2. May 6, 1789
May 6, 1789
The Three Estates
The hated queen of France, Marie Antoinette
The calling of the Estates-General, May 5, 1789
3. May 6, 1789- Why It All Happened
Life in France…well, let’s just say it’s not exactly enjoyable right now at this moment. Yesterday King Louis XVI called together the Estates-General for the first time since 1614, and it all
became clear to the public how bad our economy was. There have been economical struggles due to the Seven Year War, and we’ve had our fair share of the famine and had suffered
enough, but we all had prayed that life was going to get better. Now, it just took a turn for the worse.
People like me, members of the Third Estate, are the backbone of the country. We’re the poorest members, but we are more than 95% of the entire population. We are the ones who pay
the highest tax, even though we’re not as good off as members of the First and Second Estates. They’re the nobles, the rich people, and somehow they manage to avoid paying taxes, and
we have to cover their share. And they have so much power over us. Whenever a law that might help improve the lives of the people of the Third Estate passes, they use their power to
overrule it, so our lives are still the same life of suffering.
We, the poorest people, provide food, provide everything that they eat, use, and wear, and still pay the highest tax. They enjoy a life of luxury, and manage to avoid taxes. Oh, how I’ve
wished to be a noble. We’ve been considering a revolution for years, but just didn’t know how to pull it off. However, since the American Revolution just drew to a close, we’ve had our
inspirational motivation. Look at that queen Marie Antoinette, for example. We’re in the middle of an economical crisis, and she’s off wearing fancy dresses, throwing extravagant parties,
and enjoying her luxurious life. Look at those fountains in Versailles for example. They might be quite pretty, but they’re a huge waste of clean water and money. If she turned off the
fountains for a day, look how many peasants such as I who are almost dying of dehydration she could give that water to! Jacques Necker, well, I don’t know what exactly to make of that man.
He’s the minister of finance, and who knows, he might have the right mind of actually helping the people of France, but he was till appointed by Louis XVI, so the public still has doubts
about him.
I’m surrounded by bone-thin people, all starving due to our economic crisis. Our houses are wobbling dangerously, on the verge of falling apart, and three of my sisters are dead already. I’m
the eldest, and it makes sense that I have to help mother earn our living. Everyday I hear my mother calling for me: “Zoe, could you help me with this?” And I have to oblige. Having just come
of age, it is time I seek a better life for my family. Having lost my father to the Seven Year War, it is now up to me. I am already working in the palace of Versailles, waiting on Marie
Antoinette. I’m exhausted everyday from running around running errands for the queen, and I still have to help my mother care for my younger sisters. I now have such a heavy burden resting
upon my shoulders, and I have no idea what to do next.
I only hope that the Third Estate can finally set their minds on improving the life of French peasants.
4. June 21, 1789
The Tennis Court Oath, June 20, 1789
The King of France, Louis XVI
The Minister of Finance,
Jacques Necker
5. June 21, 1789- The Day We Swore to a
Constitution
Life finally might be looking up for us.
Yesterday, the delegates from what used to be the Third Estate were shut out of the meeting hall of the National Assembly. Not ones to give up easily,
they held their meeting in a nearby indoor tennis court in a district in the city of Versailles instead. And what happened next would be remembered in history
forever. They then took an oath, in which they swore that the group would not break apart until a new national constitution was created. The Third Estate
has been waiting for this moment for quite a while. Due to their meeting place, the oath took on the name the Tennis Court Oath. This was the first time
that the citizens of France decided to take the matter of the revolution into their own hands, and go against the hated royal family. It was then promptly
written and signed by 577 members of the Third Estate.
I wish others could have been there to hear the shouts of joy that were echoing off the stone walls in our village. This revolution might actually happen. We
are determined to give the next generation a better life, a life where everyone is equal, and not have a huge gap of wealth. We deserve that after all of our
sufferings for the wellness of the nobility. It’s time they learned what it felt like to not be even able to afford bread. It was quite naïve of Marie Antoinette to
say, “let them eat cake”, when cake is basically made of the same ingredients as bread. If a noble ever had to adapt to living conditions like ours, they would
seriously rethink all that wasting of money they did.
