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the Third Estate

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King Louis XVI required the members of the three estates to formulate lists of grievances

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also lifted constraints on freedom of press

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so that debates would be freer, more open and more fertile

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Abbé Sieyès (SEE-yez) takes advantage of this

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from common birth

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brilliant young man but experienced frustration because the fact of his common birth meant he was devoid of the aristocratic connection networks

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by age of 40 a senior and respected cleric but he knows he will never be able to become a bishop or archbishop

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1788 wrote "What is the Third Estate"

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the third estate can govern itself, it can be the nation

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there seems to be two other stages: nobles and clergy, but in fact there is only one, since the senior clergy are all nobles

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opts to stand as a Third Estate deputy in Paris, dressed in common black costume instead of his clerical fineries

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May 5, 1789: Estates General

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the meeting of the three estates

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by his speech, it is clear that Louis XVI is keen for sweeping reform

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needs this reform, especially in terms of taxation, if the state is to find its way out of bankruptcy

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says the three orders should go to their separate meeting places and start discussing affairs of state

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Third Estate refuses to meet separately

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insist that members of all three should meet in a common assembly

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standoff lasts six weeks

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June 20, 1789: Third Estate's meeting place has been locked

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apparently an accident

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they adjourn to a nearby, indoor tennis court

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they take an oath not to disperse until they have given France a constitution

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we will hence forth conduct ourselves as the National Assembly

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we call on members of the other two orders to join us

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some of the Parish priests do start joining them

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Maximilien Robespierre elected to represent his province

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reports back home how elated he is at the participation and enthusiasm of the Third Estate

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Louis XVI hesitates but later agrees that members should join the Third Estate as the National Assembly

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20 kilometers away in Paris

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there are troop movements

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people are nervous

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rumors spread

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that hostile members of the court are preparing some kind of military action

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to expel this trumped up National Assembly

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the National Assembly as it calls itself is saved by a new act of revolution

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common people of Paris

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people who are

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fired up about the possibility of change

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anxious about the troops in their city

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hungry since the harvest of 1788 had been poor

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Louis XVI dismisses finance minister Necker

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the one non-noble in his cabinet

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the trigger that sent fear into the people of Paris

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why would the king expel the one non-noble in his court?

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Camille Desmoulins

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had been in school with Robespierre before the Revolution

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street orator who encouraged crowds in Paris to take part in the revolution to protect the Third Estate

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unruly crowds in Paris

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turned their anger against the custom houses

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customs wall had been built around the city of Paris with 48 customs houses

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taxes were levied here and were terribly unpopular

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turned their attention for the search for weapons

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break into the Invalide, the great hospital

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the cry goes up to take the fortress of Bastille

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14th of July, laid siege to the fortress

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soldiers open fire and scores of Parisians lie dead and wounded

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governor who called for the shootings surrenders and is put to death in a particularly cruel way, effective hacked to pieces by the mob

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Hanging of Foulon and Bertier de Sauvigny

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July 22, 1789

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Sauvigny, mayor of Paris

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Foulon was marked to replace Necker

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they tried to escape but where caught, killed in a cruel way, and their bodies were displayed in the city

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these acts proved difficult for the Third Estate

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on the one hand, these acts saved the National Assembly

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on the other hand there are some acts of horror which have been committed

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Marquis de Lafayette

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had been the head of forces who helped Americans

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elected him

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powerful and wealthy noble

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Bailly

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chosen as the first elected mayor of Paris

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the National Assembly seemed to be successful

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but it is an extraordinary confrontation that the people of Paris have unleashed against the regime