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By Jasmine Bautista and Jill Yaz

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5/17

May 5, 1789.

In the past, France's government was not so careful with epenses,

therefore lea!ing to economic pro"lems to happen later on. #owever, it

wasn't $ust "ase! on the past. %ur current government is spen!ing money

on useless luuries for the upper classes, which is an unfair "irthright

that they are given, leaving all us har! wor&ers to suffer the

conseuences. (ouis )*I was force! to call the estates general together,

in or!er for the entire government to not come crum"ling !own.


6/17

+o!ay, on une 17, 1789, my estate an! I stoo! unite! in an attempt

to foster our own free!oms an! rights. It was a statement towar!s

France in its entirety, since we as a har! wor&ing "ourgeoisie are tire! of

"eing !enie! the same rights as the no"les in the secon! estate. -iththe creation of the ational /ssem"ly, !ue to the government0s lac& of

lea!ership, we saw our opportunity to ta&e a step in a !irection that

"enefits us, not the no"les, nor the clergy. /lthough we lawyers,

merchants, in!ustrialists, "an&ers an! other property hol!ers have

wor&e! har! for these wages almost euivalent to that of the no"les, we

still cannot earn one thing that the no"les have, one thing that

!ifferentiates us an! them, the one thing that "arriers us "etween them

their "orn social an! political privileges.

2ecause of our mass representation in the 3states 4eneral thatcoor!inates with our large population as a +hir! 3state, we ha! a massive

a!vantage over all the other estates. /lthough !iffering from the other

two estates who wishe! to vote "y or!er, we as an estate within the

3states 4eneral, favore! to vote "y hea!. +his woul! have given us more

representation an! an a!vantage over the other two estates. -ith the

!iscrepancy of wether to vote "y hea! or or!er, we separate! from the

3states 4eneral, thus creating the ational /ssem"ly. /lthough we ha!

no rights to !o so, we !eci!e! to participate within it until we create! a

new constitution.


7/17

uly 1, 1789

/s one of the many series of ur"an an! rural uprisings, this particular revolt ha!

save! our cause. +he vast ma$ority of the thir! estate, not $ust us, ha! scram"le! to

fight in our favor. 2ut of course, some favore! to fight in part of the &ing. It all

!epen!e! on where the source of information came from, "ecause some "elieve! the

aristocrats were plotting against them in or!er to har"or their privileges within the

3states

4eneral or

others chose

to "elieve

other wise.

3ither way,

the &ing0s

attempt to

soothe the

uprisings prove! ina!euate. #is increase in troops !i! not calm nor intimi!ate the

uarrels, "ut rile! them to a farther etent. In nee! of arms, angry mo"s capture! theroyal armories of Invali!es an! 2astille. 2ut since 2astille was also a prison, its !ownfall

to the mo"s

resem"le!

sym"ol of

triumph over

!espotism an!

(ouis0s

incapa"ility to

enforce his will./s a result,

(afayette was

appointe! "y

(ouis as the

comman!er of

the ational

4uar! otherwise

une 6, 1789

In an attempt to "egin our first session together as a ational

/ssem"ly, the !oors to our usual meeting place where we gathere! were

loc&e!. 2ut I too& it to no harm, "ecause although it was a measly action

to prevent our assem"ly from convening, I "elieve! nothing coul! stan! in

our way. %ur huge mass of !eputies who "elieve! in the same cause

prove! to play a pivotal role. o, in an improvise! manner, we foun! thenearest an! most appropriate location we congregate! within a tennis

court that house! all si hun!re! of us. +here, we swore to meet at this

very tennis court until we compose! an entirely new French constitution.

/n! with that, that ple!ge was accor!ingly name! the +ennis :ourt %ath.


8/17

&nown as the citi;en0s militia. +his Fall of the 2astille lent a han! to our ational

/ssem"ly0s cry of help since the &ing at first si!e! with the first 3state. ow, we are

a"le to control the reigns of our cause, since (ouis was una"le to tame the uprisings an!

restore power.


9/17

uly 65, 1789

+his has "een the fifth !ay of the 4reat Fear panic has sprea! throughout the entire

region of France. Many peasant revolts have occurre!, "ut I can tell we are !isunite! in

our reasons as to why we are fighting. Many "elieve in several suppose! $ustifications,

"elieving the &ing supports their cause or the 3states 4eneral woul! a"olish tithes. It all

"egan with the growing hatre! of the seigniorial system, the taste of power with the fall

of 2astille, an! now the peasant revolts have set fire from one place to another. +he main

reason for the peasant revolts are their furious !esires to renounce their !ues an!

tithes. /s of late, I !i! not &now if France coul! grow more scare! of invasion "y foreign

troops, aristocratic plots. I "elieve it is necessary for a ational /ssem"ly meeting to

convene in or!er to calm the peasants an! restore or!er in the countrysi!e. +he tension

within France has cause! too much !isor!er, an! I "elieve a common groun! nee!s to "e

foun! so peace can "e

esta"lishe! once again in

France.


