular uprising

(3)Girondists arrested for treason, all power passed to the Mountain

viii)Robespierre and the Mountain joined the Committee of Public Safety

(1)Given dictatorial power to deal w/ national emergency

(2)Developments in Paris lead to widespread revolt, moderates denounced Paris and wanted decentralized govt, by July 1793 only area around Paris and eastern frontier were firmly held by central govt

c)Total War and the Terror

i)By July 1794 Austrian Netherlands in hands of French armies, First Coalition falling apart

ii)Robespierre and Committee of Public Safety advanced on several fronts in 1793 + 1794 in order to empower France, defeat First Coalition

(1)Collaborated with patriotic sans-culottes for economic reforms

(a)Developed planned economy with egalitarian social overtones, govt set prices for key products-- bread now affordable

(b)Worked to produce arms and munitions for war effort, nationalized many small workshops, requisitioned raw materials from peasants

(c)Emergency socialism frightened Europe’s propertied classes and influenced subsequent socialist ideology

(2)Economic supplied poor with bread and armies w/ weapons, Reign of Terror (1793-1794) solidified home front

(a)Special courts tried rebels for political crimes, supported by san-culottes support and Jacobin clubs

(b)Not target any single class, directed against all who might oppose the revolutionary govt

(3)Ability to draw of power of patriotic dedication to a national state and mission

(a)Nationalism united ppl b/c of common language, common tradition, ideas of popular sovereignty and democracy

(b)Intense emotional commitment to the defense of the nation

iii)Mobilization of French resources under Terror combined with nationalism created awesome fighting machine- all unmarried men subject to draft, well-trained troops led by young, impetuous generals

iv)By 1794 French armies victorious on all fronts, republic saved

d)The Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory, 1794-1799

i)After victory Committee and Robespierre relaxed emergency economic control but continued Reign of Terror

(1)Goal to increate ideal democratic republic w/ justice, no rich nor poor

(2)March 1794 Robespierre killed the angry men who had criticized him for being soft on wealthy and led by radical social democrat Jacques Hebert

(3)Later, long-standing collaborators led by orator Danton ordered killed

ii)Moderates and radicals in Convention, fearing they were next, killed Robespierre in July, 1794

iii)Thermidorian Reaction- middle-class lawyers and professionals, supported by better-off peasants, reasserted authority, National Convention abolished many economic controls, let prices rise sharply

iv)Collapse of economic controls + inflation hit working poor hard, accepted private property but believed in decent wages + economic justice

(1)Disorganize after Robespierre purged radical leaders, common ppl of Paris finally revolted in early 1795

(2)Convention used army to put down insurrections

v)Villages and small towns saw cry for peace and a new turn toward religion, especially from women, who brought back Catholic Church and open worship

vi)1795 middle class members of NC wrote another constitution which protected their economic position and political supremacy

(1)Directorate continued to support French military abroad

vii)Ppl became disgusted of war, members of Directory used military to nullify 1797 elections which had elected conservatives who wanted peace at any price

viii)Two years later Napoleon Bonaparte would end Directory in a coup d’ etat and substitute a strong dictatorship for a weak one

5)The Napoleonic Era, 1799-1815

a)Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) realized need to end civil strife in France in order to create unity and consolidate his rule

b)Napoleon’s Rule of France

i)Born in Corsica 1769, rose through French army, commanded victorious French forced in Italy

ii)Learned of plotters against Directory who feared it too weak of a dictatorship, firm rule more appealing than liberty and popular politics

(1)Abbe Sieves and plotters wanted strong military ruler; November 9, 1799 ousted directors and disbanded legislature, named Napoleon first consul + new constitution consolidating power approved December 1799

iii)Domestic Policy

(1)Use personal power to maintain order, end civil strife, groups received favors in return for loyal service

(2)Civil Code of 1804- deal with middle class, equality of all male citizens before the law, absolute security of wealth and private property

(3)Bank of France- served interest of state and financial oligarchy

(4)Defense of economic order appealed also to peasants who had gained land and status from revolutionary changes

