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Estate General at Versailles
The king was in severe debt because he used to spend too much money. He didn’t deal with the problem until he had no money left. He decided the nobility had to pay taxes to solve the problem.
May 5, 1789 – Estate General at Versailles– the first in 175 years, which is an assembly of representatives from all three estates in order to approve the new taxes. The citizens saw how lavish the king and queen were while they were poor, and this created ideas for revolution. -
Period: to
The French Revolution
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National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath
The third estate established the national assembly because wanted an end to the monarchy and wanted a representative government instead. This was the first deliberate act of the revolution.
June 20th, 1789 – Tennis Court Oath – is when the third estate swore to stay in their meeting room until they came up with a new constitution (this is after they found their meeting room door locked and they had to knock it down).
This event is important because the revolution started at that point. -
Attack on the Bastille
A mob stormed the Bastille (a Paris Prison). They were looking for gun powder, they got control of the building. The people were furious and wanted weapons, the Bastille was known as a prison for political prisoners but people knew many weapons were stored there. This was a great symbolic act of revolution to the French people and because they stormed the Bastille it encouraged them to go on and fight for what they believed in. -
Noblemen Speeches
Noblemen made speeches about how they supported liberty and equality. They joined the national assembly and agreed to take away the privileges that the first and second estates had, which made everyone equal. They did this out of fear more than their idealist views. This was an important event because even the nobles joined in the revolution which was an indication that the Old Regime was over. -
Parisian Women Riot
Parisian Women rioted over the rise in the price of bread and they wanted the national assembly to fix the situation with the bread. The women had knives, axes and other weapons. They attacked the King and Queen by breaking into the palace and killing some guards. They demanded that the king and queen go back to Paris.
This was an important event because it signaled a change in power and radical reforms about to take over France. -
Royal Family try to Escape
The Royal Family tried to escape from France to the Austrian Netherlands because they were being advised that they were in danger. However, they were stopped at the boarder and had to return to Paris. This is important because the fact that the king tried to escape made the people feel stronger about their fight, also it made them feel a sense of accomplishment because they didn't want the king to rule. -
The New Constitution
The National Assembly completed the new constitution that Louis has to approve. This constitution limited the monarchy and took away a lot of authority from the king. It created the legislative assembly that could create wars and approve or reject declarations of war.
By this moment it is clear that the King lost his power and was doing things by force which shows that the revolution worked. -
Legislative Assembly Declares war on Austria and Prussia
The Legislative Assembly declared war against Austria and Prussia because they were encouraging Louis to take back his position as absolute monarch. Austria and Prussia were afraid that revolutions would happen in their countries too. This shows that the King no longer had power. -
The National Convention
The National Convention took office after legislative elections. The king no longer ruled and they got rid of the assembly. It declared France a republic not a monarchy. -
The King's Death
The king was beheaded by a machine called the guillotine. This happened after her was found guilty by the national assembly and sentenced to death. -
Drafting and End of Revolution
The National convention drafted 300,000 French citizens from the ages of 18 – 40 including women. This is because England, Holland and Spain joined Austria and Prussia against the French. By 1794 the French army had grown to 800,000 people. 1795 – The radical phase of the French revolution was over and moderate leaders in the National Convention made a new plan for government. It placed power in the hands of the upper middle class.
