Chapter 5: The Revolution, May-October 1789
Voting
- Every man over 25 could vote
- Each estate from the start of 1789 voted for a delegate who was given the responsibility of writing a
book of grievances (cahier de doléances) which outlines the changes that they wanted to see
- Surprisingly, the nobility had a lot of enlightened ideas in their book and ideas about them paying more
tax
On the 4th of May 1789 the last great ceremony of the Ancien Régime took place at Versailles: the procession of
the Estates-General. A total of 1200 representatives from all over France had arrived all dressed according to
the regulations laid down. 610 deputies attended, who had to pay for themselves the whole time that they were
there highlighting that many in attendance at the Estates-General were educated and had money. There were
cardinals in brilliant red capes, Archbishops and bishops in purple cassocks and other members of the clergy in
their cassocks and flowing cloaks. There were nobles sporting matching cloaks and waistcoats all decorated in
gold with fine black breeches, set off by white stockings, fancy lace cravats and hats with white plumes. As for
the third estate, they were dressed in black and with a short cloak Muslim-Croat and a hat turned back on three
sides without chords or buttons. Whereas the nobility sees this as a place to sow off, the 3 rd estate see this as a
last ditch attempt to get taxes
Developments in Versailles:
The Estates-General
The first session of the estates general began on the 5th of May when all the deputies were gathered together at
Versailles. Louis XVI open the session with an address which explained the circumstances leading to the
meeting and what he expected from the estates general and emphasised that he was the first friend of the
people. They followed speeches from Charles de Barentin, the Keeper of the Privy Seal and from Jacques Necker
Louis’ financial minister, on the Kings economic situation and the need for new taxes in this speech; we expect
to see a new scheme from Necker but he does not really have a plan and his is not as good or useful as everyone
thinks he is – everyone is bitterly disappointed in the speech. Although the third estate appeared to listen
patiently and even cheered the King, long speeches failed to settle the third estate’s most pressing concerns:
- No agenda was put forward for reform package with positive policy proposals for discussion.
- There was no clear indication given of the procedures to be adopted and still did not know exactly how
the meetings would proceed or how voting would take place.
The Estates-General had failed on its first day
- The third estates have no leader, no common point of view, no cohesion – if they were presented with
reform (to finance etc), they would have rallied behind it
The formation of the National Assembly
Several weeks of delay frustration an anti-climax followed the grand opening. The deputies’ task was to verify
the credentials of those elected, but to do this the three estates need to assemble together. The third estate do
not like this as it seems as though it is going to be vote by estate, so they refuse to have their credentials
checked and refuse to meet unless all three estates meet together. The first and second estate were prepared to
meet separately to do this, but the third estate refused claiming that the representative should all meet as one
body and so a deadlock began until the 10th June 1789; this also creates further problems for Necker and the
King as they are still losing money. Thus, a simple technical procedure became entwined with a much more
deeply seated concern and the third a state representatives refused to carry out the verification procedure until
a definite statement that they would be voting by head had been agreed. The deadlock was broken on 10 th June
as 3rd estate say they will begin verification, even if other estates do not join them
Abbé Sieyès proved one of the most influential of the third estate leaders during these weeks. He continued
to argue that the third estate was the nation and had every right to act alone if others refused to join it. Some
clerics were persuaded and join the third estate deputies during the week of the 10 th of June but no nobles.
It was largely on the promoting of Sieyès that on the 17 th of June the third state (and a few other members
from different estates, such as some local priests who had joined the 3 rd estate) voted by 491 votes to 90 to call
itself the National Assembly. Effectively, the third state was asserting its right represent the nation and its
intention to go ahead and make its own decisions about the future of the French state. The other estates were
again invited to join in on the 19th of June the clergy/1st estate did so - they were followed by some of the more
liberal nobles over the next week.
, The Tennis Court Oath
The Kings attention has been focused on his eldest son Louis-Joseph who died aged seven of tuberculosis on the
4th of June 1789. However, he was now persuaded by Necker that he needed to present a clear reform program
to the deputies in a royal session this was arranged for the 23 rd June, where all three estates would meet. He
had only acted now as he had been in a period of mourning as his son had died.
Before the Royal session could take place, they needed to be some alterations to the room where the
national assembly had been meeting – the Salon des Menus Plaisirs. Consequently, when the deputies arrived
on the morning of the 20th June 1789 they found the doors to their assembly room locked and guarded and they
feared the worst – that they had been thrown out. Not having been informed of what was going on was an
affront to their dignity but they were doubly alarmed by the presence of real soldiers and the underlying fear
that the King might forcibly dissolve the parliament. Thus, they determined to meet elsewhere. A proposal to
march to Paris was quashed because of heavy rain, so led by the elected president Jean-Sylvain Bailly they
made their way to the nearest indoor space which happened to be the Royal tennis court.
Here, the members of the National Assembly swore the Tennis Court Oath, by which they promised never to
disband, no matter where they were forced to meet, until France had a new constitution. This declaration was a
direct challenge to the position of the King. The formation of the National Assembly and accompanying oath
thus represented the first revolutionary actions.
