9-16 to 9-17 classwork

 9-16 to 9-17-20 WED THR chapter 39

The French revolution King Louis XVI the first estate second and third estate chapter 40

French Revolution

France 1788. France had been carrying on under the rule of a dynasty of Louis’.

The current one at this time was the 16th. He was a quiet, distant fellow who

spent hours fidgeting with locks and gadgets as hobby. Now that’s cool. But, not

when you’re king!

Anyways, Things were getting rough in France. Their government fell into debt

while assisting Americans in their war for Independence against Britain... (any- thing to stick it to the British). Louis and his wife spent a great deal of time at

the Palace of Versailles. Meanwhile, the French people were finding it hard to

put bread on the table. A rise in the price of bread was partially due to a string

of poor harvests and tax increases by the King’s advisors. With the French

economy worsening the people were getting angry. King Louis called the Three

Estates General to meet and discuss the nation’s troubled

finances. These three estates were a sad excuse for a

national government.

The First Estate was church

officials consisting of 1 percent of

the French population. They had most

of the land and wealth yet paid no taxes. The

Second Estate was the Nobles (landowners). They were also about 1 percent of

the population and they paid almost no taxes. Then there was the Third Estate. This was 98 percent of the French population and they paid practically all the

taxes! As if this wasn’t bad enough, here’s the kicker. Each estate had one vote!

The church had one vote, the nobles had one vote and the third estate, totaling

98 percent of the population had ... one little vote.

Being that the church and the nobles were always tight. They often stuck it to the

third estate. This had gone on for centuries. But, 1788 was different. The Bourgeoisie was a fast growing part of the third estate and they were really feeling

those Enlightenment ideas of Reason. Reason stated that people really had some

rights and Absolute monarchies should go out like the dinosaurs did.

The Third Estate Takes over

Needless to say, the meeting

of the three estates went poorly.

The first two estates wanted to raise taxes on the Third Estate; the back bone of

the French economy. At this point, the third estate had about enough. On June

17, 1789, they took over the show and declared themselves the National Assem-

bly. This in effect ended the Monarchy.

The Three Estates

FACT 1

FACT 2

FACT3

Unfair Tax System

FACT 1

FACT 2

FACT3

Bourgeoisie

FACT 1

FACT 2

FACT3