The Estates-General - Method of Voting Flashcards
How did the newly restored Paris Parlement declare that voting should be done?
By order or estate
Who did voting by order favour?
The two privileged orders
Voting by order
Each estate votes separately on any issue which means that any two estates together would outvote the third
Why did the first two estates tend to vote together?
To protect their privileges and gain power
Voting by head
Everyone would vote individually so the decisions taken by the Estates-General would have the support of the majority
Why did the Third Estate want voting by head?
They were granted double representation (twice the number of deputies) so had a majority and could outvote the clergy and nobles, especially as many of the First Estate’s deputies were poor parish priests who were more likely to support their demands
Up to this point, who had taken little part in political agitation?
Bourgeoisie
Who’s lead had the bourgeoisie tended to follow in the parlements and Assembly of Notables?
The privileged classes
By 1789 what did bourgeois leaders of the Third Estate begin to suspect motivated the privileged orders to oppose the government?
They wanted power for themselves and not justice for the nation as a whole
When did the King’s Council allow the Third Estate double representation?
December 1788
Why was there confusion at the first meeting of the Estates-General on 5th May?
The Third Estate assumed that there would be voting by head (otherwise doubling their number of deputies served no purpose)
The first two Estates believed this was not the case
