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Change for the better? Or for the worse during the French Revolution

When told of an attack on the Bastille, King Louis XVI asked, is it a revolt? No sire,replied a noble. It is a revolution. The storming of the Bastille quickly became a

symbol of the French Revolution. Today, the French people still celebrate July 14 as

Bastille Day, similarly to how Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4th

.Shortly afterwards, King Louis was captured by the French crowd. He was beheaded(head cut off)using the guillotine. The king was dead. France was at last free from a

tyrant! (dictator) But did the future go as planned by French citizens?

With the absolute, divine king dead, France would be undergoing changes not seen in

centuries. To start off, the Third Estate abolished (got rid) of the estate system. There

was no more estate system. Everyone was now viewed as equals, whom were all entitledto one vote. In important decisions, majority vote would win, and be called the TheVoice of the People.

The National Assembly also began writing a constitution called the Declaration of theRights of Man.Enlightenment thinkers John Locke and Thomas Jefferson inspired

the document. The declaration had many rights taken from the American Bill of Rights,such as Freedom of speech, religion, and the press. It also contained the natural rights

of every individual male to life, liberty, property, security, and the pursuit of happiness.

Every French man, poor or wealthy, were entitled to run for governmental offices andhigh-level job positions. Slavery would be outlawed. Although technically the

constitution viewed everyone as free, women were not protected under the

constitution. They could not hold high-level jobs, and did not receive the same pay as

men. They could not vote. Women in time gained the right to obtain a divorce, as well, asown property. This had never been granted before. However, most women were

continued to be seen as nothing more than housewives or mothers.

Not everything else was going as smoothly either besides the lives of women. In 1789,

France suffered the worse famine (period of no food)in its countrys history. Since so

many workers were joining the Third Estates rebellion, there was hardly anyoneavailable to work the farms. In 1791, over 50,000 people died due to starvation.

Additionally, in 1791, unemployment was an all-time high. Nobles, who loss many rights

afterKing Louis was executed, refused to hire peasants for various jobs. Additionally,

to retaliate (fight back) against the Third Estate,nobles raised the prices on all goods(Inflation). At one point, the average peasant was spending 80% of their salary on food.

This fearful time in French history became known as the Great Fear.

Although new leaders were elected by majority vote, most leaders afterLouis were

ineffective (not good) of providing lower prices, jobs, or security. One elected leader,

Robespierre, believed that true peace and change in France could only happen after theenemies were taken care of. Robespierre hunted down nobles, clergy, and peasants,

who he believed was suspicious or not in support of the New France. Without fair trials,

Robespierre executed over 40,000 French people. This became known as the Reign of

Terror.

7/27/2019 Lesson 9 Reading and Writing

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Part 1 Complete the chart below. Make sure you have at least six examples in it. Add

more examples if you would like extra credit.

Changes In France

Positive Changes Negative Changes

7/27/2019 Lesson 9 Reading and Writing

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Part 2 Answer the following question in a response of at least seven sentences:

1) Did the execution of King Louis XVI change France for the better? Why or why not?

Provide evidence, and examples. Try to discuss the COUNTERCLAIM for extracredit.

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