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The National Assembly
The third party declared themselves as the National Assembly, an assembly not of the Estates but of "the People." They swore on the Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789), under which they agreed not to separate until they had given France a constitution. -
The Fall of Bastille
On 14 July, the insurgents set their eyes on the large weapons and ammunition in the largst prison in Paris, Bastille. After several hours of combat, they finally won. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
With the help of Thomas Jefferson, the Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which comprised a statement of principles rather than a constitution with legal effect. The National Constituent Assembly functioned not only as a legislature, but also as a body to draft a new constitution. -
The Women's March on Versailles
The march evolved among women in the marketplaces of Paris who were near rioting over the high price and scant availability of bread. Their demonstrations quickly became intertwined with the purposes of revolutionaries who were seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government. This law confiscated the Church's French land holdings or banned monastic vows: that had already been accomplished. It did, however, complete the destruction of the monastic orders, legislating out of existence "all regular and secular chapters for either sex, abbacies and priorships, both regular and in commendam, for either sex", -
Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was when King Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family were unsuccessful in their attempt to escape from the radical agitation of the Jacobins in Paris. Their destination was the fortress at Montmédy in northeastern France. They were only able to make it as far as the small town of Varennes.The king's attempted flight provoked the charges of treason which ultimately led to his execution in 1793. -
The Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (September 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794) was a period of violence that occurred for one year and one month after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution." Estimates vary widely as to how many were killed, with numbers ranging from 16,000 to 40,000 -
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Richebourg de Saint-Just and several other leading members of the Terror. This ended the most radical phase of the French Revolution.
