Current Events (a lighter moment and a song about the French Revolution):
This is a final project we did for our art history class at UCSD. Its a song about the French Revolution and its just full of random stuff we tried to relate to the information.
Produced by
Joe Cheung
Vu Hoang
Shaun Nguyen
Victor Pham
Directed and edited by
Joe Cheung
Song written and Performed by
Joe Cheung
Director of Photography
Vu Hoang
This song is presented for educational purposes only; the copyright remains with the lawful owners.
Verse 1:
It all started in 1789
Let me tell you we were going through rough times
Suppressed by Louis XVI
And suppressed by the Ancient Regime
Nobility and clergy chillin' just living it up
In opposition on the bottom there was us
Poor and broken suffering under the kings reign
We all knew that this was the time for change
The third estate coming together was the key
Time for movement time for National Assembly
King Louis showed us no support
So we kept if real, held it down on the tennis court
Radical ideas called for a solution
Swore an oath to give France a constitution
Setting new goals to aim
And set forth to never look back from where we came
Chorus:
Oh why, must we fight over control of this land?
I want to be free, to live in equality, and give a kind of peace to France.
Verse 2:
We knew that Louis was running against our cause
So in Bastille we broke in and we went off
Destroying everyone and everything in sight
This began the mark of a ten year fight
We stormed Bastille, but we still got no participation
To help resolve this economic situation
What must we have to do?
To get you realize and see the truth
The oath proposed by the Legislative Assembly
Said that France would be a constitutional monarchy
But then after our first meeting
Govern went to chaos and we lost three things
1.The war left us with a ruined economy
2.The legislation stopped the monarchy
3.The infamous Louis XVI
We lost him to the invention of the guillotine
[CHORUS]
Verse 3:
Now by this time France was running out of control
This was when the Jacobins started to grab hold
Prosecution was dread
Cause thousands of innocent people were getting beheaded
These two dudes Jacques Herbet & Roux
They convinced the convention of their political views
Engaged in a dispute with the Girodins
Who didnt believe in the republic motion
In 94 Robespierre life got put to an end
The Thermidorians took over & wanted revenge
On most of the Jacobins who
Contributed to the reign of terror a year prior to
In the final years of the French Revolution
The Directory was created by the constitution
And in France there was peace
So Just for now I will live in ease
Today's lesson plan and HW is available on the blog: http://gmicksmithsocialstudies.blogspot.com/
Email: gmsmith@shanahan.org
The Shanawiki page (http://shanawiki.wikispaces.com/) has updated class information.
The online version of a portion of the Textbook is available.
LibraryThing has bibliographic resources.
I moved the "Blog Archive" to the top right on the blog page so it should be easier to find the daily lesson, HW, and other class material.
Sr. has advised students to check online teaching materials (as we have been doing since the first day of school).
Chapter 11 Section 2 Radical Revolution and Reaction
Within a year, the Terror consumed those who initiated it. Weary of bloodshed and fearing for their own lives, members of the Convention turned on the Committee of Public Safety. On the night of July 27, 1794, Robespierre was arrested. The next day he was executed. After the heads of Robespierre and other radicals fell, executions slowed dramatically.
Girondins vs. the Mountain.
The Mountain:
The Mountain (French: La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly. The term, which was first used during the session of the Legislative Assembly, did not come into general use until 1793.
At the opening of the National Convention the Montagnard group comprised men of very diverse shades of opinion, and such cohesion as it subsequently acquired was due rather to the opposition of its leaders to the Girondist leaders than to any fundamental hostility between the two groups.
The chief point of distinction was that the Girondists were mainly theorists and thinkers, whereas the Mountain consisted almost entirely of uncompromising men of action.
During their struggle with the Girondists, the Montagnards gained the upper hand in the Jacobin Club, and for a time "Jacobin" and "Montagnard" were synonymous terms. The Mountain was successively under the sway of such men as Marat, Danton, and Robespierre.
Dominating the Convention and the Committee of Public Safety, they imposed a policy of terror.
The Mountain was then split into several distinct factions, those who favored an alliance with the people, and social measures – led by Georges-Jacques Danton – and the proponents of The Terror – led by led by Maximilien Robespierre.
