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10. Be able to intelligently explain these terms: social contract, John Locke, Great Fear,  Three Estates, Old Regime, King Louis XVI ,Natural Rights and the Tennis Court Oath.

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10. Be able to intelligently explain these terms: social contract, John Locke, Great Fear,  Three Estates, Old Regime, King Louis XVI ,Natural Rights and the Tennis Court Oath.

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9. Explain some of Napoleon’s most lasting achievements and why they are significant.

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9. Explain some of Napoleon’s most lasting achievements and why they are significant.

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= one of Napoleon that can be considered as his greatest achievements would be considered that he became an emperor

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Napoleon's Coronation as Emperor of the French

Napoleon I was crowned Emperor of the French on a cold December 2 in 1804. Napoleon planed his coronation with as great a care as he did his wars. The task of organizing the coronation was given to L. Ph. de Ségur, the Grand master of Ceremonies, and A. L. de Rémusat, then First Chamberlain. The architects Percier and Fontaine took care of the temporary decorations and nd Jean Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855) designed the costumes.

It was in March of 1804 that the senate offered First Consul Bonaparte the title of emperor. The French Senate voted a law on May 18, 1804 whose first article reads: "The government of the Republic is vested in an Emperor, who takes the title of Emperor of the French."

The pomp of the Coronation day began when a dozen processions of deputations from the cities of France, the Army and Navy, the legislative assemblies, the judiciary, the administrative corps, the Legion of Honor, the Institute, and chambers of commerce left different points to converge on Notre-Dame cathedral. Then at 9 a.m. the Papal procession set out from the Pavilion de Flore at Tuileries. Pope Pius VII, the cardinals, and grand officers of the Curia rode to the coronation in gaily decorated coaches pulled by horses of great beauty. The Papal procession was led by a bishop on a mule bearing aloft the Papal crucifix. Next the imperial cavalcade left Tuileries. Marshal Murat, the governor of Paris led the procession. Next came specially distinguished regiments of the Army. Followed by the leading officers of the government in carriages drawn by six horses. Then came a carriage for the Bonaparte brothers and sisters. Last of all was Napoleon's royal coach ornamented with gold and emblazoned with a capital N, drawn by eight horses, and bearing the Emperor dressed in purple velvet embroidered with gems and gold. With him was Josephine robed in silk and sparkling gems. "Her face so well made up that," though forty-one, "she looked like four-and-twenty." The procession passed papier-mâché eagles lining the Champs-Elysées. It took an hour for all the carriages to reach the cathedral.
As each group reached Notre-Dame cathedral, they took their places. The Pope and his retinue marched up the aisle in formal array and Pope Pius VII took his place on his throne at the left of the altar. After Napoleon and Josephine arrived at the cathedral, they changed into their red coronation robes. Napoleon took his place on a throne at the right of the altar with Josephine on a smaller throne five steps below.

Napoleon skillfully imposed on the Republicans his preference for the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris (their choice would much more likely have been the Champ-de-mars), simultaneously obtaining their agreement for the presence of the Pope. Damaged during the French Revolution, the gothic Notre-Dame cathedral was saved from demolition and redecorated for Napoleon's coronation (1804) and was subsequently fully restored (1845-64) by Viollet-le-Duc. The architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine carried out the decoration of the cathedral in the Empire style.

Although the anointment of the Emperor had originally been planned for the week before the coronation, delays and difficulties in getting the Pope to Paris made it necessary to combine the anointment and the coronation. The common, malicious story, (apparently started by the Duchess d'Abrantes in her Memoirs) that Napoleon grabbed the crown from the Pope and crowned himself does not agree with the careful plans for the ceremony. Napoleon planned all along to avoid accepting the Pope as his overlord. Pope Pius VII, a practical man, agreed to the order of ceremony negotiated by Cardinal Papal legate G.B. Caprara in exchange for regaining several papal territories and a chance to visit France with the hope of winning the French people back to the Catholic church.

According to the precis verbal of the master of ceremonies, Segur, the ceremony took place in accordance with the plans. After taking the crowns and other regalia from the altar and blessing them, the Pope returned them to the altar and then took his seat. Napoleon advanced and took a crown known as the Charlemagne crown, though the actual French Coronation crown known by that name had been destroyed during the French Revolution and this crown was a new crown made to look Medieval, from the altar and placed it on his own head. He then returned to the altar and replaced the so called Charlemagne crown with a laurel wreath made of gold of the type worn by Roman Emperors. Napoleon then once again took up the Charlemagne Crown and walk to the kneeling Josephine. As he held the crown up, Napoleon stated that he was crowning Josephine as his wife, not by her own right. This is the moment illustrated in David's famous painting of the coronation. Napoleon is wearing his personal golden laurel wreath crown and holding up the newly made Coronation or Charlemagne Crown. He then touched the coronation crown to Josephine's head.

