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King Louis XVI calls the Estates-General
King Louis calls for a meeting with all three estates called the Estates-General to approve taxes on the nobility, which was the second estate. -
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. 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. -
Storming the Bastille
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 and got 30,000 muskets. They moved on to the Bastille, an old fortress prison which was viewed as a symbol of the king's absolute power. The mob attacked the Bastille and released the seven prisoners inside. Louis XVI recalled the popular Jacques Necker in response. -
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
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. It required the clergy to acknowledge the supremacy of the French government over the Pope. -
The Royal Family Flees
Marie Antoinette, the queen, was convinced that the family must flee. With the help of 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. -
France Goes to War Against Austria
The French government declared war on Austria. As Prussia was allied with Austria, France found itself fighting a war against both countries. -
The Republic of Virtue
Social and cultural changes were implemented by the Jacobins during the time they were in control in an attempt to erase all traces of the Old Regime. They called their new society, based on reason, the Republic of Virtue. -
The Execution of Louis XVI
After six weeks of debate in the National Convention, with the Girondins wanting clemency for the king, whereas the Jacobins wanting to execute him. On January 21, 1793, the French government sent its former king to the guillotine.
