InNo+caroline.norgreen+08.31.10

Question 2: The French people decided it was time to change the way France was run because of a great deal of things, but the main reason was because the government spent too much money on really unnecessary things. Marie Antoinette not only spent money on gambling, jewelry, etc, but also a great deal of money on Petit Trianon (a village she tried to make look old and run-down). Another thing that upset people are that the government had sealed letters, which no one was safe from. Many of his ministers used them against people they did not like. The King did not know these people but sent them to jail or exile anyways. In other word the government over abused their power and made the total population upset with their ruling. Question 3: E, the governent spent more than it recieved in taxes, so B so the government was deeply in debt so, G so the Frenance Minister planned to raise money with the new tax on land, but A an assebly of nobles and clergy refused to agree to the new tax so, C Louis XVI ordered a meeting of the estates council, hoping it would agree to the new tax, but, I the govenment went bankrupt so, D the Third Estate took over the Estates General and turned it into a National Assembly, so H Louis XVI decided to hold a royal session of the Estates General, and warn the third Estate not to defy him, but F the deputies gathered in a tennis court swore an oath that they would continues to meet Causes: EBGAC Consequence: IDHF Question 4: a) Political People thought the king and his ministers had too much power (e.g. lettres de cachet) b) Social People disliked the fact the Marie Antoinette was Austrian c) Economic Nobles disliked the government's plans for a new land tax because they would lose their privilege of tax exemption People disliked Marie Antoinette's extravagant spending Many poop people blamed the government for high prices and unemployment Question 5:  I believe the main reason the government was so unpopular was because Louis XVI and his ministers had too much power. Many other problems in France was only a problem for certain people, but the abuse of power was a problem for the whole public. The King and his ministers could send anyone they please into prison or exiled for as long as they felt like it, and no one at all was safe from it. Another way he abused his power was by being able to impose taxes on anyway and execute any laws he please. The whole country did not like the idea that the King was an absolute monarch very much, thus this is the main reason, in my opinion that the government was so extremely unpopular. Question 6: I believe that if the King had not married Marie Antoinette the government would still have been extremely unpopular by 1789. The King would still have had issued sealed letters, he would still have the power to do almost anything, and this had nothing to do with Marie Antoinette. On the other hand Marie Antoinette was also a huge player in making the government so unpopular. If it hadn't been for her, the people who not have been upset with spending on as much clothes, gambling, and jewelry. The people would also not have to get angry when she spent so much money/time/effort on making the Petit Trianon looked run down. The public hated that she just used so much money in general when the government was almost bankrupt.
 * InNo - General Estates & Changes occurring during this time ** Question 1:


 * Notes – Estates General - Food Crisis - Complaints - Estates Meet **

The Estates General


 * Nobles and Clergy thought they could block King’s plans to tax them by making him ask General Estates
 * They used voting system

The Voting System


 * They would meet when King wanted it.
 * Made up of 750 people – 250 from each Estate
 * Third estate thought voting system was unfair
 * Asked King to double their numbers
 * Asked to give each person one vote – instead of the Estate as a whole.
 * 1788 King agreed to first demand
 * Jacques Necker advised king to agree to doubling Estate Three
 * Hoped that the General Estates would agree on each person getting an individual vote
 * Voting for new taxes

Food Crisis


 * Government facing mass hunger in the countryside
 * Freak weather caused destruction of cornfields, vegetable plots, orchards, and vineyards
 * 13 July 1788, massive hailstorm – followed by drought – followed by cold winter – followed by flooding (because of the snow), yet again destroying farmland
 * Food did not reach markets, mills could not grind flour
 * Price of bread raised – poor families spent all saving on bread and not other goods
 * Factories producing other goods lost business, unemployment rate increased
 * Led to riots and striking in large parts of France

The Complaints List

The Estates Meet
 * Estates General elections held in 1789
 * Public ask General Estates to discuss complains with King
 * Over 60,000 lists of complains where drawn up
 * Millions of French wanted major change
 * Versailles, May 1789, General Estates finally met – people had great expectations


 * First meeting 5 May 1789
 * Had speeches by King and ministers
 * Told to split up into groups
 * Third group rejected this – wanted a “National Assembly”
 * After weeks, Third Estates said they would start work by themselves if the other two did not join
 * Defined the King – Third estate refused to work under his rules
 * Ordered a Royal Session of the General Estates
 * 19 June, clergy agrees to join
 * Royal Session starts

The Tennis Court Oath


 * Royal Session – angered and excited third estate – fear King would forcefully break them up
 * Oath – to carry on the meeting until the way France was governed changed
 * Tied deputies together with a common cause
 * June 23, King ordered them to meet separately
 * Refused to move - “we shall only leave at the point of bayonets”
 * King gave in
 * June 27, King ordered clergy and nobles to join them
 * National Assembly – France’s legal parliament
 * Many thought the Revolution was complete
 * It was far from it…

** Summary ** This reading explained a lot about the start of the French Revolution. It explains the first changes in the General Estates, doubling the number of people in the Third Estate, and also what that does to help both the government and the majority of the French population. During this time it also explains the difficulty France faces during this time, not only politically, but also socially. The French desperately need food during this time, and with one shortage comes another. There is no longer need for as much work force, which of course leads to more problems for the government of France. The reading also shows that even in a time of crisis the people of France still become hopeful because they are allowed to input their opinion on what France should change, without getting punished for it. When these lists of complaints were all drawn up be everyone in France the General Estates finally go together to not only change the way France was governed, but also created the legal parliament of France.

** Questions **

Why would the King at first not want the Estates to come together as one? If France lacked food, what was happening to the rest of Europe? If they were fine, could the French government not just import food?