The ceremony lasted for more than three hours ending by three o'clock. Ceremonies from previous Bourbon coronations were adapted to the occasion and mixed with those of Charlemagne's coronation. Napoleon adopted his own version of Charlemagne's bee as a symbol for his reign. In order to copy the ceremony of the coronation of Charlemagne, 12 virgin maids with candles were needed. And after 15 years of social revolution in France, well, it was hard finding any virgins in Paris. Napoleon made a joke about trying around St. Germain. The coronation ceremony centered around 'imperial' regalia such as those belonging to Charlemagne (restored or made for the occasion), Napoleonic regalia (the chain, the ring, the orb, the ermine collar) and the "ornaments" (the scepter, the sword, the crown, the hand of justice, and the robe). Martin Biennais, a talented jeweler maker, contributed to the creation of Napoleon's coronation regalia and crowns and designed several of his coronation swords. The newly made Coronation or Charlemagne Crown was designed to have the appearance of a Medieval crown and is set with dozens of antique Roman cameos. The magnificent Regent diamond was set into the handle of Napoleon's coronation sword. An acclaiming crowd waited in falling snow to see the end of the ceremony.

For the ceremony, Napoleon created around himself what could only be described as a royal court - although two of his brothers, Lucien and Jérôme, were banned from the service. Joseph and Louis were named Grand Elector and Grand Constable, Cambacérès was given the title Arch-chancellor, Lebrun was made Arch-treasurer, Caulaincourt was named Master of the Horse, Duroc became Grand Marshal of the Palace, Berthier was elevated to Grand Master of the Hunt, and Talleyrand was given the title Grand Chamberlain. Madame Mère, contrary to the image left us by David, was not present at the ceremony of the sacre because of her dislike of Josephine. Napoleon had to threaten his sisters ( Elisa, Pauline, Caroline) with exile to get them to be trainbearers for Josephine.

Napoleon's Coronation Book

The entire ceremony was then duly announced and later described by the press and particularly by Le Moniteur. This newspaper was even to publish a book describing the ceremony, entitled Le Sacre de S.M. l'Empereur.

For the music, Napoleon commissioned Giovanni Païsiello (1741-1816), a composer he deeply admired and whom he had brought from Italy to Paris to direct the Consular Chapel. Païsiello wrote the Mass and Te Deum for two choirs and two orchestras. Le Sueur composed a march and some motets. The abbé Roze wrote the unforgettable Vivat!

The Coronation dress of Napoleon and Josephine was white silk extravagantly embroidered in gold. Napoleon's golden crown of laurel leaves cost 8,000 Francs. The robe Napoleon wore for his Coronation was velvet embroidered with a powdering of the Imperial bees in gold and the capital letter N surrounded by a wreath of interlaced branches of olive, laurel, and oak. The velvet and embroidery work cost 15,000 Francs. The robe was lined with 15,000 Francs worth of ermine. Josephine's crown, diadem, and girdle cost 15,000 Francs. The robe made for Josephine was lined with 10,300 Francs worth of ermine and cost 16,000 Francs for the velvet and embroidery in gold.

To record the event for posterity, Napoleon commissioned the artist Jacques-Louis David to produce a monumental painting (Now at the Louvre, Paris). When David was doing the official painting of the event Napoleon ordered him to paint his mother in even though she did not attend. This is a link to a list of the names of those in the David's painting of the Coronation. Exhibited to the public in the Salon Carré in the Louvre in 1808, the over 20 foot by nearly 32 foot painting was then hung in the Tuileries, in the Salle des Gardes.

An unmanned balloon, ablaze with 3,000 lights forming an Imperial crown was launched from the front of Notre Dame cathedral as part of the coronation celebrations. André-Jaçques Garnerin was paid the sum of 23,500 francs for the construction and launching of the large balloon. The balloon came to earth in Lake Bracciano near Rome 46 hours later. Napoleon considered this another omen of his destiny and suggested that the balloon be put on display in Rome with an account of the "extraordinary event".

