19.1 Notes
Vocab:
Bourgeoisie- middle class
Deficit spending- when the government spends more money than they have First Estate | Second Estate | Third Estate | The CLERGYEnjoyed enormous wealth and privilegeOwned about 10 percent of land, collected tithes, and paid no taxesProvided some social services | The NOBILITYOwned land but had little money incomeHated absolutismFeared losing traditional privilege, especially exemption from taxes | The Bourgeoisie (middle class) and PEASANTSPeasants were 90 percent of French populationResented privilege of first and second estatesBurdened by taxesMany earned miserable wages and faced hunger and even starvation |

* Economic woes added to the social unrest and heightened tension * For years, the French government had engaged in deficit spending that is, a government’s spending more money than it takes in. * Louis XIV had left France deeply in debt. Recent wars, a general rise in costs in the 1700s, and the lavish court were incredibly costly. To bridge the gap between income and expenses, the government borrowed more and more money. * Bad harvests in the late 1780s sent food prices soaring and brought hunger to poorer peasants and city dwellers.

* On July 14, 1789, more than 800 Parisians gathered outside the Bastille, a medieval fortress used as a prison. They demanded weapons believed to be stored there. * The commander of the Bastille opened fire on the crowd, and a battle ensued, in which many people were killed. * The storming of the Bastille quickly became a symbol of the French Revolution, a blow to tyranny. Today, the French still celebrate July 14 as Bastille Day.

19.2 Notes
Vocab:
Faction- small group
Émigré- person who flees his or her country for political reason
Republic- system of government in which officials are chosen by the people

The political crisis of 1789 coincided with the worst famine in memory. Starving peasants roamed the countryside or flocked to the towns. Even people with jobs had to spend most of their income on bread. * In such desperate times, rumors ran wild and set off what was later called the “Great Fear.” * A radical group called the Paris Commune replaced the royalist government of Paris. Various factions, or small groups, competed for power. * In the countryside, peasants attacked the homes and manors of nobles.

Events in France stirred debate all over Europe. * Supporters of the Enlightenment applauded the reforms of the National Assembly. They saw the French experiment as the dawn of a new age for justice and equality. * European rulers and nobles denounced the French Revolution. * In 1791, the monarchs of Austria and Prussia issued the Declaration of Pilnitz, in which they threatened to intervene to protect the French monarchy. * Revolutionaries in France took the threat seriously and prepared for war.