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The 3rd Estate was fed up and formed the
National Assembly on June 17th, 1789
Some members of the 1st and 2nd Estates joined
the National Assembly
The National Assembly plans to meet with the
1st and 2nd Estates June 20th, 1789
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The doors were locked at Versailles and Louis
XVI’s guards would not let the National
Assembly in
The delegates of the National Assembly then
met at an indoor tennis court at Versailles
They agreed not to disband until a Constitution
was created
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577 men signed the oath
More nobles and clergy began to join the
National Assembly
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Louis ultimately gives in and agrees to draft
a constitution
Louis XVI then begins to gather troops in
Paris and Versailles
Around this time Louis XVI fires his director
of finances, Jacques Necker
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Necker is popular among commoners
The Parisians respond with rebellion
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The Bastille was initially a fortress built
between 1370-1383
In the 17th century it became a political prison
The governor of the prison would earn a living
based on how many and what kind of criminals
were in the Bastille
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Parisians stormed the Bastille because it had
gunpowder and because it represented the
oppression of the government
It was believed that there were hundreds of
prisoners inside
Only had 7 prisoners (4 counterfeiters, 2 mad
men and a young aristocrat)
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In July and August of 1789, there are sporadic
rebellions across the French countryside
against feudal landlords
The National Assembly signs the August
Decrees, which cancels all obligations peasants
have to their landlords
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On August 26th, 1789, the National
Assembly signs the Declaration of the Rights
of Man and Citizen
Gave all French due process and declared all
French people to be equal (laws and legal
proceedings must be fair)
Things quiet down, but not for long…