Phillippe Lebon, the French chemist who received a patent for a gas-lamp in 1799 prepared the lighting for the Napoleon's coronation. Unfortunately, early in the morning on the day of the ceremony for Napoleon's coronation in 1804, Lebon was robbed and fatally stabbed.

The cloisters of the Carcanine nuns named after Giovanni Pietro Carcano, benefactor of the Ospdedale Maggiore in the 17th century, were transformed into a ballroom for Napoleon's coronation. The building, at the time no longer hosting a religious order, no longer exists but the City Museum of Natural History in Paris was later built on the site.

A medal was struck to commerate the coronation of Napoleon I. Napoleon was portrayed in a Caesar like profile on the heads of the medal.The reverse design, drawn by Chaudet, illustrates the ancient Frankish custom of acknowledging a new chief by raising him on a shield. It also symbolizes the support of Napoleon by the people represented by a Roman senator and the military.

The sarcastic comment of French General Antoine-Guillaume Maurilhac Delmas during Napoleon's imposing coronation ceremony recorded that the old Republican declared: "What a shame that the 300,000 Frenchmen who died to overthrow one throne are unable to enjoy the superb fruit of their sacrifice."

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Napoleon's Coronation as Emperor of the French

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Napoleon's Coronation as Emperor of the French Napoleon I was crowned Emperor of the French on a cold December 2 in 1804. Napoleon planed his coronation with as great a care as he did his wars. The task of organizing the coronation was given to L. Ph.

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8. What did the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 had their roots in?

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8. What did the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 had their roots in?

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= they both differ because one of them was about charles X who gave a limit to have a right to vote, and the other one is about when all men had the right to vote

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The French Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 - World History Wiki

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The two later French Revolutions, the French Revolution of 1830 and the French Revolution of 1848, were two major events that not only impacted France, but the rest of Europe as well. The French Revolution of 1830, better known as the July Revolution, was triggered after Louis XVIII died, and his brother, Charles X, rose to power.

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7. What was the Congress of Vienna was and its effects thereafter? 

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7. What was the Congress of Vienna was and its effects thereafter? 

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= the congress of vienna was european powers in which defeated napoleon. they had goals which were to balance the powers so that they can be even and also this would prevent imperialism.

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Congress of Vienna | Goals, Significance, Definition, & Map

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Congress of Vienna: Congress of Vienna, assembly in 1814-15 that reorganized Europe after the Napoleonic Wars.

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6. Who was Napoleon? What he was able to accomplish during peacetime? What was his Napoleonic Code?

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6. Who was Napoleon? What he was able to accomplish during peacetime? What was his Napoleonic Code?

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Napoleon was the man who stopped the french revolution and putting the government in place and brought equality and stability. The Napoleonic code was a law that was passed that stated that men where the ones who made their families strong and women where taken from any of their individual rights.

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The following are excerpts from the Code civil des Français (Civil Code of France also the Napoleonic Code) along with some videos on the matter. BOOK I. Of Persons.Decreed 8th of March, 1803. Promulgated 18th of the same Month. TITLE I. Of the Enjoyment and Privation of Civil Rights. CHAPTER I.

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5. What was the Reign of Terror and who was its leader?

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5. What was the Reign of Terror and who was its leader?

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=the reign of terror was a period where france enemies where being killed by the french people for their contribute to the fight that happened with france and the other outside enemies. The leader of the reign of terror was Maximilien Robespierre.

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The Reign of Terror was the most radical phase of the French Revolution which began with the institutionalization of The Terror to get rid of the enemies of the revolution and ended with the execution of the most prominent figure of the period Maximilien Robespierre. Lasting from September 1793 to July 1794 it is most famous for mass executions by the guillotine. Here are 10 interesting facts about this 10 month period also known as The Terror.

#1 The Reign of Terror was caused due to the fall of the Girondins

In September 1792, the French assembly was elected. Known as National Convention it brought a formal end to monarchy in France and voted for execution of King Louis XVI. Soon National Convention was split in three groups, the radical Jacobins, the comparatively conservative Girondins and the neutral majority known as the Plain. The Plain initially sided with Girondins but later backed the Jacobins as the Girondins were impeding the French Revolution. The fall of the Girondins in June 1793 led to the Reign of Terror.

#2 Committee of Public Safety was the de facto executive organ during the Reign of Terror

In March 1793, the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety whose role was to protect the newly established republic against foreign attacks and internal rebellion. After the fall of the moderate Girondins, the committee was restructured and prominent leaders of the radical Jacobins were added to it. Consisting of twelve members with the most prominent being Maximilien Robespierre, Committee of Public Safety was the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror.

