Meeting Of The Estates General

Moving on to the time period of this document this document was written March 1, 1789 a couple months before the storming of the Bastille. Thus, at this time in history there was a significant amount of commotion arising from the people of the Third Estate. The people of the Third Estate were trying to voice their opinions on the oppressive political and economic situations occurring at this time in France in order to try and bring about a reform. These oppressive political and economic situations that the Third Estate were trying to reform included things such as the king heavily taxing only the Third Estate, who already did not even have the finances to survive let alone pay these high taxes. Another example is the fact that the Third Estate did not have equal representatives in the political society to represent their wants and demands in comparison to the First and Second Estates, which can be seen through out Cahier de Doleance’s, Villagers of Lion-en-Sullias, Women of Paris, Flower Sellers, and Village of Pithiviers-le-Vieil. Cahier de Doleance’s, District of Mansigne. Not only does this text help historians and the reader get a better understanding of the specific wants of the Third Estate but the rest of his documents such as Villagers of Lion-en-Sullias, Women of Paris, Flower Sellers, and

Democracy formed in the 1700's and has opened the doors for individuals living in the United States to have a voice towards the principles established. Democracy provided freedom, representation for majority and minorities groups, and posterity.

Before the revolution France was ruled under the Ancien Regime system, meaning the country and all its people were under the reign of an absolute monarch. This was a tradition that had been upheld through the years and the Royal family had enjoyed a life funded by the people of France, the royal family’s lifestyle unaffected by the situation outside their palace. The Palace, Versailles, was built by king Louis XIV and the expenses for building this “village” was very high, and in later years the cost for its upkeep would play a significant role in Frances financial difficulties. In order for these difficulties to be overcome France needed a tax reform. The government had a very high tax rate on the poorest of their people, the Third Estate, and they were still not getting enough money to get out of their

There are very few members in the first and second estates, yet they owned the most land, while the third estate made up most of the population, yet owned very little land. “First: Clergy - 1% of the people owned 10% of the land. Second Estate: Nobles - 2% of the people owned 35% of the land. Third Estate - Middle class, peasants, city workers 97% of the people owned 55% of the land.” (Document 2) There were high prices, high taxes, and people were listening to enlightenment ideas. Louis XVI decided to tax the Second Estate. They called a meeting of the Estates-General - an assembly of representatives from all three estates. (ROI) In addition, as a political cause, the third estate had no privileges or say in the government,while both the clergy and nobles did. As mentioned before, the inequality of taxes proved another gap in the social classes. “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact.... The middle class...was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document 4) Estates- General was the first such meeting in 175 years. Met on May 5th,1789 in Versailles. In the Estate- General each estate had one vote. (ROI)

First and foremost, Louis XVI and Marie lost their power over the throne and the balance of the power was completely off when the commoners had control of the king. Once the king was in Paris, they gained control of the country as well. The march was a also symbolization of the strength the women had politically. The women marched all the way to Versailles, and they demanded what they wanted, and eventually got what they asked for. In the end, Louis XVI and Marie no longer had any control over France. They were essentially prisoners in Paris, never returning to Versailles.

Democracy did not occur in a matter of seconds, it took years of evolution to become what it is today. The thought of a self-government during a world ruled by monarchs would have you locked up in a mental hospital. As you can figure, democracy did not just come out of the nowhere, it had to be planned out and modified over the years. The earliest contributions and influences of The American Government came from philosophers, some of them are the part of our founding fathers and others influenced them to develop the strong nation we are today.

The goal of the French Revolution was to change the governmental structure from a monarchy to a democracy and that government was to spread their democratic ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity (Doc B). However, people in the Vendée region were thrown off of boats and drowned for opposing the revolution (French Revolution - History Channel documentary). An important part of democracy is freedom of speech, the idea that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. With displays of violence, the government sent the message that only those in support of the revolution could speak their mind. Additionally, one major complaint of the people in France was that the King had too much power; yet, a court of justice called the revolutionary Tribunal was established to try all crimes against the state, and the members would not be elected. Instead they were “appointed by the National Convention (the revolutionary government) and their power would be absolute” (Doc E). So while the leaders ‘established’ a system in which the people could decide what they want and who they want in authority, only a small group of people decided the fate of thousands. Furthermore the very leader of the revolution claimed that in order to create a democracy, they had to act as a dictatorship. In a speech to the National Convention, Robespierre said, “We must finish the war of