- “We will never dissolve until France has a constitution” – the King won’t be happy with this as it will
restrict his power
- “The King does not have the right to dissolve us”
- It is possible that if Necker had created a reform at the beginning, this would not have happened
The royal session and its aftermath
The Royal Session (23rd June 1789) was to be run by Necker and he says that there can be voting by head and
that the three estates can meet together. There was a difficult Royal session on the 23 rd of June. Louis accepted
the principle of consent to the taxation and a fairer land tax based on the value of land not social status, but he
also says that taxes will only be introduced by the consent of the nation; he says that the Gabelle tax would be
abolished too. He abolished lettre de cachet (arresting someone without cause) and he says that corvée (forced
labour) will be abolished. It is clear that he does this because he needs money and wants to keep people on his
side. However, the deputies are incensed by his continued use of the term Estates-General and the refusal to
accept the name National Assembly and by his demand that the estate should continue to meet separately; it is
very much possible that at this point, he was being pressured by Marie Antoinette. At the end, of the session
members refused to leave in an open display of defiance.
- 22nd June, Louis had ordered troops to Paris and Versailles and by 27th/28th there were around 4000
troops around Paris
- 24th June, the rest of the clergy join the third estate
- 25th June, 47 of the nobility joint the third estate
- 1st July, Louis orders another 11,500 troops to Paris
Over the following days, constant meetings were held at the Palais-Royal, where orators, such as Camille
Desmoulins, stirred up fury against the Court, Wary of such developments and conscious that the state’s
financial position was not improving on 26th June the King brough 4800 troops to Paris.
On 27th June, Louis rescinded the orders of the royal session, recognising the National Assembly, permitting
voting by head and orders the first and second estates to join the 3rd estate (although this last part has already
been done, by Louis ordering it seems as though he has done something). However, few deputies still trusted
the King and the steady flow of troops to the capital increased their suspicions. Louis claimed they were there
to maintain order, but pessimistically, some thought that they were there to fight with the 3 rd estate/National
Assembly and had only agreed with the previous reforms in order to have time to get troops. Rumours
abounded of plots to arrest the deputies, destroy the Assembly or cut off grain supplies and starve Paris into
submission. By 4th July there were just under 30,000 troops in and around the capital. Many were foreign
mercenaries, since the King could not rely on the loyalty of French troops. With artillery batteries in high
ground over the city, it is little wonder that tensions ran high
Developments in Paris:
The positions of Parisians
The King’s dismissal of Jacques Necker on 11th July (and his replacement with the conservative Breteuil – this
was considered the beginning of a crunch down) seemed to confirm popular fears that the King was seeking
Voting
- Every man over 25 could vote
- Each estate from the start of 1789 voted for a delegate who was given the responsibility of writing a
book of grievances (cahier de doléances) which outlines the changes that they wanted to see
- Surprisingly, the nobility had a lot of enlightened ideas in their book and ideas about them paying more
tax
On the 4th of May 1789 the last great ceremony of the Ancien Régime took place at Versailles: the procession of
the Estates-General. A total of 1200 representatives from all over France had arrived all dressed according to
the regulations laid down. 610 deputies attended, who had to pay for themselves the whole time that they were
there highlighting that many in attendance at the Estates-General were educated and had money. There were
cardinals in brilliant red capes, Archbishops and bishops in purple cassocks and other members of the clergy in
their cassocks and flowing cloaks. There were nobles sporting matching cloaks and waistcoats all decorated in
gold with fine black breeches, set off by white stockings, fancy lace cravats and hats with white plumes. As for
the third estate, they were dressed in black and with a short cloak Muslim-Croat and a hat turned back on three
sides without chords or buttons. Whereas the nobility sees this as a place to sow off, the 3 rd estate see this as a
last ditch attempt to get taxes
Developments in Versailles:
The Estates-General
The first session of the estates general began on the 5th of May when all the deputies were gathered together at
Versailles. Louis XVI open the session with an address which explained the circumstances leading to the
meeting and what he expected from the estates general and emphasised that he was the first friend of the
people. They followed speeches from Charles de Barentin, the Keeper of the Privy Seal and from Jacques Necker
Louis’ financial minister, on the Kings economic situation and the need for new taxes in this speech; we expect
to see a new scheme from Necker but he does not really have a plan and his is not as good or useful as everyone
thinks he is – everyone is bitterly disappointed in the speech. Although the third estate appeared to listen
patiently and even cheered the King, long speeches failed to settle the third estate’s most pressing concerns:
- No agenda was put forward for reform package with positive policy proposals for discussion.
- There was no clear indication given of the procedures to be adopted and still did not know exactly how
the meetings would proceed or how voting would take place.