#3 It began on September 5, 1793 with The Terror being institutionalized

On September 5, the people of Paris, frustrated by the lack of measures to materialize the promises of the French Revolution, encircled the National Convention and demanded the setting up of an internal revolutionary army to counter enemies of the revolution. This led to the convention institutionalizing The Terror: systematic and lethal repression of perceived enemies within the country. September 5, 1793 is considered the beginning of the Reign of Terror.

#4 Law of Suspects was passed to arrest the likely enemies of the revolution

Post September 5 more legislation was enacted by the convention which was under control of the Committee of Public Safety. Revolutionary armies were established, farmers were forced to surrender grain demanded by the government, prices were fixed for essential goods, wages were fixed and Law of Suspects was passed. Law of Suspects was a decree which authorized the charging of counter-revolutionaries with vaguely defined "crimes against liberty".

#5 An estimated 40,000 people were killed during the Reign of Terror

During the Reign of Terror which lasted for more than 10 months from 5 September 1793 to 28 July 1794, an estimated 500,000 suspects were arrested, 17,000 were officially executed and 25,000 died in summary executions, i.e. without benefit of a full and fair trial. Hence the death toll during the Reign of Terror across France was about 40,000. People died for their political opinions and actions, for being merely suspected of being against the revolution or because some others had a stake in getting rid of them.

#6 Guillotine became known as "The National Razor"

Invented by Antoine Louis, guillotine is a device to carry out executions by beheading. It consists of tall upright frame with a heavy blade which is dropped to sever the head of the victim. The device takes its name from Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician on whose suggestion it was introduced. Guillotine became associated with the Reign of Terror and was known as "Madame Guillotine" or "The National Razor". During the Reign of Terror, 16,594 people were executed by the guillotine with 2,639 executions in Paris alone.

#7 Among the people who were guillotined was Queen of France Marie Antoinette

The prominent people who were guillotined during the Reign of Terror include Marie Antoinette, Queen of France; Georges Danton, leading figure in the early French Revolution, moderate Jacobin and first President of the Committee of Public Safety; Jacques Pierre Brissot and Madame Roland, prominent members of the political group The Gironde, among the many Girondins who were executed; and Antoine Lavoisier, chemist central to 18th-century Chemical Revolution and considered "Father of Modern Chemistry" by some.

#8 Maximilien Robespierre was the most prominent figure during the Terror

Maximilien Robespierre became the face of the Reign of Terror perhaps due to his oratory skills. Influenced by the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Robespierre was an egalitarian and was nicknamed The Incorruptible. He remains a controversial figure with some viewing him as dictatorial and fanatical while others saying that his role in the Reign of Terror was exaggerated to make him a scapegoat. While almost no monuments are dedicated to him in France, he found ample praise in the Soviet Union after the October Revolution in 1917.

#9 Reign of Terror ended on 28 July 1794 with the execution of Maximilien Robespierre

By mid- 1794 Maximilien Robespierre had become a target of conspiracies due to his views but mostly because the members feared that they could be guillotined next. When he gave a speech demanding another purge of deputies, the fearful deputies plotted against him. The next day, July 27, 1794, Robespierre came under verbal attack at the National Convention and an order was made to arrest Robespierre and his followers. The following day he was executed with 21 of his closest associates bringing an end to the Reign of Terror.

#10 Reign of Terror was followed by the Thermidorian Reaction

Revolt against Robespierre and the period that followed is known as the Thermidorian Reaction due to the date according to the French Revolutionary Calendar when Robespierre was overthrown, 9 Thermidor Year II (27 July 1794). Powers of the Committee for Public Safety were neutralized and the first White Terror started in which many Jacobins were attacked and often murdered. Accomplishments of the French Revolution were undone like fixed pricing was removed leading to rampant inflation due to which the poor suffered.

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10 Interesting Facts About The Reign of Terror

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The Reign of Terror was the most radical phase of the French Revolution which began with the institutionalization of The Terror to get rid of the enemies of the revolution and ended with the execution of the most prominent figure of the period Maximilien Robespierre.

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4. What was the Estates-General and what issue called it to meet for the first time in 175 years?

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4. What was the Estates-General and what issue called it to meet for the first time in 175 years?

