François kept a journal from 1789-1799 documenting France's political turmoil. In 1789, he describes the public's anger over increased taxes imposed on the poor Third Estate. By 1789, the Third Estate rebelled and formed the National Assembly. In October 1789, thousands of women marched to Versailles to protest the lack of bread, fueling the revolution. The Reign of Terror in 1794 spread fear of public executions, until Robespierre, the leader of the executions, was himself executed in July 1794, ending the Reign of Terror. By 1799, France had endured over a decade of political upheaval and revolution.

1. François’sFrançois’s
Journal entryJournal entry
1789-17991789-1799

2. May 6, 1789May 6, 1789
“A recent picture of me”
“We are the backbone
of the government”

3. Unequally and taxationUnequally and taxation
“The taxes raised!” was the newspaper this morning. Every morning a man would come by our little town
in the capital of France. He would sell the morning newspaper and would always yell out the latest news. I
did not have time to stop and look at the paper but I knew it was a special edition. This morning was a
special morning because last night, the estate general and King Louis XVI met to discuss what to do with
our country since it was in a downfall. Those important articles were always priced higher and thus my
friends and I would buy one together. I went outside to see a bunch of my friends looking old and tired,
but there was something else. They looked furious, this could only mean one thing, the taxes were raised
once again and life would even get harder.
My friends and I were all part of the third estate. The third estate was hard working but low earning class.
We all worked harder then any other person in the government but still we had a hard life. Taxation was
one of the most faced problems in the third estate because we all did not have very much to spend. We
had the highest taxes of all the estates even though their salary sometimes tripled ours. We all suffered
from the taxations but whenever we voted it was always the first and second estate against us so we were
always in the minority. We are basically the backbone of the entire government because we hold
everything together. Because we were in the minority, meant that they had to go with the unfair rules and
accept the laws that would cause more problems for them. We all knew the consequences of taxation and
that we would have to work long and more hours to provide for out families. This will make life harder but
the three estates always survived. They fight and never give up, that’s what we are known for and we will
always keep fighting for our deserved rights. We want an equal France in which there are rules that are
equal and taxation that is fair for everyone not just for the rich but also for the poor. We strive for a better
France!

4. June 21st, 1789June 21st, 1789
“Our old home”
“Long live the
rebellion”

5. Long live the RebellionLong live the Rebellion
The Three estates always used to work together and share power until one day we all had enough. We, the Third Estate, decided to break away
from the unfair ruling of the other estates and we created our own government. The other estates always said that power was shared equally
among us, but it was not true. Whenever there was a new law presented to the three estates, it was always the first and second estates against
us. We were always in the minority and nothing went in our favor. We were always outnumbered and always had to go with their unfair rules
and laws. On top of that, we had much higher taxes than the others estates, which was undeserved because we worked much harder than them.
So, just because they had better jobs than us, did they deserve more rights too?
We had had enough!
All of the former third estate members decided to stick together and make our own estate. We established a set of guiding principles that
everyone should follow. For example, we believe that everyone has the same amount of value as any other person. It doesn’t matter if one
earns more than another; everyone is equal. Another one of our main beliefs is that all people have to pay taxes, the amount depending on the
amount of money earned. Thus, this would not depend on rights or value. Our biggest goal is to overthrow the current king and get power. We
started meeting at a different place because the meeting hall was closed to us now and we did not want to step foot in there anymore. This new,
public place was a tennis court. Anyone who wanted to join our rebellion against the king for its unfair ruling was welcomed and together we
formed a powerful force.
One day we all took an oath, which was named after the place where we were. Thus, the name of the oath was The Tennis Court Oath. This oath
held that we would not accept the unfair ruling and that we opposed King Louis the XVI and his estates. We stated we do not agree with any of
his rules because he did not listen and showed no mercy. So, we plan to show him no mercy when we are in power.
We all protested and screamed against the Estate General and started our own revolution--a revolution to overthrow the main estates and
make ourselves powerful. This is my personal goal to make our country, France, a better place.
I hope that we gain power soon, and when it happens we will imprison all of the generals and the people who did not listen to us.
“Long live the Tennis Court Oath!”
“Long live the Rebellion”