(5)Centralized state, strengthened position of bureaucracy

(a)Network of prefects and mayors

(b)Amnesty to 100,000 émigrés who took new loyalty oath

(c)New imperial nobility to reward most talented officials and generals

(6)Napoleon wanted to heal religious division caused by loyalty oath so that united Church could provide order and social peace

(a)Concordat of 1801 with Pope Pius VII- French Catholics could practice freely, Napoleon could nominate bishops, pay clergy, and exert great influence over Church

iv)Domestic reforms gave ppl stability and national unity

v)Price of authoritarian rule

(1)Women lost many gains from revolution made in 1790s, Napoleon tried to establish family monarchy where power of husband and father was absolute over wife and children

(2)Free speech and free press violated

(3)Police state in France led mostly by Joseph Fouche b/c Napoleon busy making war. Created spy network, detained suspects arbitrarily, huge amounts of prisoners in state prisons

c)Napoleon’s Wars and Foreign Policy

i)Sent peace feelers in 1799 to Austria and GB, last members of Second Coalition that had formed against France in 1798

ii)When overtures rejected, invaded Austrians—Treaty of Luneville (1801) Austria lost Italian possessions, German land

iii)Treaty of Amiens w/ GB 1802- France still controlled of Austrian Netherlands, Italy, parts of Germany, diplomatic triumph and increased peace and honor

iv)Greedy for power, wanted to restrict British trade with Europe

(1)May 1803 wanted to renew war with England, prepared armies to cross Channel for invasion

(2)GB dominant on seas, when French and Spanish fleet tried to sail to N. France were annihilated by Lord Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805--- invasion henceforth impossible

(3)Used war to become emperor in late 1804

v)Austria, Russia, Sweden, joined with GB to form Third Coalition, restore balance of Power

(1)Austria and Russia defeated at Battle of Austerlitz December 1805, Austria accepted large territorial losses

(2)Napoleon continued to reorganize German states to consolidate his rule over western Germany. Formed German Confederation of the Rhine

(3)Prussians alarmed with intervention in German affairs, defeated by France October 1806 at Jena and Auerstadt—Russia joined in, but wanted peace

(4)June 1807 tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon negotiated treaties of Tilsit- Prussia lost half of population, Russia agreed to reorganization and blockade of British goods

vi)Nap saw himself as emperor of Grand Empire- the ever-expanding France, satellite kingdoms w/ members of family as throne, independent but allied states of Austria, Prussia, and Russia

vii)In Grand Empire Napoleon introduced French laws, abolished feudal dues and serfdom, some middle class and peasants benefited. But France first, levied heavy taxes, came to be seen as conquering tyrant.

viii)Spawned new patriotic upheavals of nationalism

(1)Spain 1808 coalition against Napoleon, foes of Nap forced to flee to the hills and fight guerrilla warfare. Warning resistance was growing

(2)GB supported rebels in Spain and Portugal, continental system against British goods was a failure—France suffered from GB’s counter-blockade

ix)Looking for scapegoat Napoleon turned on Alexander I of Russia, invaded in June 1812

(1)After Russians refused peace, pressed on to Moscow. Battle of Borodino a draw, after taking Moscow Napoleon began a retreat

(2)Russian army and winter, starvation decimated Napoleon’s army

x)Napoleon refused to accept defeat, Austria and Prussia deserted and joined Russia and Great Britain to form Fourth Coalition

xi)Treaty of Chaumont created Quadruple Alliance, April 4,1814 defeated Napoleon abdicated his throne

xii)Napoleon granted the island of Elba, allies agreed to restore Bourbon dynasty

xiii)Louis XVIII (1814-1824) tried to consolidate support by issuing the Constitution Charter- accepted revolutionary changes and guaranteed civil rights, Chamber of Deputies legislature in const. monarchy

xiv)Unrest in France and diplomatic tensions caused Napoleon to escape Elba and return to France

(1)Period known as the Hundred Days Napoleon fought the allies, June 18, 1815 allies crushed Napoleon’s army at the Battle of Waterloo

(2)Napoleon forced into exile again

(3)Allies dealt more harshly with France