middle+class+revolt

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= __The bourgeoise__ =

They were middle class citizens that were very important because they were the ones that invested in new buisnesses. Although they were very important, certain laws and regulations hindered thier work, like tolls and tarrifs, monopolies and priveleges on trades given by the king ( Louis XVI ), the lack of infastructure (means of transport and communication within a country), and the fact that they had little to no rights or say in the parliment (Estates General). Because of these things, they broke away from the Estates-General by forming the National Assembly by taking the Tennis Court Oath in a tennis court near the Palace of Versailles.

=    __The Estates General__  =

The Estates general was a general assembly consisting of representatives from all except the poorest segment of the french citizenry, The independence which it displayed from the crown paved the way for the French Revolution . The French Revolution was a huge financial crisis caused by France's enormous debt, having no food and the outrageous prices which some people couldn’t afford, There were three Estates, the First Estate (the clergy), the Second Estate (the nobility), and the Third Estate (commoners). The First Estate and the Second Estate together represented only 3% of France's national population. The Third Estate, theoretically representing the other 97% of the French population. Many of this rising class saw the Estates-General as a chance to gain control and power. (Visual of above)

=__ Problems with voting __=

One of the main problems of the Estates General was their method of voting. If you were one of the people in the Estates, your individual vote couned for nothing. It was the majority of the votes in an Estate that really counted towards the final result. So, if the 400 people in the Third Estate voted no for more taxes on the lower and working class, but the //Majority// of the people in the other two Estates of less than 200 people voted yes, the vote would be 2 to 1, as there are two Estates that voted yes and only one that voted no.

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=**__ National Assembly __**=

The National Assembly existed from June 17 to July 19 1789. It consisted of 577 members known as d é put é s. The National Assembly were a group pf important people who didn’t serve the Estates but the commoners of France. The National Assembly was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly. The members in the National Assembly vowed that they would not separate until they gave France a constitution. So on July 9th they reconstituted themselves as the National Constituent Assembly.

=__ Tennis Court Oath __=

The Tennis Court Oath was a pledge taken and signed by 577 members, consisting mostly of France’s Third Estate and a few members of the First Estate. The oath was a revolutionary act taken place in a tennis court near the Palace of Versailles (thus the name). The Oath took place on the 20th of June 1789. The solidarity of the members forced Louis XVI to order the clergy and the nobility to join the Third Estate in the National Assembly.

= __Resources__  = = = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_France#The_Revolution The World Book Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates-General_of_1789 Cranny, Michael __Crossroads: A Meeting of Nations__ Prentence Hall Ginn Canada, Scarbrough, Ontario, 1998 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_States-General http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates-General_of_1789'