The French Revolution

Outline:

A.  Assessing the French Revolution

        Bokenkotter:  The French Revolution Shatters the Church of the Old Order

        Schreck:  The French Revolution was, in many ways, the climax of the Enlightenment.

        Boever:  The French Revolution had more influence on the Catholic Church than any other revolution.

B.  The financial crisis that led to the revolution.  The “donation” of 1788.  Estates-General meets at Versailles.

C. The revolution devolves into violence.  Krieger:  The French Revolution of 1789 was as convulsive as it was because in France, and only in France, an elemental explosion of the underprivileged mass groups of the society converged with a political revolution by the articulate underprivileged groups for an equalized representative constitution.

D.  The effects of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and Pius VI’s response