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The French Revolution begins as the Estates-General falls apart as members of the third estate fight for reform of the French Constitution. The third Estate was used to represent the wants and needs of the citizens of France. As the third Estate fought for reform of the constitution, the king of France viewed this as people challenging his authority and was extremely unhappy.
This event is important as it explains why the French Revolution started. -
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June 20, 1789
The third Estate became known as the National Assembly and the king and other royal members locked the National Assembly out of their offices. The members of the National Assembly decided to invade the King’s tennis courts. Here they refused to leave until a new constitution was created for France.
This event is important as it shows the beginning of them fighting without using violence and shows how much these people wanted reformation in France. -
Many people living in France, specifically in Paris, were fearful of the king overthrowing the third estate, leaving the people without a voice. To try to express their anger over the possibility of this happening, people crowded the Bastille Prison. They took control of the prison and refused to leave.
This event is important because the prison symbolized the abuse of power of the royal government and showed the frustration of the public. -
The National Assembly created a document known as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The document included the rights the citizens wished to have. However, the King refused to sanction this document.
This event is important because after the king refused to sanction it, people living in Paris traveled to the Palace of Versailles and forced the royal family to go back to Paris to get away from the people. -
The third estate and people across France form a new group known as the National Convention. These members meet up and decide to completely abolish the monarch. They decide to establish the new government as a republic so the people can have some of the power instead of one singular person.
This event is important because it is the end of the monarchy in France. -
The National Convention judged Louis XVI for his criticism of the convention and his beliefs against reformation became public. It was also discovered that he was in communication with foreign nations. Due to this, he was executed for treason.
This event is important because it shows how serious people were about this reformation and that they were willing to kill others to make sure the formation happened. -
This is when the Reign of Terror occurs. This is when many massacres and executions occurred because of differing views. Some people thought the reformation needed to expand through war while other people wanted a constitutional monarchy to form.
This event is significant as many people died in France and many different views and ideas formed across Europe. -
France declared war on Austria. The king declared war on Austria to attempt to show the power of France. The King wanted people living in France to back down on trying to reform France. He didn’t want any more violence within France to occur.
This event is important because now France had to fight a war with another country and also began wars with many other European nations who supported Austria. -
A military leader known as Napoleon Bonaparte. Overthrew this new form of government. He declared himself the new leader of France. He was eventually named the emperor of France but this ended the French Revolution.
This event is significant because it signified the end of the French Revolution and he implemented many of the reformations the people of France wanted to see. -
The Reign of Terror was overseen by a man named Maximilien Robespierre who was overthrown at this time. After being overthrown, he was executed and people viewed this as the end of the Reign of Terror. After this, people decided to create a government containing a five person directory and bicameral legislature.
This is important because it signified that the war was nearing the end and that peace was soon to return.