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Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate was locked out of its meeting room as preparations were being made for a royal session of all three estates. Confused and angry, the delegates met instead at an indoor tennis court on the palace grounds and signed an oath not to disband until they had drawn up a new, fair constitution for France. -
Period: to
French Revolution
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Storming the Bastille
Paris erupted on July 14, 1789. The Paris mob was determined to arm itself due to presence of foreign troops in the streets of Paris. They first attacked the Invalides fortress from which they obtained 30,000 muskets. They moved on to the Bastille, an old fortress prison which had long been viewed as a sumbol of the king's absolute authority. The mob attacked the Bastille and released the seven prisoners inside. Louis XVI recalled the popular Jacques Necker in response. -
The Great Fear
The Great Fear spread across the country. Once the revolutionary spirit seized control of the people of Paris, people in surrounding areas began to demand cheaper bread and suspension of feudla dues. Civil unrest grew in the countryside, with many peasants attacking manor homes. Aristocratic property was destroyed by the peasantry. From July 20 to August 5, 1789, hysteria spread across the country, but was gradually put down by militias that imposed law and order. -
Feudalism Abolished
The panic of the Great Fear showed the peasants anger with the old, outmoded system of feudal obligations. Landed aristocracy in the National Assembly seized on the idea that the only way to stop the tide of violence in the countryside was to renounce feudal privileges. The aristocracy stripped themselves of their feudal rights and privileges. On August 11, 1789, the Assembly abolished serfdom. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man echoed the sentiments of the Enlightenment philosophes, the English Bill of Rights, and the American Declaration of Independence. It asserted the political and social equality of all men, the sovereignty of the people, and the natural right to liberty, property, security, and resistance to opposition. -
March on Versailles
The rumors of Louis XVI's offensive court party spreads throughout the streets of Paris, it was rumored that Louis XVI stepped on the flag of France. Women lead a march to Versailles to demand bread. The mob forces the royal family to return to Paris with them. Louis XVI signs the Declaration of the Rights of Man. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The nationalization of Church lands was the first step in state control of the Church. On July 12, 1790 the National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy to bring the clergy under government control. Clergy would now be elected by all citizens and their salaries paid by the state. The clergy were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, essentially it required the clergy to acknowledge the supremacy of the French government over the Pope. -
The Royal Family Flees
Unrest in Paris in the spring of 1791 convinced the queen, Marie Antoinette, that the family must flee. With the help of a loyal friend, Count Axel von Fersen, an escape was organized. When they reached Varennes, they were recognized and National Guardsmen escorted them back to Paris through jeering crowds. -
Levee en Masse
On August 23, 1793, the Committee of Public Safety made a decree that mobilized the entire French population for war. All unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 25 were conscripted. -
The Execution of Robespierre
Robespierre was arrested on July 27 and executed the next day. In month of Thermidor in the new French calendar, Robespierre was deserted by his supporters, accused of being a tyrant. Robespierre wanted to extend emergency powers, but others felt that the emergencies were over and wanted to return to regular administration. -
Napoleons Coup d’Etat
Napoleon Reigns over France
