1. Chapter 7 Section 1 The French Revolution Begins

2. The Old Order In the 1770s, France was under the Old Regime
The people were divided into three social classes called estates
The First Estate was made up of the Roman Catholic Clergy
The Second Estate was the rich nobles
These groups paid no taxes

4. The Third Estate consisted of 97% of the population divided into three groups
The Bourgeoisie were the middle class
Believed in the Enlightenment and many had money
The second group were the city workers
They were the poorest
The peasants were the largest group

6. The Forces of Change
Other factors besides resentment between classes also led towards the revolution
Enlightenment ideas and the American Revolution encouraged the Third Estate to seek a new government

7. Debt from the American Revolution placed a heavy tax burden on the people
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette also spent a lot
Louis XVI was a weak leader who did not follow advice
He also received poor advice from his wife who was hated by the people

9. Dawn of the Revolution
The King was forced to call the Estates-General to help deal with the debt problems
This was made up of representatives from all three estates
Each estate was given a single vote, but the third estate wanted each representative to receive a vote

11. In protest, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes suggested the creation of the National Assembly
They would pass laws in the name of the French people

12. The National Assembly was locked out of their meeting hall and broke into a tennis court to protest
They took the Tennis Court Oath to not leave until a new constitution was created

14. Rumors of what was happening began to spread and the people of France became worried the military may became involved
In response, the people of Paris stormed the Bastille prison looking for weapons

16. They massacred the prison commander and guards
The fall of the prison became a symbol of the Revolution and July 14 has since been known as Bastille Day

17. A Great Fear Sweeps France
The peasants feared the nobles were hiring outlaws to terrorize them
In return, the peasants began to attack the nobles’ manors

18. In October 1789, the women of Paris rioted over the price of bread
They broke into Versailles and killed some of the guards
They demanded Louis return to Paris and the king and his family left the palace for the last time