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Estates-General meeting
When King Louis XVI made the second estate pay tax to solve his problems, they forced him to call an Estates-General to approve this tax. The meeting, the first in 175 years, was held on May 5, 1789, at Versailles. -
The National Assembly
By an overwhelming majority, they voted to establish the National Assembly. This ended the absolute monarchy and start of the representative government. This vote was their first deliberate act of revolution. -
The fall of the Bastille
A mob searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille, a Paris prison. The fall of the Bastille became a great symbolic act of revolution to the French people. Ever since, July 14, 1789, the Bastille day, has been a French national holiday, similar to the united states with Fourth of July. -
The assembly reforms France
Noblemen made speeches of liberty and equality. They joined the National assembly out of fear rather than from idealism. They removed the feudal privileges of the First and Second Estates, the Old Regime was gone, everyone was equal. The assembly reforms France, their government was forever changed from their initial laws and traditions. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was accepted by the National Assembly. It stated that “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” This rights included “liberty, property, security and resistance of oppression”. It guaranteed citizens equal justice, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Based on this principle, revolutionary leaders adopted the slogan “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” -
Women's March on Versailles
Thousands of Parisian women were really angry with the high price of bread. Carrying weapons, the women marched on Versailles. They demanded that the National Assembly take action to give them bread. But their anger were also on the king and queen, they entered the palace and killed some guards. They also demanded that the royal family to leave to Paris, Louis agreed. They left and never returned to their palace. Their exile represented a change of power and rebellions about to overtake France. -
Legislative Assembly
The National Assembly created a new constitution approved by king Louis, they created a limited monarchy. They made a Legislative Assembly, where the body has the power to create laws and approve or reject declarations of war. However, the king still held power to enforce the laws. -
The execution of King Louis provoked war
Great Britain, Holland, and Spain joined Austria and Prussia against France. France didn’t give up, their armies were still strong and were likely to lose against so many enemies. France took an extreme step, the Convention ordered a draft of 300,000 French citizens between the ages of 18 and 40. The army had grown to 800,000 and they included women. -
Reign of Terror
A Jacobin leader, Maximilien Robespierre gained power. He wiped out every trace of France’s past. He changed the calendar dividing the year into 12 months of 30 days and renaming each month. This calendar had no Sundays because he considered religion old-fashion and dangerous. They closed all churches in Paris and other towns and cities over France. Maximilien Robespierre governed France virtually as a dictator, the period of his rule was called the “Reign of Terror”. -
King was beheaded by Guillotine
King was beheaded by Guillotine. The Guillotine was introduced to France in 1792. It was originally developed as a more humane method of execution. The origins of the French guillotine date back to late-1789, when Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin proposed that the French government adopt a gentler method of execution. -
A time of peace
Maximilien Robespierre was executed, so moderate leaders made a new plan for the government. It put power on the hands of the upper middle class and an executed body of five men, known as the Directory. They were moderates not revolutionary idealists. Some were corrupt but they gave the troubled country a time of peace. This benefited France because they found the right general to command France’s armies: Napoleon Bonaparte.
