French Revolution: Estates General

The Estates General and the National Assembly

• On May 5, 1789, Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates General to pass new tax proposals.
• The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other, while the 600 members of the third estate had to stand at the back.
• The third estate demanded that voting be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote, but the King rejected this proposal.
• Members of the third estate protested and walked out of the assembly, leading to the formation of the National Assembly.
• On June 20, 1789, the members of the third estate assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in Versailles and declared themselves a National Assembly.
• They swore not to disperse until they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.

The Tennis Court Oath

• The National Assembly was led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyés.
• Mirabeau was born into a noble family, while Abbé Sieyés was a priest who wrote a book called "What is the Third Estate?"

The Bastille Revolt

• While the National Assembly was busy drafting the constitution, the rest of France was filled with intense unrest due to severe winter and poor harvest.
• Bakers exploited the situation by storing supplies, leading to angry crowds storming into shops.
• On July 14, 1789, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.
• In the countryside, rumors spread about lords of the manor hiring gang of robbers to destroy ripe crops, leading to peasants attacking and looting castles of nobles.
• Nobles had to flee from their homes, and many migrated.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

• The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791.
• Powers were separated and assigned to different institutions, making France a constitutional monarchy.
• The National Assembly was elected by a group of electors, which were chosen by active citizens.
• Active citizens were men above 25 years who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a laborer's wage.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

• Louis XVI secretly planned to overthrow the National Assembly with the King of Prussia.
• The National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria.
• Thousands of volunteers joined the army, seeing this as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies all over Europe.
• The patriotic song sung by volunteers, the Marseillaise, later became the National Anthem of France.
• The revolution further demanded greater political equality, including voting rights to the weaker section.
• Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action.