I also personally think that it was quite rude of Louis XVI to shut the delegates from what used to be the Third Estate out of the meeting hall of the
National Assembly, stating that they weren’t a legit assembly if they couldn’t meet. We were all created equal, and isn't equality about respecting
everyone’s opinion, and not just the opinion of one or two people? He would probably go crazy if that kind of power was to be taken away from him
someday. And it will be taken away. Soon. Because we will not be able to die in peace unless we know that all of our suffering was worth it, and that we were
able to change the lives of future generations. We need to know that all of our ears of suffering had paid off. We need to know that we suffered our whole
life to contribute to a worthy cause. We were never that well off, but we’ve learned to appreciate what we have. Nobles have led a lavish lifestyle their whole
life, and are always looking for something better.
I sincerely hope these nobles get a taste of their own medicine soon.
6. October 6, 1789
The attack of the Bastille, July 14 1789
The march of Versailles, led by the women of Paris, October 5, 1789
7. October 6, 1789- The Long Awaited Downfall of
Monarchy
The downfall of monarchy has finally arrived. When the revolutionary mob stormed the Bastille a few months ago, raiding the prison for arms and
gunpowder, it intimidated even the royal family. Not that they really needed the help of the prisoners held captive in the Bastille; there were only seven
political or aristocratic prisoners, and two of them were insane, but they stormed it partially as a message to the King, telling him that they were not ones to
be messed with easily, and partially because they needed the supplies stored in the Bastille.
Yesterday they carried on from that. And what a strange sight it was. An angry mob of Parisian women stormed onto the grounds of Versailles, shouting for
bread and the queen’s blood. I stood there, mouth hanging open, as the tidal wave of women swallowed me. The tidal wave then carried me along, and I
noticed that some of the “women” were men wearing dresses…under the impression that women were less likely to be shot. The queen came onto the
balcony, and the mob, seeing their hated queen, started shouting with renewed energy. Marie Antoinette barely had time to flee to the King’s room. King
Louis XVI then came onto the balcony, and gravely announced that it was the least he could do to go back to Paris with them to see the living conditions of
his people. The mob then cheered with such force that one could almost see the palace walls shaking from the force. And so the royal family was taken to
Paris and imprisoned in the Tuileries palace, having their power taken away from them.
I wish others could have been there to witness the cheering of the palace staff as we realized that we did not have to oblige by their every order anymore; no
longer had to be at their beck and call. My mother, however, is not as joyful. This means that I now have to find another job to keep on supporting my family,
as my sisters are not yet old enough to work. Mother is already tiring herself out, and I wish there was something I could do to lift that heavy burden that is
her family off of her frail shoulders. I just wish things get better and better from here…soon, perhaps, everyone will be equal again, and finance and money will
no longer be a problem.
The public knows that the lives of the King and Queen will end shortly, one way or another. However, we still have no exact solution to our finance and
economic problems. We need a leader.
The Jacobins and the Girondins have been feuding for a while now, and the leader of the Jacobins, Robespierre, might be a likely candidate. He voted for
the King’s death in the National Assembly. Even though he has some great ideas for the future of France, he is a coldhearted man, and many find it
difficult to come to a liking for him.
I just hope that coldhearted side doesn’t come out anytime soon.
8. July 29, 1794
The Reign of Terror, a period of time where anyone could be sent to the blade
of the guillotine
Maximilien Robespierre, president of the Jacobins Club
9. July 29, 1794- The Deathly Blade of the
Guillotine
The Terror is finally over. We can now be like baby turtles, poking our heads out of our shell for the first time in a while, because we were too terrified to do so before.
Yesterday marked the end of The Reign of Terror, which was the day that Robespierre was executed. Even though the Reign of Terror lasted less than a year, it’s caused the death tolls
to peak in the hundreds of thousands. The guillotine was going crazy, consuming the heads of both nobles and peasants. Anyone could be on the verge of being executed.
And who do we have to blame for this? This was only caused by the friction and the feuding between two political groups, the Jacobins (of which Robespierre was president), and the
Girondins. The Jacobins were the only ones that called for a republic instead of a constitutional monarchy, which was what caused the feuding.
People in my town have gone crazy, scared to death that they would be the next ones to be sent to the deathly blade of the guillotine. The guillotine has become a symbol of the Terror,
even though the guillotine was supposed to be “good support for liberty”. It was actually originally introduced as a humane and efficient was of execution, which was everything it’s not.
Most of the time the guillotine doesn’t even work the first time…the blade needs to come down a few times to get the head off completely. It is very gruesome to watch, but this was the
cause of death for many. Many people in my town have lost family members and friends to the Terror, but yet still no one dares speak up for fear of having their own head be chopped off
by that deathly blade. I am considered very lucky to still have my mother and my sisters by my side. Everyday, I am sung to sleep by the sounds of crying neighbors, mourning their lost
family.
