AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION:
WHY DID THE FRENCH REVOLT? A LOOK AT OUTSIDERS!
INTRODUCTION: What does it mean to be “on the outside looking in?”
Give a real-life example of a time when you or someone you know was “on the outside looking in”:
-------------------MOVIE CLIP 1: THE OUTSIDERS Cite specific examples from the movie clip that illustrate characters that are viewed as outsiders? How are they treated? How are they different from the “in-crowd”? How do you think they feel?
------------------MOVIE CLIP 2: PRETTY IN PINK Cite specific examples from the movie clip that illustrate characters that are viewed as outsiders? How are they treated? How are they different from the “in-crowd”? How do you think they feel?
-----------------WHAT NEXT: Now that you have a better understanding of what it means to be an outsider, what do you think happens to people who feel they are unwanted and mistreated?
----------------HISTORICAL CONNECTION TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: France before the Revolution: 1st estate: • 3 estates 2nd estate: 3rd estate:
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE 3RD ESTATE
DOCUMENT 1
BREAD AND THE WAGE EARNERS BUDGET*
Effective Daily Wage in Sous** Expenditure on Bread as percentage of income with bread priced at: (Feb-July (Aug 1788) 1789) 60 97 80 60 48 24
Occupation
Laborer in Reveillon wallpaper works Builders Laborer Journeyman mason Journeyman, locksmith, carpenter, etc. Sculptor, goldsmith
PROBLEM FACED BY THE THIRD ESTATE?
15
18 24 30 60
50 37 30 15
*The price of the 4 pound loaf consumed daily by workingman and his family as the main element in their diet **Effective wage represents the daily wage adjusted for 121 days of nonwork per calendar year for religious observation, etc.
DOCUMENT 2
“In the south of France there is a taille (land tax). There is an injustice in charging the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little. Lands held by the commoners (members of the 3rd estate) are taxed heavily. September 5, 1788: The poor people seem very poor indeed. The children are terribly ragged. June 10, 1789: The lack of bread is terrible. Stories arrive every moment from the great provinces of riot… The price of bread has arisen above the people’s ability to pay. This causes great misery. July 1789: I was joined by a poor woman who complained of the hard times. She said, “The tailles and feudal dues are crushing us.” TRAVELS IN FRANCE (1787-1789) Arthur Young
PROBLEM FACED BY THE THIRD ESTATE?
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE 3RD ESTATE
DOCUMENT 3
WHAT DOES THIS CARTOON SHOW?
DOCUMENT 4
“What is the Third Estate? EVERYTHING! “What has it been in the political order up to now?” NOTHING “What does it want?” SOMETHING - A pamphlet published before the French Revolution
WHAT IS THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THIS PAMPHLET?