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Tennis Court Oath.
Representatives of French Third Estate.
Stay together until we write a constitution.
Created the French National Assembly on June 17.
Locked out of meeting root at Versailles.
Moved to a nearby tennis court and took the oath - pledge to stay together until France got a constitution.
Important - received recognition from Louis XVI on June 27. Basis for France’s constitution. -
Storming the Bastille
July 14, 1789.
French mob attacking the Bastille.
Crowd stormed the Bastille, freed the prisoners, and destroyed the fortress.
Important: Symbolic beginning of the French Revolution.
Began a phase of increased violence. -
August 4th Decrees
On August 4th the National Assembly made many changes to please their people. They elimintated serfdom and the serf system along with banning the tithe they all had to pay. This is important to the Revolution because it gave the peasants freedom and reemphasized the idea of equality throughout the classes. -
Great Fear
Spontaneous peasant uprising. Followed fall of Bastille.
The peasants believed rumors that there would be an attack by the nobles, who wanted to reassert their feudal rights.
The peasant armed themselves and attacked the noble landlords.
Important: Feudalism is completely abolished by the French National Assembly on Aug. 4, 1789. -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was an article that specified all the rights of men. The point of this was to remind men their duties and rights as citizens. This is important to the Revolution because it forces the legislative to recognize all men and tend to their grievences. -
Women's Bread March
Before the start of the Revolution, bread rations were extremely low and riots would break out due to angry and hungry commoners. After the women were sick of the extremely high bread prices, they rioted and stormed to Versailles where they forced the king to return to Paris with them. The importance of this march is that because they forced the king back to Paris, they ultimately ended his independent authority. It was also the start of the new balance of power. -
Period: to
Declaration of 1791
The National Assembly wanted to change the nation but it was not completed until 1791. This new constitution was converted to a limited monarchy, where the wealthy had the power. The wealthy voted for electors who voted for delegates for the National Assembly. The king's rights were taken away and and his power was to veto which became easy to override. The king's ministers were also not allowed to be in the Assembly, which made big changes in the economy. -
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy stated that the Catholic Church was submissive to the state. It also instructed a reorganization of the Church structure. The government took control of the Church's affairs and the Constitution stated that the French clergy must take a loyalty oath to King Louis XVI and the new government. After the French ministers refused to take the oath, the government persecuted them. -
Declaration of Pillnitz
The Declaration of Pillnitz was a declaration between Leopold II, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Frederick William II, King of Prussia, to come between the French Revolution and take military action to revive the monarch. The French, however, saw it as a threat. -
Louis's escape
The royal family attempted to escape France, but they were caught at Varennes. They were forced to return to Paris.
