Name____________

Ms. Reyes/Ms. Rust

Date:_______
Global 10
Mini-Lesson 2: French Revolution Preliminary Stage
Aim: How did the 3rd Estate challenge the French monarchy?
Do Now: Based on your knowledge of Global Studies, write down 3 generalizations (broad statement
about a group of people or things. It states something they have in common) about the social, economic
and political structure of France at the start of the French Revolution.
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CLASSWORK: Complete the following reading. Answer the questions that follow(CCLS RI.1-citing strong
and thorough textual evidence to support analysis).
The French Revolution Begins
By the late 1780s, the French government needed
money badly in order to pay its debts (money owed). In
1789, therefore, King Louis XVI called a meeting of the
Estates General. The Estates General was a group of
advisers to the Crown with members from all three Estates.
The Estates-General had not been called together since
1614.
When the Estates General last met in 1614, each
Estate was allowed one votes. This meant that the Church
leaders (from the 1st Estate) and the nobles (from the 2nd
Estate) were always able to vote against the 3rd Estate by
two to one. But in 1789, the 3rd Estate refused to let this
happen again. The 3rd Estate has as many members from both the 1st and 2nd Estate together. The 3rd
Estate now demanded that all members in all three Estates vote together as one group on all matters. The
3rd Estate also demanded that all decisions be made by the majority vote of all members in all three
Estates.
However, the French nobles and Church leaders were against
this idea. The 1st and 2nd Estates still wanted each Estate to meet
separately and hove one vote. As a result, the members of the 3 rd
Estate decided to take action. They declared themselves the
National Assembly. As the National Assembly, the 3rd Estate
intended to act as a lawmaking body for all the people of France.
Louis XVI promptly banished them from their meeting hall.
Joined by many of the lower clergy and some reform-minded
nobles, deputies of the 3rd Estate gathered at a nearby tennis court.
There, they swore an oath (promise), known as the Tennis Court
Oath, promising not to disband until they had written a
constitution.
Louis could have ordered the soldiers to make them leave.
However, he ordered the nobles and the clergy to join the Third Estate and form one single National
Assembly. When Louis XVI brought troops to Versailles, many people feared that he planned to dissolve
the National Assembly and crush the revolution. In reaction, Mobs in Paris and throughout other cities
attacked government prisons in search of weapons to defend the National Assembly against the kings
troops. The government prison in Paris was called the Bastille. On July 14, 1789, a Paris crowd stormed
the Bastille. They saw the attack on the Bastille as an attack on the injustice and inequality of the Old
Regime. The attack on the Bastille became the symbol for the French Revolution. Today, the French
celebrate July 14th as their Independence Day. It is still known as Bastille Day.
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Describe what the Estates General was.

How does the Estates General compare to Englands parliament?
Why do you think the monarchy had not called the Estates General together since 1614?
Explain why the 3rd Estate declared itself the National Assembly.
Predict how the 1st and 2nd Estate would react to the Tennis Court Oath.
Why might have Louis XVI ordered the nobles and clergy to join the National Assembly?

Scholar Pair Work: In the Tennis Court Oath, several people made speeches. For each quote,
identify which member of the 3rd Estate (Bourgeoisie, peasant, unskilled worker, or all) would
have said it.

Summary: Write your own Tennis Court oath that addresses the wants of all members of the 3rd
Estate:

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OBJECTIVE TWO ACTIVITIES: French Revolution Crises Stage (you must choose one). 50 points.
1. Write one Point of View journal entries for three of the perspectives listed below (so in total, you will
have three journal entries) written during the Reign of Terror. In your entries, you must include all
of the vocabulary words from the Mini-Lesson 2 list.
a. a noble
b. a member of the clergy

c. a member of the bourgeoisie

d. a peasant
e. an urban worker during the Reign of Terror.
2. Create a mini-poster that might have been used to support or oppose one of the following: the
goals of the Jacobins; the elimination of the monarchy; the policies of the Robespierre; equal rights
for women. Include at least two illustrations, and at least 5 reasons someone should support or
oppose your topic.
3. Pretend that you are a reporter sent to cover raid of the Bastille. In a short newspaper article of
describe the events. You can use details from your textbook, notes, or the Internet. You may also
choose to write an article from the first-person perspective as if you were a witness of or participant
in the events at the Bastille.