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Estates
King Louis XVI called an assembly of the different classes of French people: Clergy, Commoners or basically the average person, and Nobles. These were called Estates and the assembly was called the Estates-General. The Estates-General holds a meeting in Versailles to discuss a new tax policy. -
The National Assembly
The Third Estate was made up of a group of people who didn't want to listen to King Louis XVI. Most of them were educated laywers. They then declared that they were the National Assembly and soon after, the two other estates also joined soon after. -
Tennis Court Oath
The Tennis Court Oath was the result of growing hate for King Louis XVI's desire for the country to be a monarchy. The members of the National Assembly swore they would stick together until a new constitution for France was written. This was called the Tennis Court oath, since it literally happened in an indoor tennis court. -
Fall of Bastille
In Paris, people held riots, looting and demonstrations. The king sent troops to calm the public. But the people stormed the Bastille a fortress/prison was a powerful symbol of the monarchy. -
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The Great Fear
In response to rumors, peasants armed themselves and attacked houses. The rumors differed from region to region,in some areas it was believed that a foreign force were burning the crops in the fields while in other areas it was believed that bandits burned buildings down. Fear of peasant attacks took a role in the decision of which to end feudalism. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was passed by the National Assembly. This document defines all the rights of each individual estate.The Declaration became the preamble to the Constitution of 1791. It's been referred to in almost every single revolutionary movement since 1789. It was also translated into nearly all major languages. -
September Massacres in Paris
The September Massacres consisted of several attacks on the prisons in Paris. The massacres began on September 2, 1792 and lasted five days. The first attack occurred when twenty-four priests being transported to a prison named L'Abbaye were attacked by a mob of angry citizens. They quickly killed all of the priests as they were trying to move on and advance to kill prisoners as well. During the massacres approximately 1200 prisoners died which was half of the prison population in Paris. -
Execution of King Louis XVI
After the fall of the monarchy, King Louis XVI was arrested, put in Temple Prison with his family, and were charged with treason. He was declared guilty by almost all and condemned to death by majority. His execution made him the very first victim of the Reign of Terror. -
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Reign of Terror
Extremists took over and started to execute anyone who disagreed with them. Many who disagreed were beheaded with a guillotine. The Reign of Terror sentenced 20,000 to 40,000 people to death. Including Marie Antoinette, the queen of Frace. -
Execution of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, nicknamed Madame Deficit, she was blamed for the all the financial problems France had.She was tried by a mock trial, like her husband. Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason and sentenced to be guillotined.
