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The Estates General Meets
The Estates General was the legislative body consisting of representatives from the three estates. A French king hadn't called the Estates General in 175 years. The meeting was called to settle the pressure from reform. -
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National Assembly
It was the name of the revolutionary assembly formed by representatives of the Third Estate. It was an attempt to force a new constitution on the king. The Third Estate felt that they better represented the country and the people. -
3rd Estate Declared Themselves the "National Assembly"
The 3rd estate declared themselves the National Assembly and claimed they represented the people of France. They felt this was necessary due to the fact that only the 3rd estate was getting taxed and mistreated. -
Tennis Court Oath
Due to the meeting hall being locked, delegates swore "never to separate and to meet wherever the circumstances might require until we have established a sound and just constitution." -
Storming of Bastille
800 Parisians assembled outside a medieval fortress used as a prison to demand they be given gunpowder and weapons. They broke through the Bastille's defenses and started breaking down the structure with their bare hands. The Bastille was a symbol of the abuse the 3rd estate went through, so it was appropriate for them to to destroy it. -
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
The first step towards writing a constitution, this document was written to declare that "all men remain free and equal in rights." They referred natural rights to "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression." -
Womens March to Versailles
An angry mob of nearly 7,000 working women – armed with pitchforks, pikes, and muskets, marched from Paris to Versailles. They demanded the death of the queen Marie Antoinette. -
Louix XIV and Marie Antoinette Attempt to Flee
Due to the women breaking through the palace's defenses, Marie and Louis fled the palace. They try and make it to Austria to seek help against the revolution. When they reach a town close to the border, the revolutionaries found the royal family and took them all the way back to Paris. -
Creation of Legislative Assembly
In 1789, Louis XVI, King of France, called for the constitution of Estates-General. The first and second estate wanted to have the advantage in voting, but the third estate had larger numbers and felt that they should be a part of the final decision and have their votes matter more. The third estate created the Legislative Assembly for this reason. -
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Radical Phase
Radical leaders were able to easily push their ideas onto the people of the revolution during this time. Jean-Paul Marat, Georges Danton, and Maximilien Robespierre were all radical thinkers. The Committee of Public Safety had established soon after. The people of France fought for their rights. -
Creation of the National Convention
This was the first French republican government established. They abandoned the idea of a monarchy altogether. It was the first French assembly elected by a suffrage without distinctions of class. -
Louis XIV is Executed
Louis XIV was found guilty in a trial and was sentenced to death. Whilst approaching the guillotine, he pardoned all the people wanting his death but couldn't be heard over the sound of the cheering crowd. -
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Reign of Terror
The time period in France where citizens were executed in large masses for being nonrelated to the revolution. The innocent citizens were quickly executed by the guillotine. This put fear into the citizens and was a time of lives lost for no reason. -
Marie Antoinette's Execution
Marie was charged with treason and was accused of many other horrid acts. She was transported to the site of the guillotine in an open carriage for the citizens to harass her. She was then executed by the guillotine. -
Robespierre's Execution
The man who thought that if more people were taken out by the guillotine the revolution would calm down, was executed by the guillotine. Ironically, he tried to commit suicide and shot himself in the jaw. The man who had so much to say was silenced up until his last moments before death. -
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Directory Phase
During this time, the Committee of Public safety was overrun by a group of 5 men who were in charge of France's government. It was based off a new Constitution called "The Constitution of Year III." This was the reaction to the extremist ideas. -
Committee of Public Safety Established
This was a political body of the French Revolution that gained virtual dictatorial control over France during the Reign of Terror. They had people arrested for even speaking about things related to the revolution, and were executed after an unfair trial. -
The Directory Takes Over
The Directory was a group of 5 men that overruled the Committee of Public Safety. It was a French Revolutionary government set up by the Constitution of the Year III, which lasted four years, from November 1795 to November 1799. It included a bicameral legislature known as the Corps Législatif. -
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Age of Napolean
The Napoleon era began with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, that overthrew the Directory and established the French Consulate. It ended in 1815 during the Hundred Days with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo or a few days later when he abdicated for the second time. His ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French.
