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Deficit Spending
Louis XIV had left France in a massive debt after the Seven Years' War, also the American Revolution had strained the money situation even further. By 1789 about half of the money the government was collecting for taxes was used for making payments on this enormous debt. Due to all of this happening, Louis XIV had to choose someone to come up with a plan. He chose Jacques Necker, who had proposed taxing not only the third class, but also the second and first estates. -
Estates General
Louis XIV had all three estates prepare cahiers or notebooks where they had to list their grievances. The third estate had mostly lawyers, middle-class officials, and writiers. The delegates had been familiar with the work of Voltaire and Rousseau. They made it so they would vote by hea instead of just one vote per estate.Which lead them to create the Tennis Court Oath. This document swore them into saying they would not stop meeting if the circumstances might need them to. -
Storming the Bastille
More than 800 Paraisians assembled out side the Bastille after the rumors of the royal troop coming to occupy the captial had made their way around the town. The Paraisians had demanded weapons and gun powder which had been believed to be stored their. The commanding guard had dennied them access and opened fire at the crowd. The crowd broke in, killed the commander and 5 guards and didn't find any weapons. This was a symbol to the people of France representing years of abuse by the monarchy. -
National Assembly Acts (Rights of Men)
the Assembly had written a document, the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which had bee modeled from the American Decleration of Independence. Which had announced that all mwn were "born and remainede free and equal in rights". Olympe de Gouges, a journalist, ahd declarded that woman, like man, is born fre and should be looked at as equal in the states eyes. -
National Assembly Acts (March on Versailles)
The 13 mile march from Paris to Versailles by about 6 thousand women had been their protest. They had traveled through the pouring rain, and the whole time they shouted "bread". They had demanded to see the king. The most anger pointed at the Austrian born queen Marie Antoinette. They had refused to leave before they met with the king, who they demanded to return to Paris. -
Spread of Nationalism
The revolution and the war gave people a strong sense of national identity. The people of France had attended civic festivals which had celebrated the nation and the revolution. A variety of dances and songs became popular because of the revolution. From the port city of Marseilles, troops marched to a new song. Which urged the "children of the fatherland" to march against the "bloody banner of tyranny". The song later became the French national anthem. -
Threats from Aboard
The kind of Prussia and the emperor of Austria, who was Marie Antoinette's brother, issued the Decleration of Pilnitz. The document said that they both had agreed to intervene to protect the French monarchy. This could've been a bluff but the French had taken it seriously and prepared for war anyway. -
Civil War
The newly elected Legislative Assembly took office. It only survived for less than a year. Working-class men and women who named themselves the sans-culottes because they wore long pants to stand out in society. By 1791 many sans-culottes demanded a republic and not a manarch. They had the support of the middle-class lawyers or intellectuals who were on the Legislative Assembly, also known as the Jacobins. -
Monarchy Abolished
A crowd of Parisians stormed the royal palaces of the Tuileries and killed the kings guards. The royal family had escaoed and fled to the Legislative Assembly. About a month later in September the citizens had attacked prisons that had nobles and priests who were accused of political offenses. About 1200 prisoners were killed, and many were just regular criminals. This was called the "September Massacres" because it was basically a blood thirsty mob of patrious defending France from enimies. -
Third Stage of Revolution
Moderates had created the third constittution since 1789, the Constitution of 1795. Which set up a five-man Directory and two-house legiskature which was elected by male citizens. The Directory held power from 1795-1799. peace had been made with Prussia and Spain, but the wars with Austria and Great Britian continued. The price of bread rising made the sans-culottes to riot. The emigres returned to France with the open hands of the Catholic church.
