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Convening the Estates General
Jacques Necker urged Louis XVI to convene the Estates General after analyzing France's poor economic condition. As the three Estates met, each estate had one vote, so the third Estate was always outvoted by the First and Second Estates until the third Estate broke away into the National Assembly. -
Tennis Court Oath
The National Assembly was locked out of the meeting room by King Louis XVI. They decided to meet at an indoor tennis court at Versailles instead, and pledged an oath to stay there until they drafted a new constitution for France. -
Storming of the Bastille
The French citizens in Paris suspected Louis XVI was going to use military might to dismiss the National Assembly, and that foreign soldiers were going to attack and decimate citizens in Paris. An angry mob attacked the Bastille, seeking arms and weapons to defend themselves and slaughtering the Bastille's garrison in the process. This event created a national holiday for France. -
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Great Fear
Rumors were spreading that the nobles in their manor houses were hiring people to harrass and terrorize peasants across France. This caused a "great fear" to spread through France, resulting in a lot of peasants uprising and attacking the manor houses. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man
The National Assembly agreed to draft a declaration. They successfully issued one with seventeen articles, and a lot of Enlightenment ideals were reflected in the declaration. -
Women's March to Versailles
Angry mobs of working French women decided to storm upon Versailles in their hunger and need for bread. They broke into the palace and demanded that the king and queen, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette respectively, move to Paris. This event signaled radical reforms that were about to take place. -
Louis and Marie Try to Escape France
Louis and Marie disguised themselves and took a carriage on a route to Austria. However, they are caught at Verennes and are forcibly returned to Paris. This event caused even more loss of credibility to Louis. -
Constitution of 1791 is Drafted
The constitution of 1791 was draftd by the National Assembly. It kept the monarchy, but limited power in the legislative assembly. Men who paid taxes were allowed to indirectly vote for who would be elected to the legislative assembly. This constitution lasted less than a year. -
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National Convention
The National Convention was an assembly elected during the French Revolution that was meant to draft a new constitution for France after the overthrow of the monarchy. -
Reign of Terror Begins
Maximilien Robespierre, a Jacobin, gained power until he became the leader of the Committee of Public Safety. He soon startd acting like a dictator and executing "enemies" of the Revolution, starting the Reign of Terror. -
The Directory Takes Power
After Robespierre was executed, a third constitution was drafted which empowered the upper middle class. It also consisted of two houses in a legislative body and five men known as the Directors as an executive body.
