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May 5, 1789 meeting with the Estates-General
The Estates-General met at Versailles on May 5, 1789. They were immediately divided over a fundamental issue: should they vote by head, giving the advantage to the Third Estate, or by estate, in which case the two privileged orders of the realm might outvote the third? -
Tennis Court Oath
We swear never to disperse, and to meet wherever circumstances so require, until the kingdom's Constitution is established and made firm by solid foundations -
Storming of the Bastille
the prison was attacked and overtaken by protestors at the start of the French Revolution -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
proclaims the natural and inalienable rights of all men, including liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression, stating that all men are born free and equal in rights, with sovereignty residing in the nation, and guaranteeing equality before the law -
Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles was a riot that took place during this first stage of the French Revolution. It was spontaneously organized by women in the marketplaces of Paris, on the morning of October 5, 1789. They complained over the high price and scant availability of bread, marching from Paris to Versailles.