VHS French Revolution Events

The Estates and the National Assembly

May 5, 1789

• Proposed a change in the Estates-General's voting rules o The First Estate (clergy), Second Estate(nobility), and Third Estate (the lower classes) meet at Versailles and decide whether to count by head or to give each estate equal votes
• In 1789, they voted to establish the National Assembly

--> This is important because the National Assembly was established. The National Assembly brought many major revolutionary changes to France.

Tennis Court Oath

Jun 20, 1789

• Royal officials lock the National Assembly out of their regular meeting hall o In response to this, Louis stationed his mercenary army of Swiss guards around Versailles (July 9th, 1789)

--> This is important because the members of the assembly promise not to disperse until they give France a new constitution.

Storming the Bastille

Jul 14, 1789

• People began to gather weapons in order to defend the city against attack
• A mob searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille.. they took control of the building

--> This is important because it is the act the people of France themselves did. They gathered together to do such a thing that conveys so much about how the country was actually like at that time and what people did.

Women’s March on Versailles

Oct 5, 1789

• Parisian women rioted over the rising price of bread
• Brandishing knives, axes, and other weapons, the women marched on Versailles.
• They demanded that the National Assembly take action to provide bread, and turned their anger on the king and queen. They broke into the palace and killed some of the guards. --> This is important because it’s quite a catastrophe they must have went through. We can see how people are fighting for what they need to survive, to survive.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Oct 6, 1789

• The National Assembly introduces the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
• “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
• Nobles were motivated more by fear than idealism

--> This is a significant change. But also, at this time when Olympe de Gouges published a declaration of the rights of women, it was rejected. As much as the idea of liberty and equality itself was considered utterly important to the people of France, this makes us question how was it that women were the exception.

Louis Tries to Escape

1791

• Some of his advisers warned him that he and his family were in danger
• He and his family tried to escape to Austrian Netherlands. However, they were apprehended.

--> Not only is this important in that it shows us how concerning Louis was, but it is also important because the people stopped him.

The Legislative Body

1791

• The National Assembly created a new legislative body, the Legislative Assembly.
• The Legislative Assembly had the power to create laws and to approve or reject declarations of war, although the king still held the power to enforce laws.

--> this creation of a new body is important because it later declared war against many European nations and responded to declarations of war. (Prussia, Austria, Britain, Netherlands)

France declares war against Austria

Apr 20, 1792

• Monarchs and nobles in other countries were alarmed by the French Revolution. Austria and Prussia urged France to have Louis come back as monarch.
• Monarchies in France wanted war because they thought the new government would be defeated by foreign powers. Revolutionaries wanted war because they thought it would bring people together, and spread the revolutionary ideas across Europe.

We can see how France’s revolution affected Austria’s monarchs and nobles and how they resulted in war.

Establishment of Republic

Sep 20, 1792

• The New Assembly, the National Convention, abolishes the monarchy and establishes a republic.

--> This is extremely important, because it shaped the way France’s government is like in the present. It shows how the French Revolution shaped the country from its beginning to this point.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Nov 9, 1799

• He overthrows the Directory and becomes the leader of France

--> This is important because this is kind of when the French Revolution came to an end and a new ruler, Napoleon comes. With this marking point, we can look at how he will also be an important figure.