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System of France
The political system of France the people were divided into three large social classes, or estates. The Second Estate was made up of rich nobles. And 97% of the people belonged to the third part. -
Government dept
In 1780 France government sank deeply into dept. And this was due to the King (Louis XVI) spending it on himself and his queen. He also took money to help the American revolutionaries in their war against Great Britain. -
Government Problems
When bankers refused to lend the government any more money Louis faced serious problems. He paid little attention to his government advisers, and had little patience for the details of governing. -
Second Estate
The Second Estate forced Louis to call a meeting of the Estates-General—an assembly of representatives from all three estates—to approve this new tax. The meeting, the first in 175 years, was held on May 5, 1789, at Versailles. -
National Assembly
Third Estate voted to establish the National Assembly, in effect proclaiming the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of representative government. This vote was the first deliberate act of revolution. -
Bread War
Thousands of Parisian women rioted over the rising price of bread. The women demanded that the National Assembly take action to provide bread. They later turned their anger to the king and queen and broke into their house. -
Grand Speeches
Noblemen made grand speeches, declaring their love of liberty and equality. Motivated more by fear than by idealism, they joined other members of the National Assembly in sweeping away the feudal privileges of the First and Second Estates, thus making commoners equal to the nobles and the clergy. By morning, the Old Regime was dead. -
National Assembly
"The National Assembly completed the new constitution, which Louis reluctantly approved. The constitution created a limited constitutional monarchy. It stripped the king of much of his authority. " It also created a new legislative body––the Legislative Assembly." -
Prussian Commander
"Prussian forces were advancing on Paris. The Prussian commander threatened to destroy Paris if the revolutionaries harmed any member of the royal family. This enraged the Parisians. On August 10, about 20,000 men and women invaded the Tuileries, the palace where the royal family was staying." -
Church Assembly
Many of the National Assembly’s early reforms focused on the Church. The assembly took over Church lands and declared that Church officials and priests were to be elected and paid as state officials.The effort to make the Church a part of the state offended them, evens huge debt though it was in accord with Enlightenment philosophy.