6. October 5th, 1789October 5th, 1789
“We send a message”
“Together we are stronger”

7. The beginning of they endThe beginning of they end
France was still in its dark days and not many aspects were improving for the Third Estate. However, this changed when
the women made big plans to attack Versailles to get their voice heard. They had no work because the nobles were not
buying any of the goods they were making. Therefore, they did not have any income and no money to buy new products.
The day came that I had dreaded for weeks; my wife was going to participate in the attack on Versailles. Over 8000
women gathered together, made a plan, and put that plan to action. They started making their way to the King’s palace
to send him a message. The women all stormed Versailles and invaded the palace. Most people of the higher classes
were amazed by the women’s attack because they did not expect such a huge crowd and such a rebellious act. The
women all came back together, holding their chests high and walking proudly. They showed the leader and king that
with courage and force they could defeat anybody. This was the beginning of the end of the downfall of the King’s
Monarchy. Our women took many important government officials hostage. This they said was a sign of their power and
that they should not be messed with. Because many officials saw that we were getting so strong and could take anyone
on, they decided to go further away or get better protection. The main reason all of the women, including my wife, went
to Versailles was that they did not have any money. I hope this will change the situation for our children and us and
make our life easier.
The marching of Versailles was much like the marching of the Bastille. We, the lower class, attacked because of our
anger against the government. In both cases we achieved our goal of sending a message. Both of these scenarios were
also about power and equality. Both of these marching’s were mainly about us showing and gaining power for the lower
class and us showing our immense combined strength against the government. It also showed that we are capable of
many things; thus we are just as equal as any other person in any class and we should not be taken advantage of. The
higher classes take advantage of us and make us do the dirty work. They make us pay the taxes, but we have strength;
together we can beat them. The government thinks they are in power, and they are, but the real power is with us, the
lower class. At any second we can attack and takeover, and we will dare anyone to stand in our way.

8. July 28th, 1794July 28th, 1794
“The last few unlucky victims”
“Never stop
believing in
yourself”

9. You’re faith in my handsYou’re faith in my hands
Everyone was scared for his or her faith, including my family and me. The Reign of Terror was rapidly spreading
amongst all people and everyone knew what it was and what it meant. If you did something against the law, you knew
you would always have to watch your back to see if Robespierre’s men were after you. If they catch you, you would
have to tell the truth about your mistake and would go on the chopping block. You would be placed under a big knife,
you would have to lay on your stomach and if you confessed to your crime, they would let the knife go and your head
would be chopped off. Everyone was scared of these consequences. But instead of making it more peaceful, there was
so much anger shown towards this horrible style of executing, which was lead by Robespierre’s. But that was until
yesterday when we heard that the politician, Robespierre, was executed by his own method of killing.
Robespierre was mainly known for his horrible execution, the “Reign of Terror”. Everyone was always very scared if
he came in the neighborhood because it was always to punish someone for crimes; the beheading would follow. The
killer, Robespierre, would on certain occasions behead someone in public to show his power and political strength. He
was also an important figure of the French government. Despite his brutal killing methods, he was a well-admired
politician who would stand up for the peasant’s rights. Sometimes his enemies would mysteriously die by his method
of beheading the day before they were to discuss a new law or some other kind of political agreement. When he was
caught and imprisoned, everyone felt relief because even though we weren’t the main targets, no one ever knew what
Robespierre’s was going to do next and who he would hit next.
Although Robespierre was caught several months ago, nobody was 100% safe because he still had many followers who
would kill for him whenever he wanted. Now that he was really gone and his followers have no one to listen to, I hope
that will help improve the morale of France. Robespierre was a cold-blooded killer and now he is gone, I can sleep
again as my family is save from him. I hope this execution will stop the Reign of Terror and make people think what a
horrible method of killing it is. Even though some people might deserve to die, it is not right to behead someone and
should never be done again.

10. November 10th, 1799November 10th, 1799
“Our new hope”
“Long live France!”

11. A new beginningA new beginning
Devastating, and untrustworthy was the work of the 5 directors. They promised everyone that they would fix our problems but
they ended up making it worse. Everyone thought that this would be the solution to all our problems but we thought wrong.
The 5 directors were in power for the last few months and one claimed that this would be the change we had all been waiting
for, but it wasn’t. Yesterday was the long awaited fall of the directory and its followers. Napoleon Bonaparte took advantage of
this unstable form of government and came to power and took control of the French government. He also said he would form a
new improved government but I don’t believe him because a lot of leaders have said that these past few years...
The 5 men came to power when our country was at a downfall and they promised to make things betters. We all accepted their
attitude and will to succeed but it wasn’t meant to be. The five-man directory was at first thought to be the solution to our
problems but it came to be known as the downfall of France, once again. Once they got to power, the 5 man held immense
power above us and ruled our country with proudness. They formed two other directories’ that were made up out of nobles
and other highly admired characters. But when things started to difficult, they economy got even worse then it already was.
People like me, started to realize that this was not the solution but another cause for the problem. Napoleon took advantage of
this turnover and worked it to his advantage. Thus he gained power and finally, yesterday, was ready to take out the 5 directors
and control France.
France needs a leader who can get us out of the financial crisis. Who can save us from our problems, a leader who treats us
equally and most of all a leader that works towards making our country a better place. We have had many leaders before that
were claimed to be the next solution but all of them have either caused more problems or were treating us unequally. We have
tried to make those changes ourselves by sending messages like attacking the Bastille and invading Versailles but it never
totally worked because a new leader would take over that was not appropriate. Those new leaders that claimed that they
would make things better, would always fail or get back to a monarchy, which we did not approve of. Now that Napoleon has
control we hope that he will share the power equally among us. We strive for a better nation and to make our country
something to be proud of and not something to be ashamed off. We need changes to our government and to our economy and
we need those changes now.
“Long life France!”

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