Long-term Causes of the French Revolution Everything previously discussed Absolutism Unjust socio-political system (Old Regime) Poor harvests which left peasant farmers with little money for taxes Influence of Enlightenment philosophes Also System of mercantilism which restricted trade Influence of other successful revolutions England’s Glorious Revolution (1688-1689) American Revolution (1775-1783)

Short-term Causes of the French Revolution Bankruptcy Caused by deficit spending Financial ministers (Turgot, Necker, Calonne) proposed changes But these were rejected Assembly of Notables voted down taxation for the nobility in 1787 Great Fear Worst famine in memory Hungry, impoverished peasants feared that nobles at Estates-General were seeking greater privileges Attacks on nobles occurred throughout the country in 1789 Estates-General Louis XVI had no choice but to call for a meeting of the Estates-General to find a solution to the bankruptcy problem All three estates Had not met since 1614 Set in motion a series of events which resulted in the abolition of the monarchy and a completely new socio-political system for France

Meeting of Estates-General

Background Information Parliamentary body for France Had not met since 1614 King Louis XVI only called them in session due to France being on the verge of bankruptcy. Met separately by Estate & voted as a Block & not by head.

Reasons for Calling it into Session: King & his ministers had attempted a few reforms like ending forced labor & establishing judicial reforms. Jacques Necker, the economic minister, wanted to tax everyone & needed the approval of the Estates-General for it. King tried to get the regional Parlements to cooperate with reforms. They were in the hands of the nobility and opposed any threat to their privileges or tax-exempt status. Louis was frustrated by the lack of nationalism and disobedience on the nobles’ part to his reforms. Nobility insisted that only a national assembly, the Estates-General, could authorize new taxes.

Preparing for the Estates-General Winter of 1788-1789 Members of the estates elected representatives Cahiers Traditional lists of grievances written by the people Nothing out of the ordinary Asked for only moderate changes

Electing Representatives During winter of 1788 & spring of 1789, elections were carried out. Qualifications were based on wealth & property. Tax-paying men 25 years or older were allowed to vote for their representatives, but each Estate handled the elections differently.

Electing Representatives All the clergy was eligible for election & were elected directly by other clergy in their district. The noble delegates were also elected directly. The Third Estate voters first chose village representatives who then elected the delegates to the Estates-General.

Demographics/Make-Up of Representatives Most of the Third Estate delegates were lawyers. 25% of the Third Estate delegates were businessmen & civil servants. Rest were soldiers, scholars, & land-owners. Only 1 peasant attended as a delegate for the Third Estate.

Voting Practices Each estate had 300 delegates voting as a bloc. Each estate had 1 vote. Thus, the First & Second Estates could easily outvote & block any reforms of the Third Estate. The Third Estate was upset over this, so the King allowed them to have 600 delegates. But they still had only 1 vote. The Third Estate wanted to vote by head, since they could outnumber the First and Second Estate delegates with their size & the support of the poor parish priests & liberal nobles.

Meeting of the Estates-General: May 5, 1789 Voting was conducted by estate Each estate had one vote First and Second Estates could operate as a bloc to stop the Third Estate from having its way ◊ First Estate + ◊ Second Estate - vs. - ◊ Third Estate Representatives from the Third Estate demanded that voting be by population This would give the Third Estate a great advantage Deadlock resulted

First Estate = 1 Vote or 130,000 Votes Second Estate = 1 Vote or 110,000 Votes Third Estate = 1 Vote or 25,000,000 Votes

Key Events Several delays to the meeting, because the King’s supporters hoped to postpone the meeting indefinitely. Finally convened on May 5, 1789 Great ceremony: King in finery, First Estate in rich scarlet robes, Second Estate in satin, silks, plumed hats, and swords, but Third Estate ordered to wear plain black suits. This was to make the social class distinction clear.

Key Events Weeks of endless, empty debate. June 16, 19 poor parish priests joined the Third Estate delegates. Renamed it the National Assembly. Two days later, National Assembly realized meeting separately from the First & Second Estate delegates made them powerless. Rumors began to circulate that the King, Queen, and other nobles were going to dissolve the Estates-General and fire Necker. Jean Sylvain Bailly was elected the National Assembly’s president.