In addition, several members were close to the mountain of the Enragés led by Jacques Roux, or Hebertism led by Jacques René Hébert. The group was to become one of the prime movers in the eventual downfall of Robespierre in the events of 9 Thermidor. The group dissolved shortly after Robespierre's death (28 July 1794).
The Reign of Terror
Infographic
Go Online
For: Interactive French Revolution
Visit: PHSchool.com
Web Code: nap-1821
Thinking Critically
1. Identify Point of View
What were the goals of the Committee of Public Safety?
2. Predict Consequences
How do you think life (it should read "life") in France changed after the Terror came to an end?
Crushing Rebellion
"The Republic of Virtue”
The "Republic of Virtue" was a period in French history (1793-1794) where Maximilien Robespierre remained in power. Many proponents of the Republic of Virtue developed their notion of civic virtue from the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
The "Republic of Virtue" was part of the de-Christianization of the French Revolution. The de-Christianization process included the closing of churches, Protestant and Catholic, as well as selling many church buildings to the highest bidders. Many churches became store-houses for arms or grain. The statues of kings on the cathedral at Notre Dame were beheaded.
However, the largest step in the de-Christianization of France was the establishment of the Cult of Reason to replace Christianity. This, however, was rejected by Maximilien Robespierre because he was opposed to the atheistic ideals of the Cult of Reason. He establishes the Cult of the Supreme Being in June 1794 but neither cult attracted many followers.
The new French Revolutionary Calendar was created during the Republic of Virtue as well. The first year started on September 22, 1792, the beginning of the Republic. Twelve months of exactly thirty days each received new names derived from nature. Ten-day décades replaced the seven-day week, allowing for only one day of rest, eliminating the Sunday of the Christian calendar. This new calendar remained in practice for only nine years.
Reading Check
Identifying
Whom did the Committee of Public Safety consider to be enemies of the state?
A Nation in Arms
End of the Terror
Audio
In reaction to the Terror, the revolution entered a third stage. Moving away from the excesses of the Convention, moderates produced another constitution, the third since 1789.
The Constitution of 1795 set up a five-man Directory and a two-house legislature elected by male citizens of property. The middle class and professional people of the bourgeoisie were the dominant force during this stage of the French Revolution. The Directory held power from 1795 to 1799.
Weak but dictatorial, the Directory faced growing discontent. Peace was made with Prussia and Spain, but war with Austria and Great Britain continued. Corrupt leaders lined their own pockets but failed to solve pressing problems. When rising bread prices stirred hungry sans-culottes to riot, the Directory quickly suppressed them. Another threat to the Directory was the revival of royalist feeling. Many émigrés were returning to France, and devout Catholics, who resented measures that had been taken against the Church, were welcoming them. In the election of 1797, supporters of a constitutional monarchy won the majority of seats in the legislature.
As chaos threatened, politicians turned to Napoleon Bonaparte, a popular military hero who had won a series of brilliant victories against the Austrians in Italy. The politicians planned to use him to advance their own goals. To their dismay, however, before long Napoleon would outwit them all to become ruler of France.
Checkpoint
What changes occurred after the Reign of Terror came to an end?
By 1799, the 10-year-old French Revolution had dramatically changed France. It had dislodged the old social order, overthrown the monarchy, and brought the Church under state control.
New symbols such as the red “liberty caps” and the tricolor confirmed the liberty and equality of all male citizens. The new title “citizen” applied to people of all social classes. All other titles were eliminated.
Before he was executed, Louis XVI was called Citizen Capet, from the name of the dynasty that had ruled France in the Middle Ages. Elaborate fashions and powdered wigs gave way to the practical clothes and simple haircuts of the sans-culottes.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. Description: Louis le dernier
Louis XVI of France wearing a phrygian cap, drinking a toast to the health of the sans-culottes. Etching and mezzotint, with watercolor. Scanned from a photographic slide.
Captions, in English:
"Long live the nation" (from bottle to mouth)
Below:
Louis XVI, having put on the Phrygian cap, cried 'long live the nation'. He drank to the health of the sans-culottes and affected a show of great calm. He spoke high-sounding words about how he never feared the law, that he had never feared to be in the midst of the people; finally he pretended to play a personal part in the insurrection of June 20. Well! The same Louis XVI has bravely waited until his fellow citizens return to their hearths to wage a secret war and extract his revenge.
