0:00:06.792,0:00:10.501 What rights do people have,[br]and where do they come from? 0:00:10.501,0:00:14.310 Who gets to make decisions for others[br]and on what authority? 0:00:14.310,0:00:19.209 And how can we organize society[br]to meet people's needs? 0:00:19.209,0:00:21.868 These questions challenged[br]an entire nation 0:00:21.868,0:00:25.019 during the upheaval [br]of the French Revolution. 0:00:25.019,0:00:27.409 By the end of the 18th century, 0:00:27.409,0:00:31.441 Europe had undergone a profound[br]intellectual and cultural shift 0:00:31.441,0:00:33.800 known as the Enlightenment. 0:00:33.800,0:00:37.409 Philosophers and artists promoted[br]reason and human freedom 0:00:37.409,0:00:40.070 over tradition and religion. 0:00:40.070,0:00:42.830 The rise of a middle class[br]and printed materials 0:00:42.830,0:00:45.209 encouraged political awareness, 0:00:45.209,0:00:48.749 and the American Revolution had turned[br]a former English colony 0:00:48.749,0:00:51.450 into an independent republic. 0:00:51.450,0:00:55.259 Yet France, one of the largest and richest[br]countries in Europe 0:00:55.259,0:00:59.969 was still governed by an ancient regime[br]of three rigid social classes 0:00:59.969,0:01:02.052 called Estates. 0:01:02.052,0:01:06.769 The monarch King Louis XVI[br]based his authority on divine right 0:01:06.769,0:01:11.040 and granted special privileges[br]to the First and Second Estates, 0:01:11.040,0:01:13.781 the Catholic clergy, and the nobles. 0:01:13.781,0:01:17.021 The Third Estate, middle class merchants[br]and craftsmen, 0:01:17.021,0:01:21.390 as well as over 20 million peasants,[br]had far less power 0:01:21.390,0:01:24.461 and they were the only ones [br]who paid taxes, 0:01:24.461,0:01:28.632 not just to the king,[br]but to the other Estates as well. 0:01:28.632,0:01:30.013 In bad harvest years, 0:01:30.013,0:01:33.370 taxation could leave peasants[br]with almost nothing 0:01:33.370,0:01:39.190 while the king and nobles lived lavishly[br]on their extracted wealth. 0:01:39.190,0:01:43.272 But as France sank into debt due to[br]its support of the American Revolution 0:01:43.272,0:01:45.680 and its long-running war with England, 0:01:45.680,0:01:47.542 change was needed. 0:01:47.542,0:01:50.767 King Louis appointed [br]finance minister Jacques Necker, 0:01:50.767,0:01:52.381 who pushed for tax reforms 0:01:52.381,0:01:57.432 and won public support by openly[br]publishing the government's finances. 0:01:57.432,0:02:00.713 But the king's advisors strongly opposed[br]these initiatives. 0:02:00.713,0:02:05.132 Desperate for a solution, the king called[br]a meeting of the Estates-General, 0:02:05.132,0:02:07.902 an assembly of representatives[br]from the Three Estates, 0:02:07.902,0:02:12.091 for the first time in 175 years. 0:02:12.091,0:02:16.583 Although the Third Estate represented[br]98% of the French population, 0:02:16.583,0:02:20.102 its vote was equal to each[br]of the other Estates. 0:02:20.102,0:02:25.462 And unsurprisingly, both of the upper[br]classes favored keeping their privileges. 0:02:25.462,0:02:28.021 Realizing they couldn't [br]get fair representation, 0:02:28.021,0:02:29.913 the Third Estate broke off, 0:02:29.913,0:02:32.003 declared themselves [br]the National Assembly, 0:02:32.003,0:02:37.503 and pledged to draft a new constitution[br]with or without the other Estates. 0:02:37.503,0:02:39.972 King Louis ordered the First[br]and Second Estates 0:02:39.972,0:02:41.782 to meet with the National Assembly, 0:02:41.782,0:02:45.912 but he also dismissed Necker,[br]his popular finance minister. 