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= The estates- general was a general assembly that was taken place in the year   1789, first time since 1614. it was issued a meeting that was needed to be made because louis order the meeding so that they can discuss about if they could help in some way of support in raising taxes to help deal with France's dangerous financial problems.

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The Estates General (French, États Généraux) was a representative assembly of the Ancien Régime, comprised of deputies from all Three Estates. Unlike modern assemblies the Estates General did not meet regularly; instead, it was summoned occasionally by the king, often in times of war or crisis. The Estates General had no sovereign or legislative power, its role was to advise or support the king. The first Estates General was gathered by King Philip IV in 1302, in the midst of a conflict with the Pope. During the 15th and 16th centuries the Estates General was convened sporadically, usually when the king sought the political, financial or military support of the Three Estates. The last Estates General before the French Revolution was held in 1614. It was not convened during the 72-year reign of Louis XIV, who considered the Estates General unnecessary in an age of absolute monarchical power, or his successor Louis XV. When Louis XVI summoned the Estates General for 1789, many considered it a revolution, a sign that his monarchical power had collapsed.

Between 1614 and the late 1780s the kings of France tried to forget the Estates General. To summon the assembly would be a sign their absolutist monarchy was no longer absolute. But others, particularly France's powerful aristocrats and liberal reformers, did not forget. During this 175-year period, there were several attempts to re-form the Estates General. As powerless as it was, the assembly was France's only national representative body - and the only place where the nobility could gather and directly challenge monarchical power. Demands to convoke an Estates General increased in 1715, following the death of Louis XIV. His successor Louis XV came under considerable pressure from the parlements, who refused to register new taxes unless the king called the Estates General. Louis XV, who once declared he would "rather abdicate than call an Estates General", responded by abolishing the parlements and appointing a new panel to register his taxes.

A similar protest with the parlements forced Louis XVI to convoke the Estates General in 1789. In 1787 the king's finance minister, Etienne Brienne, attempted to push through fiscal reforms that included a new land tax. Brienne's proposal was blocked by the Paris parlement, which asserted that new taxes could only be approved by the Three Estates combined. This triggered an eight-month cold war between the royal government and the parlements. In November 1787 the king sought to win over the Paris parlement by promising to convoke an Estates General for 1792. The deadlock continued until May 1788, when Louis XVI followed his grandfather's tactic, suspending the parlements in favour of newly appointed courts. But this decision created public outrage and a degree of violence, including the notorious 'Day of Tiles', when soldiers in Grenoble were pelted with roofing shingles. On August 8th 1788 the king relented and brought forward the Estates General by three years. His decree convoking the Estates General claimed to look forward to "calm and peaceful days after the storm".

The question then turned to how the Estates General would be formed and what voting procedures it should adopt. Traditionally the Estates General had met as three separate estates. The First Estate (clergy) and Second Estate (nobility) both assembled in full regalia, seated to the right and left of the king, while the Third Estate (commoners) dressed in black and were seated at the rear. Voting at the Estates General was conducted by order - that is, each of the Three Estates deliberated on matters separately and cast one vote in unison. This electoral procedure meant the Third Estate, which represented around 97 percent of the people, was regularly outvoted by the First and Second Estates, which represented the remaining three percent. These procedures and precedents dated back to the previous Estates General in 1614, however, so it was unclear what might happen in 1789.

The question was partly answered in September 1788 when the Paris parlement, now recalled by the king, issued the edicts summoning the Estates General. According to these edicts, the Estates General was to adopt its 1614 form and procedures, with the Three Estates meeting separately and voting by order. This decision triggered outrage among the bourgeoisie and in the pages of newspapers. The parlements, previously hailed as defenders of liberty and the people, were now condemned as servants of aristocratic self-interest. This gave rise to two slogans: "voting by head" (a call for votes to be decided by the ballots of individual deputies) and "doubling the Third" (a demand that representation for the Third Estate be increased twofold). In November 1788 the king, acting on the advice of Jacques Necker, recalled the Assembly of Notables to examine the issue. The Notables simply confirmed the ruling of the parlements, insisting on the procedures of 1614. On December 27th the king, by way of compromise, agreed to double the number of seats for deputies from the Third Estate. The question of voting, however, was left unresolved. This was significant because no matter how many deputies were elected to represent the Third Estate, its voting power remained unchanged.