In France there were three estates/classes. The first and highest class was the church(clergy and kings), the second class was the nobility(nobles) and the third class and lowest rank was the commoners( peasants, bourgeois and city workers). There is a bar graph showing how unequal the tax structure is and how there is a huge population of poor people. It shows that the third estate is paying most of the taxes and they owned very little land, Doc 2. There is another photograph displaying two men labeled first and second estate standing on top of a rock labeled taxes all on top of a man labeled third estate, Doc 7. This picture is trying to explain how the top estates are all depending on the the third estate because they pay all the taxes and work on the

The third estate’s citizens had the lowest income in France, yet they were the ones who were supporting the government. The burden of the countries taxes was nearly impossible for the third estate to carry. One peasant woman said that the taxes were “crushing” her and her fellow third estate members. (Document 2).The first and second estate made up the wealthiest portion of France, yet they paid next to nothing in taxes. This obviously and rightfully angered members of the third estate. Why should the only people who can afford to pay taxes be exempt from them? This kind of inequality resulted in violence from the third estate. As a form of rebellion, peasants attacked tax collectors whom they owed money. They also burned land registers and court records. This example, along with the formation of the National Assembly show that the first actions of the revolution were a result of not giving the third estate the voice that it’s members felt it

Before the French Revolution, there were three estates, or classes: the nobility, the clergy and the commoners. The nobility and the clergy had many more privileges than the third estate and that is what caused the French Revolution. The Third estate was composed of the peasants, the workers and the bourgeoisie; unlike the other segments of the Third Estate, the bourgeoisie was able to communicate its grievances to the public during the period after the French Revolution: 1789-1799.

Citizens were not permitted to vote as individuals. Instead one vote was given to each of the three estates, the clergy (first), aristocrats (second), and everyone else excluded from the first two, who were most commonly peasants and the working class (third) (Roberts et al. 646). Unsurprisingly, the Third Estate was outvoted and citizens within became furious. They, “…insisted that those who worked [for low wages] and pay taxes were the nation…” (Roberts et al. 646) Shortly afterward, the National Assembly was born and was determined to take France’s future into its own (Belloc, 93).

One major cause of the old regime were the taxes and laws between the three estates. As seen in Document 2, “the 3rd estate paid 50% of income in taxes while the 1st and 2nd paid less than 5%” (Doc 2). This clearly shows that the most populated estate, the third estate, paid half of their income as their taxes. Larger amounts of taxes the third estate paid versus the lower amount of taxes for the first and second estates. Another significant cause was the unequal three estates and the third estate was overpowered. The third estate had more power in laws and taxes and their relationship with the lower estates were not good. As demonstrated in Document 7, the cartoon of the “The political and social system in France” (Doc 7). This cartoon proves the relationship between the third estate and the two lower estates. The lower estates didn’t have anything to do with taxes and laws and the third estates were all in laws and taxes. The final

There were hints of democracy as early as 4000 BC, but not until early 13th century was there true representation from a greater majority and freedom to vote within some regimes. Regions that were considered “democratic” were increasingly based on written laws. A major turning point in the democratic movement was the beheading of King Charles in 1653, led by the imposing Oliver Cromwell. Dismally, the government converted back to a monarchy in 1660. Soon after, on a smaller scale, the first town meeting in Salmon Brook took place. The townspeople were given an opportunity to speak and decide the best course for each situation that involved the entire township. The next major leap of faith was the US Constitution, written up in 1787. This bill prevented the misuse of power, giving the Congress and judiciary enough influence to prevent a president’s misconducts. Most of the model democratic nations change in government were generated by the need to control their own kings control. This regulated jurisdiction is seen in most democracies today because of their leader’s past mistakes, and therefore democracy slowly evolved from basic rights to more modern

The Women’s March on Versailles of October 6th, 1789 consisted of an angry mob of around 7,000 working women, armed with pitchforks, pikes and muskets that marched through the rain from Paris to Versailles protesting the increased price in food, causing many to starve while the royalty stockpiled food. The main target of this mob was Marie Antoinette, who had been the main suspect in hoarding the food in the palace at Versailles. After arriving, the mob broke through the line of guards and managed to corner the Queen. Nut instead of killing her, they demanded that the King distribute the bread that they had been hoarding, and sanction the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. They were then accompanied back to Paris, where both King

It was the actions of the Paris Parlement that forced Louis XVI to agree to call a meeting of the Estates-General. Explain why you agree or disagree with this view.