1. Important Events of the
French Revolution

2. The National Assembly
 The Third Estate was very upset
with the results of the Estates
General
 The Third Estate decided to break
away and form its own governing
body called the National Assembly
 A majority of the clergy also voted to
join the Third Estate

3. The Tennis Court Oath
 When the National Assembly arrived at their
meeting place on June 20th, 1789, the doors were
locked!
 So they decided to move their meeting to a nearby
indoor tennis court
 The National Assembly swore that they would
continue to meet until they produced a French
constitution.
 This oath was known as the Tennis Court Oath

5. The Storming of the
Bastille
 In July 1789, one fourth of the people of
Paris were unemployed
 Bread prices were so high that many
people were left without food
 Rumors spread that the king was sending
troops to take over Paris.
 The people needed weapons to defend
themselves

6. The Storming of the
Bastille
 Hundreds of French citizens marched
to the Bastille, an old fort and prison,
to search for gunpowder.
 The officer at the Bastille refused to
give gunpowder to the crowd.
 He fired at the crowd, killing 98 people.
 The soldiers finally surrendered and
the crowd took the Bastille.

8.  News about the Bastille spread
across France
 Peasants began to spontaneously
revolt against their lords.
 The Storming of the Bastille
symbolized the beginning of the
French Revolution!

9. Declaration of the Rights
of Man
 On August 4th, 1789, the National
Assembly voted to abolish the rights
of the landlords
 They also abolished the financial
privileges of the nobles and clergy.
 On August 26th, the National
Assembly adopted the Declaration
of the Rights of Man

10. Declaration of the Rights
of Man
 Inspired by the American Declaration of
Independence, the American Constitution,
and the English Bill of Rights.
 Liberty, Property, Security, and Resistance
to Oppression
 Equal rights for all men
 All citizens had the right to take part in the
law-making process.

11. Women?
 Many insisted the declaration also
included the rights of women as long
as they did not get involved in
politics.
 Olympe de Gouges was a woman
who wrote plays and pamphlets.
 She refused to accept the political
exclusion of women
 She wrote the Declaration of the
Rights of Woman and the Female
Citizen
 But the National Assembly ignored
her demands 

12. The March on Versailles
 King refused to accept any of the
decrees from the National Assembly
 Unemployment and hunger
increased
 So 7,000 desperate women
marched 12 miles from Paris to
Versailles to demand bread.

14. March on Versailles
 The women invaded the palace and
killed several guards
 The King promised to give them
bread and go with them back to
Paris
 The King and his family never
returned to Versailles…

15. Church Reforms
 The National Assembly seized and stole land from
the Church
 A new Civil Constitution of the Clergy was put into
effect.
 Bishops and priests were elected by the people
and paid by the state.
 Many Catholics did not like this and became
enemies of the revolution

16. New Constitution
 The Constitution of 1791 set up a
limited constitutional monarchy.
 Legislative Assembly would make the
laws
 Many people still opposed the new
order
 Louis XVI attempted to flee France but
was caught and brought back to Paris

17. War with Austria
 Austria and Prussia were scared the
revolt would spread to their
countries
 Tried to restore Louis XVI to power
 National Assembly declared war on
Austria