European History, Part 1

Question 1: Explain the purpose of the National Assembly that formed immediately prior to the French Revolution and explain the purpose of the Tennis Court Oath.

Answer 1: King Louis XVI was in desperate need of additional tax revenue, but the people of France were in no position to pay more taxes. Louis XVI, as a result, decided to order each of the estates to discuss the issue of taxes in separate sessions, so it would be much more difficult for the peasants to vote down the taxes that he proposed. This led the Third Estate, which primarily consisted of the peasants of France, to leave the Estates-General and form a new body known as the National Assembly. The Assembly was designed to help the people seize control of the French government, so they could reform it. The king, however, was not ready to allow the peasants to take control of the government, and he ordered his soldiers to lock and guard the doors of the hall in which the Assembly met. This forced the Assembly to find a new place to meet, which actually ended up being at a tennis court. There they swore an oath that they would continue to meet until there was a French constitution.

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Question 2: Describe the events that led to the Storming of the Bastille.

Answer 2: The Third Estate, along with members from the First and Second Estates, formed the National Assembly to help the people seize control of the French government, so they could reform it. The king, however, was not ready to allow the peasants to take control of the government, and he tried to prevent the National Assembly from meeting. These attempts ultimately failed, and the king was forced to begin gathering an army to protect the throne. This army, which primarily consisted of mercenaries that the king hired from Germany and Switzerland, began to move toward Paris and Versailles to help protect the government in the case of a revolt. The sudden increase in the number of troops around Paris and Versailles only increased the fears of the people, however, as many people believed that the army’s movements were designed to force the National Assembly to disband. This eventually led the people of Paris to riot, and on July 14, 1789, a mob of angry Parisian citizens attacked the French prison known as the Bastille.

Question 3: Describe the Great Fear.

Answer 3: The Great Fear refers to an event that took place throughout France from the middle of July to the beginning of August in 1789. The people of France feared that the king would put an end to the revolutionary movement that had developed in France, and these fears caused the people to riot. The people’s fears, however, were only strengthened as the rioting continued, and rumors began to spread throughout France that the king and the nobles were plotting against the peasants. In fact, it was a common belief at the time that the nobles were actually paying thieves to steal food from the peasants so that the nobles could add it to their own stockpiles and starve the peasants who were taking part in the revolutionary movement. These rumors eventually caused the peasants to panic, and they began to attack the homes of prominent nobles to seize their food and destroy tax records.

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