0:02:45.912,0:02:48.833 In response, thousands [br]of outraged Parisians 0:02:48.833,0:02:53.183 joined with sympathetic soldiers[br]to storm the Bastille prison, 0:02:53.183,0:02:57.447 a symbol of royal power[br]and a large storehouse of weapons. 0:02:57.447,0:03:00.103 The Revolution had begun. 0:03:00.103,0:03:02.385 As rebellion spread [br]throughout the country, 0:03:02.385,0:03:04.724 the feudal system was abolished. 0:03:04.724,0:03:07.994 The Assembly's Declaration[br]of the Rights of Man and Citizen 0:03:07.994,0:03:10.614 proclaimed a radical idea for the time - 0:03:10.614,0:03:15.675 that individual rights and freedoms [br]were fundamental to human nature 0:03:15.675,0:03:19.494 and government existed [br]only to protect them. 0:03:19.494,0:03:22.775 Their privileges gone, [br]many nobles fled abroad, 0:03:22.775,0:03:26.864 begging foreign rulers to invade France[br]and restore order. 0:03:26.864,0:03:30.694 And while Louis remained as the figurehead[br]of the constitutional monarchy, 0:03:30.694,0:03:32.984 he feared for his future. 0:03:32.984,0:03:37.135 In 1791, he tried to flee the country[br]but was caught. 0:03:37.135,0:03:41.126 The attempted escape shattered[br]people's faith in the king. 0:03:41.126,0:03:45.405 The royal family was arrested[br]and the king charged with treason. 0:03:45.405,0:03:46.986 Queen Marie Antoinette, 0:03:46.986,0:03:51.507 a foreigner long mocked as Madame Deficit[br]for her extravagant reputation, 0:03:51.507,0:03:54.066 was publicly beheaded. 0:03:54.066,0:03:57.235 After a trial, so was [br]the once revered king, 0:03:57.235,0:03:59.333 ending 1,000 years of monarchy 0:03:59.333,0:04:02.406 and launching the first French republic 0:04:02.406,0:04:07.625 governed by the motto,[br]"Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite." 0:04:07.625,0:04:09.977 But the Revolution would not end there. 0:04:09.977,0:04:13.099 Some leaders, not content with just[br]changing the government, 0:04:13.099,0:04:16.396 sought to completely transform [br]French society - 0:04:16.396,0:04:17.796 its religion, 0:04:17.796,0:04:18.909 its street names, 0:04:18.909,0:04:20.356 even its calendar. 0:04:20.356,0:04:22.226 As multiple factions formed, 0:04:22.226,0:04:26.416 the extremist Jacobins lead [br]by Maximilien Robespierre 0:04:26.416,0:04:28.726 launched a Reign of Terror 0:04:28.726,0:04:33.226 to suppress the slightest dissent[br]executing over 20,000 people 0:04:33.226,0:04:36.026 before the Jacobin's own downfall. 0:04:36.026,0:04:39.817 Meanwhile, France found itself[br]at war with neighboring monarchs 0:04:39.817,0:04:43.726 seeking to strangle the Revolution[br]before it spread. 0:04:43.726,0:04:48.237 Amidst the chaos, a general named[br]Napoleon Bonaparte took charge 0:04:48.237,0:04:53.537 becoming Emperor as he claimed to defend[br]the Revolution's democratic values. 0:04:53.537,0:04:56.857 All in all, the Revolution [br]saw three constitutions 0:04:56.857,0:04:59.876 and five governments within ten years, 0:04:59.876,0:05:03.657 followed by decades alternating between[br]monarchy and revolt 0:05:03.657,0:05:06.927 before the next Republic formed in 1871. 0:05:06.927,0:05:09.716 And while we celebrate [br]the French Revolution's ideals, 0:05:09.716,0:05:12.977 we still struggle with many of the same[br]basic questions 0:05:12.977,0:05:15.498 raised over two centuries ago.