InNo+christopherc2012+08.29.10

**The Estate General**

 * was welcomed by the king's decision to call an Estate General
 * intended to use him to block his plans to raise tax
 * used voting system

**Voting System**

 * Estate General met whenever the King wanted to consult it, but they did not meet often (last was 1614)
 * made of 750 members, 250 from each of the three estates, had 3 rooms and when voting, one room had one vote
 * third estate complained voting was unfair, in 1789, nobles and clergy were able to outvote them 2 - 1
 * asked to double members and make one member per vote
 * In December 1789, king reluctantly agreed to these demands, but his government was already bankrupt
 * could not pay any debts
 * new finance minister Jacques Necker advised him to double third estate, hoping that the Estate General itself will agree to taxes

**Food Crisis**

 * on July 1788, a massive hailstorm destroyed crops over central France
 * followed by a drought
 * harvest of 1788 was very poor
 * coldest winter in living memory after that
 * blocked roads prevented food from reaching markets, and when snow thawed in spring, floods ruined huge areas of farmland
 * sharp rise in price of bread
 * people stopped buying home supplies
 * factories lost business, and workers lost jobs
 * unemployment and hunger led to strikes in the city

**Complaints List**

 * elections for Estate General were held in spring 1789
 * voters were asked to list things that they wanted to discuss with the king
 * over 60,000 complaints were drawn up
 * created excitement over France
 * Estate General met at Versailles in May 1789, millions had great expectations since it seemed problems were going to be solved

**Estates Meet**

 * first meeting in 5 May, 1789
 * over 1000 deputies met in the largest hall of Versailles
 * third estate unhappy that they would be outvoted by clergy and nobles, refused to discuss in separate group
 * third estate warned that they would carry Estate General out by its own
 * Louis was losing control of Versailles
 * on June 19, clergy decided to join third estate
 * found that doors were locked for King's royal session

**Tennis Courth Oath**

 * third estate thought Louis would break assembly by force
 * took shelter in a tennis court and made an oath to carry the meeting until they had changed France's government
 * King held Royal Session on 23 June, separate estates refused to move
 * On 27 June, nobles and clergy became France's legal parliament
 * seemed liked a revolution to many

- estate system was outdated ||= - third estate || - third estate had to pay most taxes - third estate did not get to use most of their money ||= - third estate || - peasants had to pay alot of taxes to the landlord each year - peasants paid for all the property they used ||= - third estate || - people wrongly accused ||= - all estates || - used most of money on palace - use of sealed letters were unfair to everyone, as people were imprisoned for no reason - had put on many limitations against the people, such as taxes, rights, and social problems ||= - all estates ||
 * =  ||= Things that people disliked ||= Kinds of people who disliked these things ||
 * = Society ||= - third estate had no privileges at all
 * = Taxation ||= - nobles and clergy were exempt from most taxes
 * = Feudal rights and dues ||= - landlords were able to use and take from rented property
 * = Law ||= - law was cruel
 * = Government ||= - government was spendthrift for the king's own interests

2. France was in total chaos at this time. People wanted to improve their lives and they saw that most of these problems were because of the French government. In order to change the way they lived their lives, changing the government would do so.

3. (E) The government spent more each year than it recieved in taxes so (B) the government was deeply in debt, so (G) the Finance Manager planned to raise money with a new tax on land. But (A) an assembly of nobles and clergy refused to agree to the new tax, so (C) Louis XVI ordered a meeting of the Estate General, hoping it would agree to the new tax. (I) The government went bankrupt, so (D) the Third Estate deputies took over the Estate General and turned it into a National Assembly, so (H) Louis XVI decided to hold a royal session of the Estate General, and warn the third estate not to defy him, but (F) the deputies gathered in a tennis court and sword an oath that they would continue to meet.

Causes: A, B, E, I Consequences: C, D, F, G, H

4.
 * || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 ||
 * Political || People thought the king and his ministers had too much power || Marie Antoinette's extravagant spending ||  ||   ||
 * Social || Marie Antoinette was Austrian || High prices and unemployment ||  ||   ||
 * Economic || Nobles disliked government's plans for new tax ||  ||   ||   ||

5. The government's new taxes, high prices and unemployment, because these were the actions that had the greatest effect on society.

6. Yes, the government still had an imbalance of power, and taxes will also have been distributed to the estate in the same way. Although Marie Antoinette was only a small factor of the reason why the French people did not like their king, other social problems were already still be there by 1789.