10/17

/"olition of Feu!alism

/ugust , 1789

-e, together as a ational /ssem"ly foun! it reasona"le an! to my content, that it woul!

"e "est to a"olish feu!alism. It has "een !eci!e! to ri! of seigneurial rights an! the

fiscal privileges from the no"les an! clergy. /s a solution to en! the 4reat Fear, with its

vast panic an! agrarian revolts, from this !ay on, feu!alism an! seigneurial rights have

"een "anishe!. +his will soon "enefit me, "ecause I, as a wealthy "ourgeoisie mem"er

have finally gaine! the same rights as the no"les. +he secon! estate no longer has an

upper han! or prestige over the "ourgeoisie an! many no"les have lost their main sources

of income, since serfs no longer eist. -ith that, we have almost "ecome one in the same.


11/17

/ugust 6ights of Man an! the :iti;en has "een a!opte! to!ay.

Many ra!ical i!eals that reflect that of ma$or philosophes, the /merican =eclaration of

In!epen!ence an! the /merican :onstitution are presente! within this !ocument. It has

"een !eclare! that aristocratic privileges have "een ri!!e! of, no eemptions from

taation, eual rights to all men, open access to pu"lic office, outlaw of ar"itrary arrests,

an! free!om of speech an! press have "een grante!. I "elieve our society is ta&ing a step

in the right !irection, almost similar to the /mericans0. +he no"les an! clergy are no

longer allowe! to have unfair a!vantages over us, thus all classes are su"$ect to

euality. 2ut the grant of free!om to speech an!

press allows everyone to spea& an! pu"lish i!eas

freely, without any infringement as to what we

feel to say. -hich also relates to the outlaw of

ar"itrary arrests, where our thoughts can no

longer con!emn us to prison life. +he creationof this !eclaration has !efinitely "enefitte! me

"ecause I can freely move up to my !esire! social

class without any restrictions "ase! on "orn

rights. In a!!ition, I am free to hol! an position in

government "ase! on merit rather than my title, I

have !emonstrate! to "e a far more efficient

official compare! to a no"le. /n! with the

"arriers "etween us lifte!, we have ta&en more

control in commerce an! in!ustry, an! I "elieve wewill soon "ecome the future power within France.


12/17

%cto"er 5, 1789

I thin& this may have "een the most astonishing !ay of my life I may "e giving women a

secon! loo& at their role in our political society. Mo"s of angry mothers who have starving

chil!ren marche! into *ersailles to !eman! "rea! from the &ing. +heir prominence an!

!rive to o"tain what they nee!e! she! a new light onto them. ?sually, they are tame an!

mee& with our homes, coo&ing an! cleaning for our families, never once have I seen a

women !eclare or!ers to a man "efore, an! never once woul! have imagine! it !one so to

the &ing. +hese women were victorious in their actions, "ut also receive! much more

triumph too. +hey were a"le to persua!e to &ing to return to @aris an! accept the

ational /ssem"ly0s !ecrees. -hen a threat to a women0s livelihoo! is provo&e!, an angry

mother "ear is release! an! nothing can stan! in her way.


13/17

uly 16, 179

+he lan!s of the :atholic :hurch have "een confiscate! to provi!e money for the

reform in return asignats or a form of paper money have "een given, "ut the :hurch has

"ecome virtually poor. +he effect of the new :ivil :onstitution now forces "ishops an!

priests to "e electe! "y the people an! pai! "y the state. #enceforth, their incomes are

regulate!, instea! of an ecessive pay chec& "y the :hurch itself. /lso a ple!ge of

allegiance "y the clergy that came along with the constitution was for"a!e "y the @ope so

only half !i! it. +hese actions ma!e the :atholic church "ecome an enemy of the

revolution which spar&e! opposition. ow a counterrevolution has "egun with a popular

"ase to operate from, since it is still a ma$or institution in french lives. +he :hurch was

still an important pillar of the ol! regime, an! the :ivil constitution with!rew many of its

rights an! privileges which provo&e! much !iscontent within the :hurch. +he ational

/ssem"ly "elittle! the :hurch into a minor power from what it once was, "ut the threat

to the little power the church still has causes a huge !iscrepancy. I only wish for our

reforms to create euality for all classes, "ut I am unsure how the church0s resistance toour changes will play a role in our cause.


