-
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate delegates, who were named the National Assembly, were locked out of their meeting rooms. They met in a tennis court and took the “Tennis Court Oath”, and vowed not to separate until a new constitution was established. The oath came 3 days after the National Assembly proclaimed the end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of representative government. Analysis: The Oath was considered as the first act of the French revolution, and the beginning of the end for the monarchy. -
Fall of the Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress and a political prison in Paris. Fearing that the King might use force to get rid of the National Assembly, A group of mobs gathered weapons and stormed the Bastille. They killed the prison commanders and guards, and paraded in the streets with their dead heads on pikes. The Bastille was a symbol of the monarchy’s brutal abuses of power. Its fall showed the monarchy that no place was safe, and that the people were capable of defending themselves.
E-Book, CH 23 -
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
National Assembly adopted a revolutionary document, which stated that all men were born and remain free and equal in rights such as liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. All sovereignty lied with the people and their representatives. Freedom of speech, freedom of religions, and equal justice to all citizens were affirmed. This document was a prelude for the new constitution and started to strip the power away from the king and gave it to the people.
E-Book, Chapter 23 -
Women’s March on Versailles
Women in the marketplaces of Paris started rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread. They collected weapons and marched to the Palace of Versailles. They besieged the palace, and presented their demands to the king. The next day they forced the king and his family to return back to Paris. This defining moment in the revolution signified the power of the peasants that forced the king to obey them. It also signified the active participation of women in the revolution.
E-Book, CH 23 -
Louis XVI approved constitution!
National Assembly completed the new constitution that nearly changed the king into a constitutional monarchy. It also created a legislative assembly that had powers to establish laws and declare war. Louis XVI reluctantly approved the constitution, but he kept executive powers to enforce the laws. This was another turning point in the revolution. National Assembly was slowly stripping the king from all his powers, as if they were paving the way towards the removal of the monarchy.
E-book, CH 23 -
September Massacres
These massacres lasted from September 2-7. Rumors flew that foreign and royal troops would attack Paris and free prison inmates to join them. Radicals and angry citizens raided prisons all over France and executed over 1200 prisoners. Majority killed were criminals. Still over 200 priests and many nobles were killed in the massacres. France was becoming a lawless land! People were killing each other with no deterrents or laws to stop them. France was on the brink of a civil war!
E-Book, CH 23 -
The New National Convention
New National Convention convened and formed a new government. It abolished the monarchy and made France a republic, ruled by the people. It gave the right to vote to male, but not female citizens. The convention was controlled by radicals, who stripped the king from his powers and put him on trial. The revolution achieved one of its goals and removed the king. Yet, this was followed by many food riots and mass killings. The new republic started facing major problems from day one!
E-Book, CH 23 -
Execution of King Louis XVI
Radicals in the National Convention put citizen Louis Capet (aka King Louis XVI) on trial for treason and crimes against the state. Louis knew he had no chance to be acquitted. He was convicted and sentenced to death by a close vote. He was beheaded by the guillotine at the age of 38. This was an end of an era! The mighty king of France was beheaded like a criminal. This was the beginning of the dark side of the revolution. Thousands of people followed him to the guillotine!
E-Book, CH 23 -
The Reign of Terror!
Maximilien Robespierre became the leader of the Public Safety Committee, and the Reign of Terror started! This committee, under the assumption of protecting the revolution, executed over 40,000 people including peasants and the leaders of the revolution. One year later, the Reign of Terror ended when Robespierre was beheaded. This was the dark time of the revolution. Many people were executed for whom the revolution was launched to defend. The revolution had devoured its children!
E-Book, CH 23 -
The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte, a rising general in the French army, defended the delegates of the National Convention from attacks by royalist rebels. He skillfully seized the cannons of the rebels and used them to attack them back. He became a hero for saving the French Republic. This day marked the entry of Napoleon into the French political scene and technically the end of the French revolution and the first republic. He would seize power in 1799 and become Emperor Napoleon I in 1804.
E-Book, CH 23