Date: 1792 Source: Library of Congress Author: unknown Permission Public domain: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. Summary: Cabinet des médailles de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France Description: Attis as a child, wearing the Phrygian cap. Parian marble, 2nd century AD, probably during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.
Nationalism Spreads
Revolution and war gave the French people a strong sense of national identity. In earlier times, people had felt loyalty to local authorities. As monarchs centralized power, loyalty shifted to the king or queen. Now, the government rallied sons and daughters of the revolution to defend the nation itself.
Nationalism, a strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one’s country, spread throughout France. The French people attended civic festivals that celebrated the nation and the revolution. A variety of dances and songs on themes of the revolution became immensely popular.
By 1793, France was a nation in arms. From the port city of Marseilles (mahr say), troops marched to a rousing new song. It urged the “children of the fatherland” to march against the “bloody banner of tyranny.” This song, “La Marseillaise” (mahr say ez), would later become the French national anthem.
Revolutionaries Push For Social Reform
Revolutionaries pushed for social reform and religious toleration. They set up state schools to replace religious ones and organized systems to help the poor, old soldiers, and war widows. With a major slave revolt raging in the colony of St. Domingue (Haiti), the government also abolished slavery in France’s Caribbean colonies.
Evaluating
How did the French revolutionary army help to create modern nationalism?
The Directory
The Executive Directory (French: Directoire exécutif) was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate. The period of this regime (2 November 1795 until 10 November 1799), commonly known as the Directory (or Directoire) era, constitutes the second to last stage of the French Revolution.
The Directory and the French Revolution itself came to an end with the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799) in which General Napoléon Bonaparte overthrew the Directory and replaced it with the Consulate.
In November 1799, France was suffering the effects of military reverses brought on by Bonaparte's adventurism in the Middle East. The looming threat of opportunistic invasion by the Second Coalition had provoked internal unrest, with Bonaparte stuck in Egypt. A return to Jacobinism seemed possible.
The coup was first prepared by the Abbé Sieyès, then one of the five Directors. Bonaparte returned from Egypt a hero to the public despite his reverses. Sieyès believed he had found the general indispensable to his coup. However, Bonaparte promptly began a coup within the coup. Ultimately, the coup brought to power Bonaparte, not Sieyès.
The plan was, through the use of troops conveniently arrayed around Paris, first to persuade the Directors to resign, then to persuade the two Councils to appoint a pliant commission to draw up a new constitution.
On the morning of 18 Brumaire, members of the Council of Ancients sympathetic to the coup warned their colleagues of a Jacobin conspiracy. Bonaparte was charged with the safety of the French government.
By the following day, the deputies had worked out that they were facing an attempted coup rather than being protected from a Jacobin rebellion or even by Napoleon. Faced with their recalcitrance, Bonaparte stormed into the chambers accompanied by a small escort of grenadiers. He met with heckling in both houses; he was first jostled, then outright assaulted. Ultimately, military force also dispersed the legislature.
The Consulate was declared, with Bonaparte, Sieyès, and Roger Ducos as consuls.
The lack of reaction from the streets proved that the revolution was, indeed, over. In the words of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, "A shabby compound of brute force and imposture, the 18th Brumaire was nevertheless condoned, nay applauded, by the French nation. Weary of revolution, men sought no more than to be wisely and firmly governed." Resistance by Jacobin officeholders in the provinces was quickly crushed, twenty Jacobin legislators were exiled, and others were arrested.
Bonaparte completed his coup within a coup by the adoption of a constitution under which the First Consul, a position he was sure to hold, had greater power than the other two. None could prevent his creating an empire
Reading Check
Describing
Describe the government that replaced the National Convention.
The Radical Revolution
HW send to gmsmith@shanahan.org.
Bibliographic References
The Sans-Culottes
by Albert Soboul.
The Vendee: A Sociological Analysis of the Counter-Revolution of 1793
by Charles Tilly.
The Crowd in the French Revolution (Galaxy Books) by George Rude