"It is not at all surprising that most members of the Estates General were not business people... They were otherwise occupied in the market-place, stock exchange and banks. On the contrary, it was lawyers who best understood the state and legal system and who generally were over-represented in such assemblies. Under the circumstances, it is actually surprising that 16 percent of delegates to the Estates General were directly connected to the world of commerce."
Henry Heller, historian

On January 24th, 1789 Louis XVI issued another edict, providing instructions for electing deputies to the Estates General. Since the Ancien Régime had no framework for national elections, one had to be designed and implemented from the ground up. For the First and Second Estate, each bailliage formed an electoral assembly to elect its deputies; all nobles and clerics could attend these assemblies and participate in elections. The election of Third Estate deputies was more complex and involved several different stages. In the countryside, male taxpayers over the age of 25 were invited to participate in parish assemblies, which elected representatives to bailliage assemblies. In the towns and cities, there was an extra stage, with guilds and corporations sending representatives to a town assembly, which chose representatives to attend the bailliage assembly. The bailliage assemblies were responsible for electing deputies to the Estates General, as well as the compilation and submission of the cahiers de doléance.

As might be assumed, this lengthy and indirect process was designed to keep radical voices in the Third Estate at arm's length from the Estates General. Deputies to the Estates General also needed to be wealthy enough to pay their own way to Versailles and remain there for several weeks. These factors shaped the composition of the Third Estate deputies, who were more representative of the bourgeoisie than the working classes. Of the 610 Third Estate deputies, almost half held some kind of venal office. Two-thirds were qualified in the law and about half that number were practising lawyers. Only about 80 deputies were involved in trade or industry, most as business owners or managers. No peasants or salaried artisans sat as deputies. The composition of the First and Second Estate representatives also revealed certain trends. Ordinary priests and clergymen had dominated elections for the First Estate; as a result of this 208 of the 296 First Estate deputies were parish priests, while only 47 were bishops. Seventy percent of the Second Estate's 282 delegates were military officers, serving or retired, while most of the remainder were landed aristocrats.

1. The Estates General was France's closest equivalent to a representative national assembly. It was summoned by the king on an occasional basis to provide advice or support, usually in times of war or crisis.

2. Absolutist monarchy during the 17th and 18th century meant that the Estates General had not been summoned since 1614. A standoff between Louis XVI and the parlements led the king to summon it for 1789.

3. This triggered uncertainty and debate about how the Estates General would be composed and what voting procedures it would use. At previous assemblies the Three Estates had deliberated and voted separately, a procedure many considered unacceptable in 1789.

4. Elections for Estates General deputies were carried out by bailliage assemblies. These were straightforward for the First and Second Estates, however the Third Estate elections involved several stages.

5. As a result of these electoral methods, the 296 First Estate deputies were dominated by parish priests, the 282 Second Estate deputies by military nobles and the 610 Third Estate deputies by lawyers and bourgeois interests.

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This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
J. Llewellyn and S. Thompson, "The Estates General", Alpha History, accessed [today's date], http://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/estates-general/.

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The Estates General (French, États Généraux) was a representative assembly of the Ancien Régime, comprised of deputies from all Three Estates. Unlike modern assemblies the Estates General did not meet regularly; instead, it was summoned occasionally by the king, often in times of war or crisis.

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3.What was The Declarations of the Rights of Man? (make sure to include its importance and what it was inspired by) 

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3.What was The Declarations of the Rights of Man? (make sure to include its importance and what it was inspired by) 

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= it was a law that was Approved by the National Assembly to declare that all men where born with equal rights and cannot be taken from.

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In July 1789 the National Constituent Assembly began to deliberate about how to guarantee and protect individual rights in the new nation. One solution was to enact a document that explicitly protected these rights. Rights-based documents were a feature of British law and the recently adopted United States Constitution. The Assembly formed a committee to draft a bill of rights and, on August 26th 1789, passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. This declaration became a cornerstone document of the French Revolution - and according to some historians, its greatest legacy. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen served as a preamble to all three revolutionary constitutions and a cornerstone document for political clubs and movements. It also set goals and standards for subsequent national governments - standards that were ignored and trampled during the radical phase of the revolution.

The main sponsor of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. A veteran of the American Revolution and a student of the philosophes, Lafayette embraced Enlightenment doctrines of constitutionalism, popular sovereignty and natural rights. On July 11th, three days before the attack on the Bastille, Lafayette delivered an address to the Assembly, expressing the need for a constitutional document that guaranteed the rights of individuals. He went as far as tabling his own draft declaration of rights, prepared in consultation with Thomas Jefferson. A prominent writer and political leader, Jefferson authored some of the American Revolution's most significant documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the United States Declaration of Independence (both 1776).