The Estates-General had failed on its first day
- The third estates have no leader, no common point of view, no cohesion – if they were presented with
reform (to finance etc), they would have rallied behind it
The formation of the National Assembly
Several weeks of delay frustration an anti-climax followed the grand opening. The deputies’ task was to verify
the credentials of those elected, but to do this the three estates need to assemble together. The third estate do
not like this as it seems as though it is going to be vote by estate, so they refuse to have their credentials
checked and refuse to meet unless all three estates meet together. The first and second estate were prepared to
meet separately to do this, but the third estate refused claiming that the representative should all meet as one
body and so a deadlock began until the 10th June 1789; this also creates further problems for Necker and the
King as they are still losing money. Thus, a simple technical procedure became entwined with a much more
deeply seated concern and the third a state representatives refused to carry out the verification procedure until
a definite statement that they would be voting by head had been agreed. The deadlock was broken on 10 th June
as 3rd estate say they will begin verification, even if other estates do not join them
Abbé Sieyès proved one of the most influential of the third estate leaders during these weeks. He continued
to argue that the third estate was the nation and had every right to act alone if others refused to join it. Some
clerics were persuaded and join the third estate deputies during the week of the 10 th of June but no nobles.
It was largely on the promoting of Sieyès that on the 17 th of June the third state (and a few other members
from different estates, such as some local priests who had joined the 3 rd estate) voted by 491 votes to 90 to call
itself the National Assembly. Effectively, the third state was asserting its right represent the nation and its
intention to go ahead and make its own decisions about the future of the French state. The other estates were
again invited to join in on the 19th of June the clergy/1st estate did so - they were followed by some of the more
liberal nobles over the next week.
, The Tennis Court Oath
The Kings attention has been focused on his eldest son Louis-Joseph who died aged seven of tuberculosis on the
4th of June 1789. However, he was now persuaded by Necker that he needed to present a clear reform program
to the deputies in a royal session this was arranged for the 23 rd June, where all three estates would meet. He
had only acted now as he had been in a period of mourning as his son had died.
Before the Royal session could take place, they needed to be some alterations to the room where the
national assembly had been meeting – the Salon des Menus Plaisirs. Consequently, when the deputies arrived
on the morning of the 20th June 1789 they found the doors to their assembly room locked and guarded and they
feared the worst – that they had been thrown out. Not having been informed of what was going on was an
affront to their dignity but they were doubly alarmed by the presence of real soldiers and the underlying fear
that the King might forcibly dissolve the parliament. Thus, they determined to meet elsewhere. A proposal to
march to Paris was quashed because of heavy rain, so led by the elected president Jean-Sylvain Bailly they
made their way to the nearest indoor space which happened to be the Royal tennis court.
Here, the members of the National Assembly swore the Tennis Court Oath, by which they promised never to
disband, no matter where they were forced to meet, until France had a new constitution. This declaration was a
direct challenge to the position of the King. The formation of the National Assembly and accompanying oath
thus represented the first revolutionary actions.
- “We will never dissolve until France has a constitution” – the King won’t be happy with this as it will
restrict his power
- “The King does not have the right to dissolve us”
- It is possible that if Necker had created a reform at the beginning, this would not have happened
The royal session and its aftermath
The Royal Session (23rd June 1789) was to be run by Necker and he says that there can be voting by head and
that the three estates can meet together. There was a difficult Royal session on the 23 rd of June. Louis accepted
the principle of consent to the taxation and a fairer land tax based on the value of land not social status, but he
also says that taxes will only be introduced by the consent of the nation; he says that the Gabelle tax would be
abolished too. He abolished lettre de cachet (arresting someone without cause) and he says that corvée (forced
labour) will be abolished. It is clear that he does this because he needs money and wants to keep people on his
side. However, the deputies are incensed by his continued use of the term Estates-General and the refusal to
accept the name National Assembly and by his demand that the estate should continue to meet separately; it is
very much possible that at this point, he was being pressured by Marie Antoinette. At the end, of the session
members refused to leave in an open display of defiance.
- 22nd June, Louis had ordered troops to Paris and Versailles and by 27th/28th there were around 4000
troops around Paris
- 24th June, the rest of the clergy join the third estate
- 25th June, 47 of the nobility joint the third estate
- 1st July, Louis orders another 11,500 troops to Paris
Over the following days, constant meetings were held at the Palais-Royal, where orators, such as Camille
Desmoulins, stirred up fury against the Court, Wary of such developments and conscious that the state’s
financial position was not improving on 26th June the King brough 4800 troops to Paris.
On 27th June, Louis rescinded the orders of the royal session, recognising the National Assembly, permitting
voting by head and orders the first and second estates to join the 3rd estate (although this last part has already
been done, by Louis ordering it seems as though he has done something). However, few deputies still trusted
the King and the steady flow of troops to the capital increased their suspicions. Louis claimed they were there
to maintain order, but pessimistically, some thought that they were there to fight with the 3 rd estate/National
Assembly and had only agreed with the previous reforms in order to have time to get troops. Rumours
abounded of plots to arrest the deputies, destroy the Assembly or cut off grain supplies and starve Paris into
submission. By 4th July there were just under 30,000 troops in and around the capital. Many were foreign
mercenaries, since the King could not rely on the loyalty of French troops. With artillery batteries in high
ground over the city, it is little wonder that tensions ran high
Developments in Paris:
The positions of Parisians
The King’s dismissal of Jacques Necker on 11th July (and his replacement with the conservative Breteuil – this
was considered the beginning of a crunch down) seemed to confirm popular fears that the King was seeking