14/17

/pril 6, 1796.

+he (egislative /ssem"ly has $ust "egun war with /ustria. I !on0t un!erstan! what

woul! lea! to such a proclamation, "ut I hear the gossip an! the revolutionaries "elieve

that the war will "e the thing that stops the French >evolution, "ut others are hoping

that this will "uil! up the >evolution an! sprea! it all aroun! 3urope. I am hoping that war

will not"e successful, "ecause I am not rea!y

to go "ac&

to "eing

strippe!

of my privileges.

-e

have not

"een

successful so far,

/ustria is a strong power

an! our army is

no match. +he

streets are

fille! with

panic&e! people,

frantically

loo&ing for

someone to"lame the war

on.

eptem"er 61,

1796.

+he

ational

une 6, 1791.

+o!ay, as well as many others "efore it, the economy an!

government is in sham"les, however we "ourgeois stay faithful to our

great &ing, therefore fin!ing unity within one another.

I &now that the Aing is not faithful to us, $ust to!ay he "etraye!

our trust in him an! attempte! to flee the country. +han&fully, he wasrecogni;e! an! returne! to @aris. >a!icals proteste!, saying that he

shoul! "e remove! from his position, "ut the ational /ssem"ly !eci!e!

to step in an! "low it off as if it were a &i!napping. I "elieve that this

provo&e! the first meeting of the (egislative /ssem"ly./ugust 1, 1796.

+he war has le! to ra!ical groups sprouting up everywhere, most

against the Aing. +o!ay a group capture! the Aing an! force! the

(egislative /ssem"ly to put the monarchy on hol! an! call a meeting to

!iscuss what the new form of government shoul! "e. I have a feeling this

>evolution is a"out to get a lot more etreme.


15/17

:onvention met up to!ay as the ruling "o!y, even though their main purpose was $ust to

write a constitution. +hey vote! to get ri! of the monarchy an! set up a repu"lic

government. oon after, their !isagreements force! them to split up into two groups that

are now struggling for power, the Mountain an! the 4iron!ins.

/ugust 6B, 179B.

+henew

:ommittee of @u"lic afety is in almost

complete power now, an! they have

a!ministere! the universal

mo"ili;ation of the nation. +his calls

for all the people to step up an! ta&e

some sort of part in the war.

>o"espierre, the lea!er of the :ommittee, issue! a !ecree that tells everyone what their

part in the war is. Men are meant to fight, an! women transport weapons an! ma&e

uniforms for the men. I am gla! that we are going to war with this army, "ecause we arefighting as the

people, for the

thought of a

>epu"lic.

anuary 61, 179B.

+he Aing was eecute! to!ay. +he Mountain felt that they

represente! enough of the population to vote on such an unsettling

matter, "ut they too& a vote an! choppe! his hea! off. %ur struggles are

getting very real, an! we now have more enemies than we "egan with. %n

the "right si!e, the ol! or!er is finally crushe!, an! the only way we can


16/17

/ugust 66, 1795.

+he ational :onvention !i!n0t want to have a single (egislative /ssem"ly again, so

to avoi! giving one house too much power, thy !ivi!e! up the government into two

cham"ers, the :ouncil of 5, which was the lower of the two which woul! a!mit the

legislature, an! the :ouncil of 3l!ers, which chose which laws woul! "e accepte! an!

which woul! "e !enie!. +hemem"ers of the new

government were electe!

"y chosen electors,

"ase! on how much their

homes cost, an! how

much they earne! in

their $o"s. I0m gla! that the

government is finally

something that is not

"ase! on social

stan!ings, "ut instea!

how har! a person

wor&s. +o me, the

French

>evolution was a

success in this aspect.

uly 68, 179.

>o"espierre has ta&en control, an! he is ma&ing changes more

ra!ical than what we initially !eman!e!. #is attempt at

!echristiani;ation, "y trying to get ri! of religion in France !i!n0t wor&out at all, "ecause the ma$ority of our population is still religious, an!

very powerful in a revolution. +he new calen!ar was a $o&e, an! "y trying

to change our way of life, he put himself in a position to lose. @eople

starte! to fear his power, an! so in protection of themselves, they

gathere! enough votes to rise up an! chop off his hea!, $ust as they !i!

to the Aing.


17/17

>eview Cuestions

#ow !i! the 2ouregeoise feel a"out

the French >evolutionD

-ho woul! consi!er the French

>evolution a successD

-hy was >o"espierre unsuccessfulD

#ow !i! the national convention

avoi! another singlepowere!

governmentD

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