For all of Lafayette's enthusiasm, there was considerable division in the Assembly over the need for a declaration of rights. Most conservative and Monarchien (constitutional monarchist) deputies rejected the idea. They accepted the royal government needed reform and limitations on its power - but they considered a bill of rights an unnecessary step. The Assembly's more radical deputies thought otherwise. The new government, they argued, must have explicit constitutional limitations on its power, particularly where this power could infringe on individual liberties. Other deputies had structural, procedural and legal concerns. What form should a declaration of rights take? Should it be part of the constitution? Should it exist as separate legislation? Should it be a broad philosophical statement or a legally binding set of points?

The debate continued through July and into the first days of August. On August 4th the deputies reached a consensus about drafting a declaration of rights. Responsibility for this was given to the Assembly's constitutional committee. This committee contained around 40 deputies, including Honore Mirabeau, Emmanuel Sieyès, Charles Talleyrand and Isaac Le Chapelier. For six days the committee thrashed out a declaration of rights. They studied similar documents from Britain and America and received numerous submissions and drafts from interested locals. The committee eventually emerged with a draft declaration of rights, containing a preamble and 24 articles. On August 26th they whittled this back to 17 articles. The committee then voted to suspend deliberations and accept the draft as it stood, intending to review it after the finalisation of a constitution. Thus was born the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (in French, Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen).

The Declaration was a crystallisation of Enlightenment ideals. According to historian Lynn Hunt, it was "stunning in its sweep and simplicity". It encapsulated the natural and civil rights espoused by writers like John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jefferson, and entrenched them in French law. It was a short document, containing only a preamble and 17 brief articles. These articles provided protection for numerous individual rights: liberty, property, freedom of speech and the press, freedom of religion and equal treatment before the law. The Declaration guaranteed property rights and asserted that taxation should be paid by all, in proportion to their means. It also asserted the concept of popular sovereignty: the idea that law and government existed to serve the public will, not to suppress it. All of this was articulated in language that was clear, brief and unambiguous. The Declaration was also universal in its tone. Its rights and ideas applied to all people, not just the citizens of France.

The Declaration was endorsed by the National Constituent Assembly and delivered to Louis XVI for endorsement. As Eric Hobsbawm puts it, the king "resisted with his usual stupidity" and refused to sign. He refused his assent until October 5th, when he signed the Declaration to placate angry crowds at Versailles. Passed into law, the Declaration became a cornerstone of the revolution. The National Constitution Assembly adopted the Declaration as a preamble to the Constitution of 1791. An amended version of the Declaration formed the basis of the Constitution of Year I, drafted by the Montagnard. It also served as a beacon for revolutionary groups, both moderate and radical. The political clubs and cercles considered the document sacrosanct. The formal name of the Cordeliers club was the Société des Amis des droits de l'homme et du citoyen ('Society of Friends of the Rights of Man and Citizen'); a copy of the Declaration was pinned to the club's wall beneath a pair of crossed daggers. The Jacobin rulebook required members to show loyalty to the Declaration and uphold its values at all times.

"The August Decrees and Declaration of the Rights of Man represented the end of the absolutist, seigneurial and corporate structure of eighteenth-century France. They were also a proclamation of the principles of a new golden age. The Declaration, in particular, was an extraordinary document... Universal in its language and in its optimism, the Declaration was ambiguous on whether the propertyless, slaves and women would have political as well as legal equality, and silent on how the means to exercise one's talents could be secured by those without education or property."
Peter McPhee, historian

While the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was held up as sacred and inviolable, there was debate and disagreement about who these rights applied to. Like the great documents of the American Revolution, the Declaration said nothing about the rights of women, nor did it extend any rights to the slaves and indentured servants in the colonies. This rankled with the most radical democrats. In October 1789 Robespierre used the Declaration to suggest that Jews - a marginalised group excluded from voting and political office, even during the revolution - were entitled to equality and civil rights. Despite these gaps and shortcomings, the Declaration remains one of history's foremost expressions of human rights. It served as a death warrant for absolutist monarchy, an articulation of Enlightenment values and a model for future societies seeking freedom and self-government.

1. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was, as its name suggests, an articulation of individual rights. It was drafted in mid 1789, passed on August 26th and signed by the king in October.

