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Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King
On this day, some of the women from the Third Estate submitted a petition to King Louis XVI saying that they did not want to overthrow him; they just wanted the education and enlightenment to become the best wives, workers, and mothers they could be. It was a very respectful and polite document. Here is the document of the petition: Link text -
King Louis XVI Convened the French Estates-General
King Louis called the Assembly to order. -
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Estates-General
The Estates General was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General. The Estates General was assembled to propose solutions to the financial crisis occurring in France. It was the legislative and consultative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. There was a separate assembly for each of the three estates. It did not have a true power, besides serving as an advisory board to the King. -
Third Estate Forms a National Assembly
The dilemma came up after several weeks on whether or not all three Estates should vote on the decisions together. If they did this, the Third Estate would have the advantage. If they voted class by class, the First and Second Estates would have the advantage. The King's choice was to have them vote class by class. Finally, on this day, the Third Estate formed a National Assembly. This was against the King's wishes, causing the other two estates to signal the outbreak of the French Revolution. -
Tennis Court Oath
Members of the National Assembly (Third Estate) took an oath at Jeu de Paume tennis court, later known as the Tennis Court Oath. This oath was in defiance of King Louis XVI and they said that they weren't going to break up until there was a new French Constitution. King Louis originally yielded and legalized them as the National Assembly, but then he attacked and surrounded their town of Versailles. Document: Link text -
French Revolutionaries Storm Bastille
Bastille, a state prison that held upper-class felons, political troublemakers, and spies, was stormed by the revolutionaries. This showed how unfair the monarchy was and that they were tired of it. The fall of Bastille greatly increased tension between both sides. -
Abolition of Feudalism
The National Assembly voted and passed their decree to abolish feudalism and the rights of the Second Estate (nobility) were abolished. Not only were the nobility's rights taken away, so were the tithes which were gathered by the First Estate (clergy). This was a central event during the French Revolution. -
Declaration of the Rights of Men
This document was passed by France's National Constituent Assembly and is an important document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights. Document: Link text -
March on Versailles
The hungry, poor, and restless Parisians as well as the rest of France, who were mostly women, marched from Paris to the royal family's palace in Versailles. They broke into Queen Marie Antionette's quarters and demanded bread while telling her that she should go back with them to France to see how they had to live their lives. King Louis agreed to go back to France with those marchers and live how the protesters/marchers lived for a little bit. -
National Assembly Abolishes Nobility and Noble Titles in France
The National Assembly passed a decree that hereditary nobility was abolished and you could only use your family's real surname. This created equal citizenship and would help the classes all work together to decide a future for France. -
Flight to Varennes
This was the royal family's failed attempt to leave Paris. Only thirty kilometers away from Varennes, the place King Louis was trying to flee to, the king was recognized by a local postmaster. The king was arrested. -
King Louis' Return to Paris
After being arrested the night before for trying to escape Paris, Louis was returned to Paris. Since he was caught trying to flee the revolution, his trust was lost by many people and there were hard feelings. -
National Assembly Writes New Constitution
The National Assembly released a constitution they wrote which would keep the monarchy, but the powerful people in the Legislative Assembly would be voted on by an indirect vote of active citizens who paid a minimum amount of taxes. -
King Louis Formally Accepts Constitution
King Louis accepted the Constitution written by the National Assembly. He accepted this Constitution by swearing an oath in front of the National Assembly. All of their hard work to get to that point had finally paid off. -
Dissolve of National Assembly and Replacement With Legislative Assembly
The National Assembly dissolved on this day. Up until now, they were the ones who created and did everything to help themselves during the revolution such as writing the Constitution and abolishing feudalism. Their mission was complete after King Louis had accepted the new Constitution so they voted to dissolve themselves.
