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May, 1789 Meeting of the Estates Generals 

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May, 1789 Meeting of the Estates Generals 

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"The Estates Generals had not met in more than 100 years until the French nobility pressure King Louis XVI to call for them to convene over tax disagreements and to pass a new tax bill. The new tax bill called for the first two estates pay more in taxes to help slow France's rapidly increasing debt, caused by Marie "Madame Deficit" Antoinette's unnecessary extensive spending on lavish goods. This was also caused by King Louis XVI's unwillingness and lack of assertiveness to address the growing problem. It was chaos. Louis's complete lack of self-confidence and ease of influence showed immensely through the discussions. He was extremely indecisive and did not assert himself as king and let arguments get way out of hand. He did not address anyone thoroughly and let everyone step over each other during the conversation. It was a complete and total mess, just like the country"

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"The debates between all of the estates was gruesome and fierce. The first two estates were not in favor of King Louis XVI's plan to increase the taxes they must pay, but in all fairness, they had it easy all those years where the third estate had to take the brunt of the taxes. After the third estate declared itself the National Assembly and was locked out of the discussion room in Versailles, they convened on a nearby tennis court and drafted a new constitution. They wrote a new constitution where more power goes to the people, and less to a tyrannous leader. They wanted to stray away from the Old Regime and come up with a new way of ruling. we wanted a way that had the fairness and interest of all people in mind. Unlike the current status of our government where we are led by a coward who cannot make decisions. He is wavered by the last person he talks to and does not pursue action. But here, today, we pursued action and will continue to pursue it until France becomes a great country!"

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"All of the people rushed to the palace demanding food. The mob quickly turned violent. Once word spread the foreign forces were being sent to take over France, the citizens armed themselves to the tooth with muskets. However, one thing they were severely lacking in was gunpowder, and the place with a tremendous stockpile of gunpowder was the Bastille. It not only had gunpowder, but signified fear and control that the government had over the people. The newly armed and strong in numbered mod quickly and brutally broke into the prison and killed all of the guards and prisoners, took all of the gunpowder, then proceeded to destroy and take apart the prison brick by brick by hand. It was a bloody sight. They took the guards and prisoners, and without hesitation mercilessly murdered them in cold blood."

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"Peasant communities were also unsettled by the political events of 1788-89. The meeting of the Estates General and the writing of the cahiers created a mood of optimism across the country. The process of writing the cahiers had brought peasants together to discuss their situation and share their grievances, particularly the burdens of royal taxes. News of the formation of the National Assembly, the Tennis Court Oath and the king’s acceptance of reform caused excitement in peasant communities – but this excitement was short lived. In mid-July, news reached the provinces that the king had prepared his troops for battle and fired his director of finance, Jacques Necker. This sparked rumors and conspiracy theories that a royalist or aristocratic counter-revolution was about to happen. Everyone lived in paranoia. Nobody knew whether to arm themselves and believe the rumors, or to go about normally. It was uncertain times."

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June, 1791 Royal Family Tries to Escape 

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June, 1791 Royal Family Tries to Escape 

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"France had become a tumultuous time at this point. With riots, and a revolution on its way, things were just not safe for the royal family in France. So, fearing being overthrown or killed, King Louis and Marie Antoinette gathered their belongings and child, and made their way to the French border where they would cross into Austria to meet with Marie Antoinette's relatives who were the monarchy in Austria. However, before they could reach the border, they were apprehended and brought back to Paris, where they were held as a prisoners, and Louis was a prisoner-king. Things went crazy when people found out that their ruler had tried to abandon them. They lost all trust in the government which made the situation even worse. Nobody had any idea who to look to as an authority figure. Everyone claimed they had power but nobody asserted it."

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January, 1973 Execution of King Louis XVI

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January, 1973 Execution of King Louis XVI

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"One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. In August 1792, the royal couple was arrested by the sans-cullottes and imprisoned. In September the monarchy was abolished by the National Convention. In November, evidence of Louis XVI’s counterrevolutionary conspiring with Austria and other foreign nations was discovered, and he was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. The next January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death. On January 21, he walked to the guillotine and executed. And nine months later, Marie Antoinette followed her husband to the guillotine. This marked the end of the reign of cowardice over France."

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The executive under the Constitution of 1791 was the king, who could veto any law unless three successive legislative sessions passed it. The activities of the Assembly were marked by constant disagreement between King Louis XVI, who saw the constitution as an infringement on his traditional ideals, and the majority of representatives, who increasingly mistrusted his intentions. The main divisions within the Assembly were the Feuillants, who were constitutional monarchists and hoped to keep the government organized along those lines. And the Montagnards, who believed the king secretly wished to return to absolutist rule. This conflict found expression in a war policy where both parties and the king pursued war in order to further their own agendas. The king hoped war with Austria and Prussia would result in French defeat and would allow him to reestablish his lost authority. On the other hand, the Assembly hoped to unify the nation under the new constitution through military victory abroad.

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"The Reign of Terror was a period in the French Revolution characterized by brutal repression. The Terror originated with a political regime that suspended most of the democratic achievements of the revolution, and intended to pursue the revolution on social matters. Its aim was to destroy internal enemies and conspirators and to chase the external enemies from French territory. The French Revolution began as a revolt against the monarchy. The revolutionaries were largely atheists, due to the new enlightenment thinking. The Terror as such started on September 5, 1793 and, as the Reign of Terror, lasted until the summer of 1794, taking the lives of anywhere between 18,000 to 40,000 people. Thousands would die by the guillotine. In the single month before it ended, 1,300 executions took place. The deaths can be explained in part by the sense of emergency that gripped the revolutionary leadership as the country teetered on the brink of civil war."

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"On June 4, 1794, Robespierre was almost unanimously elected president of the National Convention. In just a month, 1,400 enemies of the Revolution were guillotined. The Terror was being escalated just when foreign invasion no longer threatened the republic, and a coalition of the right and the left formed to oppose Robespierre and his followers. On July 27, 1794, Robespierre and his allies were placed under arrest by the National Assembly. Robespierre was taken to the Luxembourg prison in Paris, but the warden refused to jail him, and he fled to the Hotel de Ville. Armed supporters arrived to aid him, but he refused to lead a uprising. When he received word that the National Convention had declared him an outlaw, he shot himself in the head, but only wounded his jaw. Shortly after, troops of the National Convention attacked the Hotel de Ville and captured Robespierre and his allies. The next evening, Robespierre and 21 others were guillotined without a trial in the Place de la Revolution. During the next few days, another 82 Robespierre followers were executed. The Reign of Terror was at an end."