Unit 5: The French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon

Unit 5: The French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon

The Find Out Questions FOQ1: What was the French National Assembly and why was it so important? FOQ2:Why did the rest of Europe get dragged into the French Revolution? FOQ3: Was Napoleon good or bad for France? Explain.

Textbook Help Chapter 19 is huge for this unit. *Pages 471-476 for FOQ#1 *Pages 476-477 for FOQ#2 *Pages 484-490 for FOQ#3

Remember the end of Unit 4?? What were the social groups in France? Many people in France were upset. Why? Why did the American Revolutionary War inspire so many people in France?

FOQ1: What was the French National Assembly and why was it so important? The National Assembly was born out of the Third Estate. There were also members from the first two estates. The National Assembly created two documents that explained their major goals: the Declaration of Right of Man and Citizen and the Constitution of 1791.

The Monarchy and the National Assembly Both of these documents called for the king to continue to rule but with very limited powers. Do you think the king was happy about this? The king tried to deal with the situation for a while, but decided to leave the country. He was captured and executed as a traitor. The National Assembly took over France. Check out the chart on page 476 to see what they did.

Homework #1: Analyzing Primary Sources Follow along as we read an account of the execution of Louis XVI on page 479. Do your best and copy the execution scene pictured on page 479. Then copy and answer the questions 1-3 under skills assessment. Finish for homework

French Justice? Le Guillotine I forgive my enemies. I trust that my death will be for the happiness of my people, but I grieve for France and I fear that she may suffer the anger of the lord.

FOQ2:Why did the rest of Europe get dragged into the French Revolution?

The French Revolution goes Europe wide After the revolution grew by 1793, other countries became concerned about the revolutionary changes happening in France. Especially Austria, where Marie Antoinette s brother was emperor become determined to punish France for their treatment of his sister and brother-in-law. He indicates his desire to punish France through the Declaration of Philnitz. A group of radically patriotic Frenchmen called the Jacobins took over the revolutionary government and began wars against other countries they feared might invade them.

Many Countries in Europe Fight France After Valmy, the Revolutionary French army thought itself very tough! Soon however, the professionally trained and better equipped armies of France s enemies (Austria, Prussia) began to beat back the French forces made up mainly of conscripts.

The wars of the revolution introduce new weapons

The effects modern cannon The effects of Napoleonic artillery fire on humans could be terrifying. While modern weapons may or may not tear and rend, artillery roundshot was virtually guaranteed to cause dramatic and gory casualties. The cannonballs themselves were subsonic, and lobbed slowly through the air, loudly whistling as they approached. Even at the end of its effective range, rolling shot would bowl men over and cause widespread injury. If flying shot hit a horse, it was not just a matter of the horse falling over; the ball might strike the saddlebags, scattering the contents in every direction as the horse went spinning, splattering pieces of the animal closely behind the chunks of leather and cloth.. At close range, artillery fire would punch holes straight through entire sections of units. During the battle of Waterloo, British artillery fired "doubleshot" charges (one charge of canister backed up by a round of shot) at point blank range into advancing French heavy cavalry. In one case, the entire front rank of cavalry was taken down, stopping the assault only because none of the following troops could make their way over the heaving pile of men and horses to their front! Passage from War Times Journal, James Burbeck http://www.wtj.com/articles/napart/

FOQ3: Was Napoleon good or bad for France?

After a few years of war, the revolutionary government began to fail to bring positive change to France. In fact there was one revolutionary leader named Maximilian Robespierre who terrorized France because of his radical beliefs.

With all of that going on, a young French general named Napoleon Bonaparte was quickly rising to fame in the army. He soon became a war hero and decided, at a time of weakness in the revolution, to take over. Napoleon led a coup d etate (takeover of the government) and became emperor of France in 1804.

Napoleon was an in charge kind of leader. He reorganized the French legal system, creating the Napoleonic Code. He made the Catholic Church the official church of France. He took away rights from women and lessened freedom of speech and press. He set out to have France control all of Europe and crush any countries that got in his way.

In his efforts to control all of Europe, Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. It was a disaster and most of Napoleon s army was killed.

Defeat: The Invasion of Russia

Finally in 1813 a bunch of European countries including Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia got together to defeat Napoleon and succeeded. He tried to come back one more time, but was again defeated by a group of countries (coalition) at Waterloo and forced into exile.

Napoleon was finally exiled to St. Helena and died of natural causes.

During the years after Napoleon s defeat, new ideas began to come out that challenged old ideas. A debate over the future of Europe began. After Napoleon was finally defeated at, all the countries that fought him meet to decide what should happen next in Europe. That meeting was called the Congress of Vienna. Supporters of the old ways (conservatives) began to be challenged by new thinkers that had been inspired by the French and American revolutions. They wanted Europe to be more fair and give all people an equal chance for happiness and success. These people were called liberals.