The caption to this painting states, "That's right The caption to this painting states, "That's right...separate checks," says one representative of the Three Estates In the eighteenth century some publications depicted the shifting of economic and social responsibility within the Estates General through restaurant scenes. In the drawing above, a request for three separate checks shows the Upper Estates finally paying their share instead of letting the Third Estate carry the responsibility, as in the past. Popular belief rumored that a meal between the Three Estates would ease any disagreements  

Key Events June 20-National Assembly arrived to find the doors to their meeting hall locked on orders of the King. 500 delegates then moved into the indoor tennis courts of Versailles, soaking wet from the rain, and took the Tennis Court Oath. The oath stated that they would “never leave until a constitution for the kingdom” had been drawn up. After this, they still shouted Long Live the King. This showed they had not given up on him yet.

Tennis Court Oath The Tennis Court Oath was a result of the growing discontent of the Third Estate in France in the face of King Louis XVI's desire to hold onto the country's history of absolute government. The deputies of the Third Estate were coming together for a meeting to discuss the reforms proposed by Necker, the Prime Minister. These reforms called for the meeting of all the Estates together, and to hold a vote by head instead of by estate. This would have given the Third Estate, at least nominally, a stronger voice in the Estates General. The men of the Third Estate were ardent supporters of the reforms, and they were anxious to discuss these measures. When the members of the Third Estate arrived at their assigned meeting hall, Menus Plaisirs, they found it locked against them. The deputies believed that this was a blatant attempt by Louis XVI to end their demands for reform and they were further incensed at the King's duplicity. Refusing to be held down by their King any longer, the deputies did not break up. Instead they moved their meeting to a nearby indoor tennis court.

Tennis Court Oath A debate quickly ensued as to how the Third Estate could protect themselves from those in positions of authority; those who wanted to destroy them. Some deputies believed that they should retreat to Paris where the people would be more likely to protect them from the King's army. Mounier warned that such a step would be blatantly revolutionary and politically dangerous. Therefore, Mounier proposed that the Third Estate adopt an oath of allegiance. The proposed oath was to read that they would remain assembled until a constitution had been written, meeting wherever it was required and resisting pressures form the outside to disband. The proposal was a success. It was promptly written and signed by 577 members of the Third Estate. Later, the document was named the Tennis Court Oath.

Tennis Court Oath The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly. Louis XVI responded by locking the Third Estate out of the meeting. The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court where its members vowed to stay together and create a written constitution for France. On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France.

Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath “The National Assembly, considering that it has been summoned to establish the constitution of the kingdom, to effect the regeneration of the public order, and to maintain the true principles of monarchy; that nothing can prevent it from continuing its deliberations in whatever place it may be forced to establish itself; and, finally, that wheresoever its members are assembled, there is the National Assembly; “Decrees that all members of this Assembly shall immediately take a solemn oath not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established and consolidated upon firm foundations; and that, the said oath taken, all members and each one of them individually shall ratify this steadfast resolution by signature.”

Impact of Tennis Court Oath The Tennis Court Oath was an assertion that the sovereignty of the people did not reside with King, but in the people themselves, and their representatives. It was the first assertion of revolutionary authority by the Third Estate and it united virtually all its members to common action. Its success can be seen by the fact that a scant one week later, Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General for the purpose of writing a constitution

Key Events The National Assembly began demanding a constitution that had freedom of press & end to unfair taxation. The King was pissed over the actions of the Third Estate & reamed them out. The King agreed to ask their consent for new taxes & to take some limited steps towards freedom of speech. But the King denied the commoner’s claim to separate status, refused to change any of the privileges of the First & Second Estates, & would not let the public attend the sessions.

Key Events This turned the National Assembly against the King. They refused to leave & said “We are here by the will of the people and will be removed only by the force of bayonets.” When the King heard about their refusal to leave, he shrugged his shoulders & said “They want to stay? Well, dammit, let them. The King then called for his royal troops to arrive in Versailles & Paris get ready to put down any rebellions. He then fired the popular finance minister, Jacques Necker, who wanted reform. This outraged the people of Paris. The stage for revolution was set.

National Assembly (1789-1791) Louis XVI did not actually want a written constitution When news of his plan to use military force against the National Assembly reached Paris on July 14, 1789, people stormed the Bastille

Uprising in Paris People of Paris seized weapons from the Bastille July 14, 1789 Parisians organized their own government which they called the Commune Small groups – factions – competed to control the city of Paris Uprising spread throughout France Nobles were attacked Records of feudal dues and owed taxes were destroyed Many nobles fled the country – became known as émigrés Louis XVI was forced to fly the new tricolor flag of France