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National Assembly
The king sided with the first estate and the third estate was upset with being left out of meeting. This was the first official act of the revolution. -
Storming of the Bastille
Attack on Paris prison by Parisian radicals to defend themselves in the newly formed national assembly from the king. Then organized citizen militia. -
Great Fear
Peasants rebelled by burning down manor houses, destroying records, and stopped paying taxes. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
It was a document which stated the Natural Rights of the citizens, and it is similar to the U.S. Declaration of Independence. However, it did not apply to women. -
The Ladies
Women marched on Versailles because of the high price and scarcity of bread. They broke into the palace, killed guards, and even threatened the queen. As a result, women's laws were written as counterparts to the DOROMAC. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
This law confiscated the Roman Catholic Church's land and independence in France to the state. Priests and church officials were chosen by the state and paid, which upset the French people. -
Flight to Varennes
Louis and his family try to flee to Austrian controlled lands, but they are stopped and arrested and must return to Paris. Louis' enemies use this as an excuse to get rid of the monarchy. -
Constitutional Monarchy
The king approved a Legislative Assembly to have the power of creating laws and declaring wars. The National Assembly divided France into 83 departments for better control over the government, but after the first meeting it begins to break down. -
War
France declares a war on Austria and Prussia because they believed Louis should return as an absolute monarch. Holland, Great Britain, and Spain join Austria and Prussia, and France begins to lose. -
Jacobins and the September Massacres
The Jacobins took control of the Legislative Assembly and formed a republic. Mobs overtook Paris prisons and murdered over 1,000 prisoners because they were afraid they would join the foreign invaders. -
National Convention and Death of Louis XVI
A new constitution with the National Convention as the legislative body was formed and declared a republic with male suffrage. The convention split between two groups, the Girondins and The Mountain. Louis is found guilty of treason and executed. -
Committee of Public Safety
The Jacobins put an emergency governement in place. Maximillian Robespierre became the leader and his ruling style was known as the Reign of Terror. -
Life and Death of Marat
Marat was an important member of the Jacobin party and believed those who supported the king should be killed. He was stabbed in his bathtub by a rival political party member. -
Reign of Terror
Enemies of the Revolution were executed by the guillotine and over 40,000 commoners were executed. Members turned on Robespierre in fear of their own lives and sentenced him to death. -
Directory
The Directory was a new constitution that was created by the National Convention using moderate ideas and gave the upper middle class the power. However, this was corrupt and didn't help with the food crisis but stayed in power because of the strong military.
