During the French Revolution, the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly that existed from June 17 to July 9 of 1789. The History of France has been divided into a series of separate historical articles navigable through the list to the right. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Gaul in the Roman Empire Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in what would become modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and western Germany. ... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Early Modern France is the portion of French history that falls in the early modern period from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance to the eve of the French Revolution). ... The history of France in Modern Times I (1792-1920) extends from the fall of the Ancien Régime and the proclamation of the First French Republic on 1792 September 21 to the demission of the French wartime Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau on 1920 January 18. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (French: Les États-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. ... Combatants French government Parisian militia (predecessor of Frances National Guard) Commanders Bernard-René de Launay† Prince de Lambesc Camille Desmoulins Strength 114 soldiers, 30 artillery pieces 600 - 1,000 insurgents Casualties 1 (6 or possibly 8 killed after surrender) 98 The Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. ... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... This article is about a legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. ... The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) or simply The Terror (French: la Terreur) is a phase in the French Revolution during which many rival factions struggled between themselves, leading to mutual radicalization and to massive executions by the means of the guillotine. ... Executive Directory (in French Directoire exécutif), commonly known as the Directory (or Directoire) held executive power in France from November 2, 1795 until November 10, 1799: following the Convention and preceding the Consulate. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This is a glossary of the French Revolution. ... Timeline of the French Revolution. ... Combatants Great Britain Austria Prussia Spain Russian Empire Sardinia France The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, beginning in 1792 and lasting until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states. ... This is a partial list of people associated with the French Revolution, including supporters and opponents. ... The historiography of the French Revolution stretches back two hundred years to the event itself. ... Map of the First French Empire in 1811, with the Empire in dark blue and sattelite states in light blue Capital Paris Language(s) French Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1804-1814/1815 Napoleon I Napoleon II Legislature Parliament  - Upper house Senate  - Lower house Corps législatif History  - French Consulate  - Established 18... Capital Paris Language(s) French Government Monarchy King  - 1814-1824 Louis XVIII  - 1824-1830 Charles X Legislature Parliament History  - Bourbon Restoration 1814  - July Revolution 21 January, 1830 Currency French Franc Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814, the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne. ... The July Monarchy was established in France with the reign of Louis Philippe of France. ... The French Second Republic (often simply Second Republic) was the republican government of France between the 1848 Revolution and the coup by Louis Napoleon which initiatied the Second Empire. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The French Third Republic, (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe République) (1870/75-10 July 1940) was the governing body of France between the Second French Empire and the Vichy Regime. ... The History of France from 1914 to the present, includes the later years of the Third French Republic (1871-1941), the Vichy Regime (1940-1944), the years after Libération (1944-1946), the French Fourth Republic (1946-1958) and the French Fifth Republic (since 1958) and also includes World War... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (French: Les États-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Background

Main article: Estates-General of 1789

The Estates-General had been called in May of 1789 to deal with France's financial crisis, but promptly fell to squabbling over its own structure. Its members had been elected to represent the estates of the realm: the First Estate (the clergy), the Second Estate (the nobility) and the Third Estate (which, in theory, represented all of the commoners and, in practice, represented the bourgeoisie). The Third Estate had been granted "double representation"—that is, twice as many delegates as each of the other estates—but at the opening session on May 5, 1789 they were informed that all voting would be "by estates" not "by head", so their double representation was to be meaningless in terms of power. They refused this and proceeded to meet separately.^[1][2] The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (French: Les États-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. ... The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (French: Les États-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... In several different regions of medieval Europe, and continuing in some countries[] down to the present day, the estates of the realm were broad divisions of society, usually distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners; this last group was, in some regions, further divided into burghers (also known as bourgeoisie) and peasants. ... In France of the ancien régime and the age of the French Revolution, the term First Estate (Fr. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... In France of the ancien régime and the age of the French Revolution, the term Second Estate (Fr. ... Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... In France of the ancien régime and the age of the French Revolution, the term Third Estate (tiers état) indicated the generality of people which were not part of the clergy (the First Estate) nor of the nobility (the Second Estate). ... Bourgeoisie (RP [], GA []) is a classification used in analyzing human societies to describe a class of people who are in the middle class nobility, whose status or power comes from employment, education, and wealth as opposed to aristocratic origin. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Shuttle diplomacy among the estates continued without success until May 27; on May 28, the representative of the Third Estate began to meet on their own,^[2] calling themselves the Communes ("communities") and proceeding with their "verification of powers" independently of the other bodies; from June 13 to June 17 they were gradually joined by some of the nobles and the majority of the clergy. May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ...

The Assembly convokes

After some debate over the name, on June 17 this body declared itself the National Assembly: an assembly not of the Estates but of "the People". They invited the other orders to join them, but made it clear that they intended to conduct the nation's affairs with or without them.^[2] June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ...

This newly constituted assembly immediately linked itself to the capitalists — the sources of the credit needed to fund the national debt — and to the common people. They consolidated the public debt and declared all existing taxes to have been previously illegally imposed, but voted in these same taxes provisionally, only as long as the Assembly continued to sit. This restored the confidence of capital and gave it a strong interest in keeping the Assembly in session. As for the common people, the Assembly established a committee of subsistence to deal with the food shortages.^[2] Capital has a number of related meanings in economics, finance and accounting. ...

Initially, the Assembly announced (and for the most part probably believed) itself to be operating in the interests of King Louis XVI as well as those of the people. In theory, royal authority still prevailed and the process of adopting new laws continued to require the king's consent. Louis XVI (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ...

