In response to the economic and
political crisis in France, Louis XVI
decided to call a meeting of the
Three Estates to seek advice and,
hopefully, assuage some of the
concerns of the people.
Who can identify the Three Estates?
Estate 1: Upper Clergy
Estate 2: Nobility
Estate 3: Everyone else (peasants,
paid laborers, and the bourgeoisie)
At the Estates General Meeting the Third Estate began to push for
major changes to the voting system, including voting by head.
At the Estates General Meeting the Third Estate formed a new
representative assembly “for the people” (rather than for the
estates) which they called the National Assembly.
Screw this!
I’m locking the Third
Estate out and we
are voting by estate.
Stupid peasants!
Stupid workers!
Stupid bourgeoisie!
I don’t have to listen
to them! I’m King!
I. The Estates General Meeting – May & June 1789
A. Louis XVI called a meeting to discuss the financial crisis
B. 3rd Estate wanted to change the voting system to allow for
voting by head rather than by order (by estates)
1. formed the National Assembly to set up a
representative government “for the people” not
composed of the Estates like the Estates General
2. eventually locked out of the meeting in June
Despite being locked out of the Estates General, the National
Assembly decided to meet anyway, and so they barricaded
themselves inside a nearby tennis court and vowed to remain until
they had created a new constitution for the French people.
I don’t like this at all!
I need to get some
of my people inside
that meeting…
So, Louis XVI urged the nobles and the clergy
to join the National Assembly, and some did.
But, some of those members of the 1st and 2nd
Estate actually supported the Assembly.
Fearing a coup d'état Louis put the military on
high alert and ordered them to prevent the
Assembly from meeting, but he was
unsuccessful, and on July 9th was forced to
accept the authority of the Assembly.
II. The Tennis Court Oath – June 20, 1789
A. Despite being locked out, the new National Assembly met in a
nearby tennis court and pledged to continue to meet until they
wrote a new constitution for the French people
B. Louis XVI got nervous
1. urged nobles and clergy to join the National Assembly;
some did, and some of those who did began to support
the Assembly over Louis XVI
2. put troops on alert and tried to have them prevent the
Assembly from meeting, but they failed
C. On July 9, Louis XVI was forced to acknowledge the authority
of the National Assembly
Following several weeks
of general rebellion in
Paris and attempts by the
royal guard to crack down
on these protestors, a
group of 600-1000
protestors decided to
attack a mainly empty old
prison (The Bastille)
which was housing the
guard’s ammunition,
including 30,000
pounds of gunpowder.
As the rebels attacked the prison (which only housed
seven inmates: four forgers, two “lunatics”, and one
“deviant aristocrat”), the Royal Guard fired at the crowd
and 98 of the attackers were killed; nevertheless, the
prisoners were liberated and the Bastille was taken.
As news of the Storming of the Bastille spread,
the French peasants began to revolt against the Nobles
The prisoners were
insignificant, but the
medieval prison itself was
a symbol of the
monarchy…its fall marked
the flash point of the
French Revolution!
III. Storming of The Bastille – July 14, 1789
A. Angry mob stormed old prison looking for gunpowder
1. Royal Guards opened fire on the mob – 98 die
2. crowd captured the Bastille – 7 prisoners freed
B. News of the revolt spread – peasants revolted against nobles
C. Event symbolized the beginning of the French Revolution
Meanwhile, the National
Assembly had been
working hard to create a
document which
guaranteed the freedoms,
rights, and equality of all
French people (except, of
course, women & slaves).
That document was the
Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen.
IV. Declaration of the Rights of Man – August 27, 1789
A. Revolutionary ideals adopted by the National Assembly
B. Reflected ideas of freedom and equality for all French people
(except women and slaves)
Though the revolution was in full
force (Storming of the Bastille,
Declaration of the Rights of
Man, etc.), many of the French
peasants were still starving .
So, on October 5th, around 6,000 women took up
arms and marched to Versailles to demand bread.
When they arrived, they invaded the palace, killed guards and nobles, and
eventually reached the Queen’s bedroom. Contrary to the painting, she and her
family had already escaped and barricaded themselves in the King’s bedroom.
As the crowd became more
restless and agitated, they
began to demand the queen
appear and address them.
Marie Antoinette stepped out
onto the balcony with her two
children to address the crowd.
The crowd, armed with muskets,
demanded that the children be
sent inside, and they were. The
queen stood stoically facing the
crowd for around 10 minutes.
Though the crowd had settled,
they still demanded that the royal
family depart for Paris and deal
with the political situation.
Louis XVI, fearing for his family’s safety and believing that he could
meet with the National Assembly and ease the tensions in France
and end the Revolution, made the decision to return to Paris.
V. March on Versailles – October 5, 1789
A. 6000 women marched from Paris to Versailles for bread
B. Women invaded the palace – killed guards and nobles
C. Marie Antoinette came to the balcony and calmed the crowd
D. Louis XVI was scared – returned to Paris to meet with the
National Assembly hoping to ease the tension