The sans-culottes were also feared by many. The most common people of Paris, the Jacobins used them to spread violence amongst the people of France. They are what drove this
revolution, with their ideas that survival was a right of every person, inequality of any kind must be abolished, and the aristocracy and monarchy was to be eliminated. Their ideas were more
radical than what the Jacobins had in mind, and some radical Jacobins began to work with them. These Jacobins were the Mountains, as they took the highest seats in the Assembly.
As the Convention fell more and more into the hands of the sans-culottes and the Mountains, it turned its attention to doing away the monarchy. In December, 1792, the Convention put
Louis XVI on trial, and while the Girondists and more moderate Jacobins struggled to save his life, the Convention narrowly voted for his execution. King Louis XVI was sent to the blade
of the guillotine on January 31, 1793, marking the end of monarchy.
Many were overjoyed that we would no longer have to live under the rule of an all-powerful king. However, I fear that there are more problems to come.
Such as who’s going to rule next?
10. November 10, 1799
The hated Five-Member Directory
Napoleon Bonaparte, the man who overthrew the Directory
11. November 10, 1799- Coup de Tat
Life in France certainly isn’t boring. After the fall of Robespierre, a 5-man Directory took over governing France. At first, this seemed like a good idea,
and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We all thought that this could be a permanent solution. But who knew that the Directory was filled with such
legislature and corruption? The Directory then became extremely unpopular amongst the people of France.
The Directory was composed of two councils and a 5-member executive. Over the course of the four years that the Directory was in power, it maintained
an aggressive foreign policy, but could not control events at home. The Directory has made some rash decisions, which sparked even more hatred in the
people. It was overthrown yesterday by Napoleon Bonaparte.
I certainly hope that this signifies the end of the tidal wave of events that happened over the course of a bit more than a decade. My family, thank God, is
very well and alive, and I am proud to say that today one of my sisters join together with mother and myself in providing for our family. We have stuck
together through all of it, and that has made us stronger. Nothing can tear us apart.
I do hope though, that with Napoleon in power we can at least get some peace. We deserve that much after that crazy whirlwind of events. Even the citizens
of France can barely keep up.
We have no idea what is going to happen next, but we are all praying that it is something good for a change. An era of peace would be the best. Napoleon is
a strong leader, if anyone can ensure that, he can. I just hope it does not get to his head and he starts wanting to conquer other countries. That would be a
fatal mistake. He may have a military gift, but France is still recovering from our recent revolution and our economic crisis.
All we can hope for right now is for history to not repeat itself. We have made mistakes in the past, but we have corrected them. With the Tennis Court
Oath, the March of Versailles, and the Storming of the Bastille, we have proved that if we put up a united front, we are undefeatable. We can only hope
that if such a time comes that such actions have to be taken again, we can assume a united front and not squabble and bicker over opinions again. We all
learn from our mistakes in order to not make them again. But you know what they say: history has a way of repeating itself. We can only hope that if this
were to happen, we come to our senses quicker than last time, and prove our power once again.
We are finally getting our well-deserved era of peace. Let’s just hope it lasts for a while.
12. Works Cited
"The Fall of Robespierre." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/fall_of_robespierre.shtml>.
"The Estates." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/the_estates.shtml>.
"The Pre-Revolution." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/pre_revolution.shtml>.
"The Tennis Court Oath." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/tennis_court_oath.shtml>.
"Storming of the Bastille." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/storming_of_bastille.shtml>.
"The Sans-culottes." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/sans_culottes.shtml>.
"An Ordinary Guillotine." An Ordinary Guillotine. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2013. <http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/125/>.
"Images of the French Revolution." Images of the French Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.
<http://teachers.ausd.net/antilla/frrevimages.html>.
Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the past. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000.
Print.
Dickinson, Martin. French Revolution: History in Depth. Walton-on-Thames: Nelson, 1992. Print.
13. Works Cited (cont.)
Lacey, Robert. The French Revolution. Amawalk, NY: Jackdaw Publications, 1993. Print.
Mantin, Peter. The French Revolution. Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 1992. Print.
Millard, Anne, and Joseph McEwan. The Age of Revolutions: From AD 1750 to AD 1914. London: Usborne, 1990. Print.
Perry, Marvin. History of the World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. Print.
Scott, Marvin. Of Many times and Cultures: Fascinating Facts and Stories from World History. Portland, Me: J. Weston
Walch, 1993. Print.