2. The idea for a declaration of rights came from the Marquis de Lafayette, who provided his own draft, prepared in collaboration with American philosopher Thomas Jefferson.

3. The final Declaration was drafted by a committee of the National Constituent Assembly. It contained a preamble and 17 individual articles, guaranteeing and protecting specific rights.

4. The Declaration became a cornerstone document of the revolution. It served as a preamble to national constitutions and an inspiration to various political clubs and societies.

5. Like documents from the American Revolution, the Declaration did not specifically guarantee the rights of women, slaves or racial minorities, a fact highlighted by some political radicals.

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This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

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In July 1789 the National Constituent Assembly began to deliberate about how to guarantee and protect individual rights in the new nation. One solution was to enact a document that explicitly protected these rights. Rights-based documents were a feature of British law and the recently adopted United States Constitution.

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2. How were the American Revolution and the French Revolution they same? How they were different? 

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2. How were the American Revolution and the French Revolution they same? How they were different? 

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= Both Revolutions were similar by they both were inspired by the enlightenment thinkers thoughts, and ideas. and a way they were different was that the American revolution was causes or actions by the military, and in the french revolution, made bloody by the spectacle of public to executions against the old regime, the church, and eventually against its own leadership.

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SuperStock/SuperStock/Getty Images

Although both led to the establishment of new governments, there are differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution. The primary difference is the motivation of the revolutionaries.

Basic Differences From 1775 to 1783, the American colonists launched a campaign against Great Britain, eventually winning their independence and ushering in a period of revolution during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It started with the French Revolution against King Louis XVI and the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789. Although both revolutions resulted in new forms of government, there are significant differences that extend beyond how long they lasted and where they took place.

Roots of Revolution Inspired by ideas from the Enlightenment, the American and French revolutionaries shared a similar goal of breaking free from a government they felt was unfair. However, they had different reasons for pushing for change. The Americans had no intention of dismantling the British government. Instead, they wanted to maintain the form of representative government already established in the colonies along with the right to tax themselves. On the other side of the ocean, the French wanted to completely eradicate the monarchy and the religion teaching the belief that the monarchy was established by divine rule.

Violence in Combat At the storming of the Bastille, the French revolutionaries executed the commander of the garrison, cut off his head and carried it around at the end of a stick. They also arrested and executed King Louis XVI and his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The brutality and violence of the initial revolution increased as the conflict progressed, culminating in a period that became known as the Reign of Terror after the revolutionary government decided to harshly punish anyone it viewed as enemies of its cause, including some of those who had fought on its side in the revolution. Although nearly 50,000 people died during the course of the American Revolution, most of these deaths occurred during or as the result of battles against the British.

Fate of the Leaders Another striking difference between the two revolutions is what happened to their leaders during and after the conflicts. Most of the American leaders survived the revolution and went on to become leaders of the new nation. General George Washington accepted the role as the country's first president. Benjamin Franklin helped draft the country's constitution. James Madison and John Adams eventually served as the second and fourth presidents. However, in France Maximilien Robespierre and Jacques Pierre Brissot went to the guillotine while Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath.

Effect of the Revolutions Following the philosophy of John Locke, the leaders of the new American nation established a constitutional government. The French, however, leaned more toward the beliefs of Rousseau and opted for a government that ruled by the absolute will of the people. This eventually contributed to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who established a French empire and claimed the title of emperor. Americans still had the right to practice their religions without interference from the government. Conversely, the French attempted to eradicate religion from the country, going so far as to rename the Cathedral of Notre Dame the "Temple of Reason."

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What Are the Differences Between the American and French Revolutions?

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Although both led to the establishment of new governments, there are differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution. The primary difference is the motivation of the revolutionaries.

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1. Describe the economic, political, and social conditions that gave rise to the French Revolution. (i.e. inequality among the estates, corrupt leaders, rise in Enlightenment ideas among the bourgeoise, unfair tax system)

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1. Describe the economic, political, and social conditions that gave rise to the French Revolution. (i.e. inequality among the estates, corrupt leaders, rise in Enlightenment ideas among the bourgeoise, unfair tax system)

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= the inequality of the three estates, it was inequality because they were taxing the third estate was being taxes by the other two estates and they got mad so that was one reason for the french revolution to commence.

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The Three Estates & Causes of the Revolution

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› 1st Estate - The clergy - the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church - owned 10% of the land. Everybody paid a tithe to the Church - made it very wealthy. ›2nd Estate - The...