InNo+mengxinw2013+09.03.10

Awesome Part Question 1:

Question 2: The Law was a reason why French people wanted to change the way France was run because someone innocent could have been easily sentenced to death.

NOTES

Estates General
 * - nobles and clergy welcomed the king’s decision to call Estates General because intended to use it to block his plants to tax them
 * - Estates General met whenever king wanted to consult it, last time met was 1614
 * - Made up of 750 members, about 250 from each of three estates
 * - Met in three separate rooms, when voting, each estate had just one vote
 * - Third estate complained voting system unfair, if used again in 1789, nobles and clergy would be able to out vote the third estate; asked king to double their numbers in Estates General to give each member one vote each
 * - 1788, king reluctantly agreed to first of these demands; now his government was bankrupt
 * - new finance minister, Jacques Necker, advised him to double third estate, hoping Estates General itself would decide to give every member one vote each, then vote for new taxes

Food Crisis
 * - mass hunger developing in the countryside
 * - caused by freak weather, massive hailstorm destroyed cornfields, vegetable plots, orchards, vineyards all over central France; followed by a drought; harvest was very poor
 * - drought followed by coldest winter in living memory, frozen rivers, stopping watermills from grinding flour; blocked roads prevented food from reaching markets
 * - when snow suddenly thawed in the spring, floods ruined huge areas of farmland
 * - result of awful weather was sharp rise in price of bread
 * - many families spent their all earning just on bread, stopped buying clothes, shoes, candles and fuel
 * - factories that made these things lost business, many workers lost jobs
 * - unemployment added to hunger, leading to riots and strikes in many parts of the country

Complaints Lists
 * - elections for Estates General held in spring 1789, as well as electing deputies to speak for them
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- voters were asked to draw up lists of changes they wanted the Estates General to discuss with king
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- over 60,000 “lists of complaints” drawn up, showing that millions of French people wanted major changes
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- typical list of complaints: replace all taxes and tolls at town gates with a single tax; tax-free salt; suppressing of begging, each parish pay for relief of poor people’s suffering; suppression of rights of mill; end to exemption that nobles enjoy from the taille and capitation; adjustment of tithe; right to kill crows; controls on price of bread
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- drawing up lists of complaints created great excitement, when Estates General finally met at Versailles, millions of people had great expectations of it; seemed to many people that king was interested in their problems and going to take action to solve them

Estates Meet
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- first meeting of the Estates General took place on May 5th, 1789
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- over thousand deputies met in largest hall in Versailles
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- after long speeches by King and chief ministers, three estates were told to split up and carry on meeting in separate halls
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- third estate deputies were unhappy, this means each estate had a single vote, and could be easily outvoted by clergy and nobility
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- third estate refused to discuess anything as separate group, said they should take part in the Estates General only if nobles and lergy joined them in a single “National Assembly”
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- nobes and clergy refused to, so after weeks of argument, third estate gave an ultimatum, at the end of week, nobles and clergy had not joined them, they would start the work of Estates General by themselves
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Louis angrily ordered a Royal Session of the Estates General because this was an act of defiance against the king
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Louis was losing control of events at Versailles, on June 19th, clergy decided to join the third estate
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Following morning, third estate deputies arrived at palace to welcome clergy into their meeting hall, however, arrived to find door locked and guarded by soldiers, while workmen inside were preparing it for the king’s Royal Session

Tennis Court Oath
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Angered and excited deputies of third estate feared that Louis was going to break up their assembly by force
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Rain started falling, took shelter in nearest empty building they could fine, a tennis court, where they took an oath to carry on meeting until they had changed the way France was governed
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Oath tied deputies together in common cuase, when king held Royal Session on June 23rd, and ordered them to meet in separate estates, refused to move; one leader told him “we shall only leave at the point of bayonets”
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- Louis gave in, faced with their determination; on June 27th, ordered nobles and clergy to join them in single assembly, National Assembly became France’s legal parliament
 * <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">- To many people at this time, these events seemed like a revolution, however revolution was far from complete, it only had just begun


 * Questions **
 * 1) Was it necessary to have so many Estate General?
 * 2) Why did the clergy join the third estate?

Nobles and clergy thought that by calling an Estates General, it would block the king’s plans to tax them. The Estates General had been made up of around 750 members, with 250 from each of the three estates. They had met in separate rooms, and when voting, each estate had just one vote. However, third estate complained that voting system was unfair because nobles and clergy would be able to out vote them easily. Due to this, they asked the king to double their numbers in Estates General. The king agreed. While this was going on, food crisis was developing in the countryside due to freak weather. The result of the weather was the sharp rise in the price of bread. Many families spend their yearly earnings just on bread, which means they don’t buy things like clothes, shoes, candles, and fuel. Factories who make these lost business, and many workers lost their job. This led to strikes and riots in many places. Elections for Estates General were held in spring 1789, as well as electing deputies to speak for them. Voters were also asked to draw up lists of changes that they wanted Estates General to discuss with the king. Over 60,000 lists of complaints were drawn up, showing millions for French people wanted major changes. This excited people everywhere because this meant that the king was interested in their problems and was going to take action to solve them. The Estates General first met on May 5th, 1789, in the largest hall in Versailles. However, after speeches, the three estates were told to split up and carry on meeting in separate halls. Third estate deputies refused this because they could be easily out voted by the clergy and nobility. They said they would take part in the Estates General only if the nobles and clergy joined them in a single “National Assembly.” They gave an ultimatum that by the end of week, nobles and clergy had not joined them, they would start work of Estates General by themselves. This angered Louis, he ordered a Royal Session of the Estates General, intending to wan the third estate not to defy him any further. However, the clergy decided to join the third estate, and when they were arriving for their first meeting, the doors were locked and guarded by soldiers, while workmen inside were preparing for the king’s Royal Session. Angered and excited, the deputies feared that Louis was going to break up their assembly by force. Rain was falling, so they took shelter in the tennis court. They took an oath to carry on meeting until they had changed the way France was governed. This tied the deputies together, so when the king ordered them to meet in separate estates, they refused to move. The king gave in to their determination, so he ordered the nobles and clergy to join them in a single assembly, and the National Assembly became France’s legal parliament. To many people at the time, this was like a revolution, they celebrated everywhere.
 * Summary **