Section 1 Flashcards
What are the causes of the French Revolution?
Mass Hunger (Famine)
Mistreatment of the poor 3rd Estate, who paid for nearly all of France’s taxes
Realization/awareness of enlightenment ideas (profound thinking, logic, exploration, etc.)
Weak economy because of debt from funding the American Revolution, King Louis XVI spent a lot of the budget to help repair this debt (by 1789)
What are the estates and their descriptions?
First Estate- Clergy- .5% of pop.- paid no taxes
Second Estate- Nobility- 1.5% of pop.- paid very little in taxes, held positions in government & military
Third Estate- Everyone Else- 98%- paid almost all of the nation’s taxes (Skilled Craftspeople, Merchants, Bankers…)
What was the Estates General Meeting?
Also known as the “impasse”
In response to the crisis (Hunger and Debt), and in fear of a social uprising, Louis XVI calls an emergency meeting of all three estates (Convocation of the Estates General), to try and resolve France’s issues
First meeting of its kind since 1614
Where/when was the Estates General Meeting and who did it consist of?
May 5, 1789 The Estates General meeting begins at the Palace of Versailles. The meeting is consisted of:
First Estate: Clergy (300) delegates
Second Estate: Nobles (300) delegates
Third Estate: (600) delegates
What happened at the Estates General Meeting?
After several weeks of meetings from May to June it came to an impasse over the first item on the agenda, whether to vote by estate or all together
The Third Estate felt ignored and were afraid that their concerns would not be addressed. During the meeting they declared themselves the National Assembly of France claiming to represent the people of France. (June 17th), some members of the first and second estates also joined
Why is the National Assembly Declaration considered the first step of the French Revolution?
Because the Third Estate had no legal right to act as the National Assembly, this is considered to be the first step in the French Revolution
What is the “lock out”?
While some members of the third estate left the room of the Estates General Meeting, King Louis XVI ordered his officials to lock them out of the room
What is the Tennis Court Oath?
The National Assembly “feared the worst” after the lockout and gathered in a tennis court for some time to discuss, and arrived to the conclusion that they must make an oath stating that they will continue to fight for a constitution of equal rights
What is the Storming of the Bastille?
Louis XVI sent troops to Paris to end unhappiness caused by hunger
The National Assembly took this as an action meant to provoke them
In response to this, on July 14, 1789, the National Assembly stormed the Bastille (a state prison), to free prisoners and obtain weapons to fight back against King Louis XVI’s militia
