1. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
Unit 2nd: THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
1. Introduction: The Liberal Revolutions
2. The Independence of the United States of America (1775-1787)
3. The French Revolution (1789-1799)
4. Bonaparte (1795-1815)
5. European Restoration (1815-1848)
6. The Revolutions of 1820, 1830 and 1848
1. Introduction: The Liberal Revolutions
The failure of the Enlightened Despots, incapables of changing the society
Liberal Revolutions
- Political revolution based on the principles of the Liberalism
- 1775-1848
- United States, Europe & South America
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2. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
2. The Independence of the United States of America
(1775-1787)
2.1.The Road to Independence
1. Britain needed money to pay for British taxed colonists on many of
Sugar & Stamp Acts
war expenses. the goods coming into the colonies
from other places.
Taxed colonists, restricted
2. The Colonists react:
settlements and limited self-
NO TAXATION, WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!!!
Boston Tea Party
3. The Royal Navy blockades the Boston Harbor so no colonial goods could
be sent out until tea was paid for.
•Colonists had to quarter the British soldiers.
•The King assigned British General Gage to be Massachusetts governor.
2.2.The War of Independence (1775-1783)
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3. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
a. The First Continental Congress
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4. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
b. The Second Continental Congress
c. Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
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5. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
2.3 The Declaration of Independence (1776)
The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the
Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen
American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states,
and thus no longer a part of the British Empire.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People
to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. [...] But
when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their
right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security.
Declaration of Independence. Preamble. Thomas Jefferson, 1776
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6. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
2.4 The Constitution of the United States (1787)
Separation of
Powers
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7. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
3. The French Revolution (1789-1799)
1. France before the Revolution
2. The Estates General of 1789
3. The first phase of the Revolution. The end of the Ancient Regime
(1789-1792)
a. National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791)
b. Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)
4. The second phase of the Revolution. National Convention (1792–1795)
a. Execution of Louis XVI
b. Reign of Terror
c. Thermidorian Reaction
5. The Directory (1795–1799)
1. France before the Revolution
- Social crisis: States of the Realm:
o two groups with privileges. Most of
the population don’t.
- Economic crisis:
o Bread prices increased a lot:
anger against clergy and nobility.
Multiple crisis situation
o State’s budget keep getting high
because of the Anerican War. As
privileged people did’nt pay taxes,
the debt was over the bourguesie
and the peasants
- Politic Crisis: Louis XV lost support:
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8. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
2. The Estates General of 1789
Necker (finance minister) realized that the country's tax system subjected some
to an unfair burden; numerous exemptions existed for the nobility and clergy.
He argued that the country could not be taxed higher, that the nobles and clergy
should not be exempt from taxes, and proposed that borrowing would solve the
country's fiscal problems.
The Estates-General was organized into three estates:
- the clergy,
- the nobility,
- and the rest of France (Third Estate).
Third Estate: The Third Estate comprised all those not members of the above
and can be divided into two groups: bourgeoisie, or workers who earned money
(wage earners), and peasants, the rural poor who were paid little money, as
many did not have jobs. What united the third estate is that most had little or no
wealth and yet were forced to pay disproportionately high taxes to the other
estates.
On the last occasion that the Estates-General had met, in 1614, each estate
held one vote, and any two could override the third.
The Estates-General convened in Versailles on 5 May 1789. The basic strategy
of the Third Estate was to merge all three estates into one assembly, so each
person had a one single vote).
Clergy: 300
Nobility: 300
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9. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
Members
Negotiations with the other two estates to achieve this, however, were
unsuccessful.
The Third Estate left the Estates-General and declared theirselves the National
Assembly. They invited the other orders to join them, but made it clear they
intended to conduct the nation's affairs with or without them.
On 20 June 1789 they swear the “Tennis Court Oath”, under which they agreed
not to separate until they had given France a constitution.
National Constituent Assembly
3. The first phase of the Revolution. The end of the Ancient Regime
(1789-1792)
a. National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791)
1. Storming of the Bastille
Paris was soon consumed with riots, chaos, and widespread looting. The mobs
soon had the support of the French Guard, including arms and trained soldiers.
On 14 July, the insurgents set their eyes on the large weapons and ammunition
cache inside the Bastille fortress, which was also perceived to be a symbol of
monarchist tyranny.