The King resists

Jacques Necker, finance minister to Louis XVI, had earlier proposed that the king hold a Séance Royal (Royal Session) in an attempt to conciliate the divided Estates. The plan was agreed; however none of the three orders (see Estates of the Realm) were formally notified of the decision to hold a Royal Session. All debates were to be put on hold until the séance royal took place. Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (September 30, 1732 – April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance minister of Louis XVI. // Necker was born in Geneva, Switzerland. ...

Events soon bypassed finance minister Necker's complex scheme of giving in to the Communes on some points while holding firm on others. No longer interested in Necker's advice, Louis XVI, under the influence of the courtiers of his privy council, resolved to go in state to the Assembly, annul its decrees, command the separation of the orders, and dictate the reforms to be effected by the restored Estates-General. On June 20, he ordered the Salle des États, the hall where the National Assembly met, closed. A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ...

Perhaps if Louis had simply marched into the Salle des États where the National Assembly met, his plan might have succeeded. Instead, he remained at Marly and ordered the hall closed, expecting to prevent the Assembly from meeting for several days while he prepared. Marly is the name or part of the name of several communes in Europe: France Marly, in the Moselle département Marly, in the Nord département Marly-Gomont, in the Aisne département Marly-la-Ville, in the Val-dOise département Marly-le-Roi, in the Yvelines...

The Tennis Court Oath

Main article: Tennis Court Oath

On the morning of June 20, the deputies were shocked to discover the doors to their chamber locked and guarded by soldiers. Immediately fearing the worst and anxious that a royal coup was imminent, the deputies congregated in the king's nearby indoor tennis court, where they took a solemn collective oath "never to separate, and to meet wherever circumstances demand, until the constitution of the kingdom is established and affirmed on solid foundations". The deputies pledged to continue to meet until a constitution had been written, despite the royal prohibition. 576 men signed the oath, with only one refusing. The oath was both a revolutionary act and an assertion that political authority derived from the people and their representatives, rather than from the monarch himself. Sketch by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court Oath. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ...

Confrontation and recognition

Two days later, deprived of use of the tennis court as well, the National Assembly met in the church of Saint Louis, where the majority of the representatives of the clergy joined them: efforts to restore the old order had served only to accelerate events. When, on June 23, in accord with his plan, the king finally addressed the representatives of all three estates, he encountered a stony silence. He concluded by ordering all to disperse. The nobles and clergy obeyed; the deputies of the common people remained seated in a silence finally broken by Mirabeau, whose short speech culminated, "A military force surrounds the assembly! Where are the enemies of the nation? Is Catiline at our gates? I demand, investing yourselves with your dignity, with your legislative power, you inclose yourselves within the religion of your oath. It does not permit you to separate till you have formed a constitution." The deputies stood firm.^[2] Ancien Régime, a French term meaning Former Regime, but rendered in English as Old Rule, Old Order, or simply Old Regime, refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... In several different regions of medieval Europe, and continuing in some countries[] down to the present day, the estates of the realm were broad divisions of society, usually distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners; this last group was, in some regions, further divided into burghers (also known as bourgeoisie) and peasants. ... Portrait of Mirabeau Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, (often referred to simply as Mirabeau) (March 9, 1749 - April 2, 1791) was a French writer, popular orator and statesman. ... Lucius Sergius Catilina (110 BC?–62 BC), known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline (or Catilinarian) conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate. ...

Necker, conspicuous by his absence from the royal party on that day, found himself in disgrace with Louis, but back in the good graces of the National Assembly. Those of the clergy who had joined the Assembly at the church of Saint Louis remained in the Assembly; forty-seven members of the nobility, including the Louis Philippe Joseph, duc d'Orléans, soon joined them; by June 27, the royal party had overtly given in, although the likelihood of a military counter-coup remained in the air. The French military began to arrive in large numbers around Paris and Versailles. Louis-Philippe-Joseph dOrléans, by Antoine-François Callet. ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Versailles (pronounced in French), formerly the de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ...

In the séance royale of June 23, the King granted a Charte octroyée, a constitution granted of the royal favour, which affirmed, subject to the traditional limitations, the right of separate deliberation for the three orders, which constitutionally formed three chambers. This move failed; soon that part of the deputies of the nobles who still stood apart joined the National Assembly at the request of the king. The Estates-General had ceased to exist, having become the National Assembly (and after July 9, 1789, the National Constituent Assembly), though these bodies consisted of the same deputies elected by the separate orders. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ...

Reconstitution

Messages of support poured into the Assembly from Paris and other French cities. On July 9, 1789, the Assembly, reconstituting itself as the National Constituent Assembly, addressed the king in polite but firm terms, requesting the removal of the troops (which now included foreign regiments, who showed far greater obedience to the king than did his French troops), but Louis declared that he alone could judge the need for troops, and assured them that the troops had deployed strictly as a precautionary measure. Louis "offered" to move the assembly to Noyon or Soissons: that is to say, to place it between two armies and deprive it of the support of the Parisian people. July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... Noyon is a small but historic French city in the Oise département, Picardie, on the Oise Canal, approximately 60 miles north of Paris. ... Soissons is a town and commune in the Aisne département, Picardie, France, located on the Aisne River, about 60 miles northeast of Paris. ...

Notes

For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "French Revolution", a publication now in the public domain.
• This article makes use of the public domain History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814, by François Mignet (1824), as made available by Project Gutenberg.