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10. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
2. Working toward a constitution
The August Decrees: On 4 August 1789 the National Constituent Assembly
abolished feudalism. In the course of a few hours, nobles, clergy, towns,
provinces, companies, and cities lost their special privileges.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen: it comprised a statement of
principles rather than a constitution with legal effect.
3. Women's March on Versailles
As many as 7,000 women joined the march to Versailles, bringing with them
pieces of cannon and a variety of smaller weapons.
4. Revolution and the Church
The Revolution brought about a massive shifting of powers from the Roman
Catholic Church to the state. Under the Ancien Régime, the Church had been the
largest landowner in the country. Legislation enacted in 1790 abolished the
Church's authority to levy a tax on crops, known as the dîme, cancelled special
privileges for the clergy, and confiscated Church property.
5. Completing the constitution
As most of the Assembly still favoured a constitutional monarchy rather than a
republic, the various groupings reached a compromise which left Louis XVI as
little more than a figurehead: he had perforce to swear an oath to the
constitution, and a decree declared that retracting the oath, heading an army for
the purpose of making war upon the nation, or permitting anyone to do so in his
name would amount to de facto abdication.
They now gathered the various constitutional laws they had passed into a single
constitution, showed remarkable strength in choosing not to use this as an
occasion for major revisions, and submitted it to the recently restored Louis XVI,
who accepted it, writing "I engage to maintain it at home, to defend it from all
attacks from abroad, and to cause its execution by all the means it places at my
disposal". The King addressed the Assembly and received enthusiastic
applause from members and spectators. The Assembly set the end of its term
for 29 September 1791.
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11. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
b. Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)
I. Constitution of 1791
It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative
Assembly, which was
elected by a system of
indirect voting. The
franchise was restricted
to “active” citizens who
paid a minimal sum in
taxes; about two-thirds of
adult men had the right to
vote for electors and to choose certain local officials directly. The constitution
lasted less than a year.
Under the Constitution of 1791, France would function as a constitutional
monarchy. The King had to share power with the elected Legislative Assembly,
but he still retained his royal veto and the ability to select ministers.
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12. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
II. The war
The politics of the period drove France towards war with Austria and its allies.
The King, the Feuillants and the Girondins specifically wanted the war:
- The King (and many Feuillants with him) expected war would increase
his personal popularity.
- The Girondins wanted to export the Revolution throughout Europe.
- Only some of the radical Jacobins opposed war, preferring to consolidate
the Revolution at home.
4. The second phase of the Revolution. National Convention (1792–1795)
a. Execution of Louis XVI
In the Brunswick Manifesto, the Imperial and Prussian armies threatened
retaliation on the French population if it were to resist their advance or the
reinstatement of the monarchy. This made Louis appear to be conspiring with
the enemies of France.
17 January 1793 saw Louis condemned to death for "conspiracy against the
public liberty and the general safety". The former Louis XVI, now simply named
Citoyen Louis Capet (Citizen Louis Capet), was executed by guillotine on 21
January 1793.
Constitutional Monarchy Republic
The Legislative Assembly decreed the convocation of a "national convention"
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13. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
which should draw up a constitution. At the same time it was decided that
deputies to that convention should be elected by all Frenchmen 25 years old or
more, domiciled for a year and living by the product of their labour. The National
Convention was the first French assembly elected by universal male suffrage,
without distinctions of class.
Although it was a legislative assembly, it took over the executive power.
b. Reign of Terror
The control of the new Republic was now in the hands of the Committee of
Public Safety came under the control of Maximilien Robespierre, a lawyer, and
the Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror (1793-1794). According to archival
records, at least 16,594 people died under the guillotine or otherwise after
accusations of counter-revolutionary activities.
c. Thermidorian Reaction
After the killing of Robespierre, the National Convention was controlled by
moderates. They created a new Constitution in 1795, less radical and focus on
the middle classes interests.
5. The Directory (1795–1799)
With the new Constitution, the executive power was located in a five-men body,
the Directory. It relied on the army, to have a strong power and to increase
money incomes, by conquering different territories in Europe and Egypt.
By 1799, the wars weren’t going quite good, and the Directory was weak. It was
the perfect moment for a strong leader to step in and take control.
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14. THE AGE OF THE LIBERAL REVOLUTIONS (1776-1848)
4. Bonaparte (1795-1815)
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