Explain why the assembling of the Estates General in 1789 led to theoverthrow of Louis XVI.I.Introductiona.There is no doubt that the overthrow of Louis XVI, the last king of France, was a major milestone for the liberation of Franceb.One could indeed say that the assembling of the Estates Generalin 1789 led to the overthrow of Louis XVIc.Evidence points:i.Estates General caused creation of National Assemblyii.National Assembly (and constitutional monarchy) causedLouis XVI to reach out to leaders of other countries forhelp, attempt to escapeiii.Insurrection of August 10

, 1792d.Must create a chain of events – each event follows logically fromthe previousII.Evidence 1 – National Assemblya.Estates General was called to assembly on May 4

th,

1789i.People were beginning to lose hope in Louis XVI, so hethought it would be a good idea to call the Estates Generalii.Each Estate was given one vote, so first two Estates couldoutvote Third Estate – many angeredb.Louis XVI treated Third Estate badlyi.Representatives refused to show credentials – created five-week deadlockii.Eventually, they showed credentials as representatives “of the entire nation”c.Declared National Assembly of France – June 17

, 1789d.Tennis Court Oath – June 20

, 1789i.When meeting room was barred, delegates met on tenniscourt and swore not to separate until a constitution wascreatede.“With this act, the monarchy unwittingly signed its own deathwarrant”III.Evidence 2 – Help from other countries, escape attempta.Presence and support for National Assembly forced Louis XVI tocollaborate and sign new laws and documents against his willb.As early as 1790, Louis XVI considered asking help from Prussianand Austrian leaders to strengthen his own hand and quellrevolutionaries

c.Girondin leaders wanted war – believed a war would end in a newGirondin governmentd.Leopold II (Marie Antoinette’s brother) sympathized withmonarchyi.He and Prussian king Frederick William created Declarationof Pillnitz – French affairs were interest of all Europe andthe two nations would intervene if necessary (August 27

,1791)e.Fact that royal family had tried to escape to Austria on June 20

,1791, made the people view Louis XVI as a traitorf.War went badly for France – more people thought Louis XVI wasconspiring against France – Louis XVI’s reputation and image wasthe worst it had ever beenIV.Evidence 3 – Insurrection of August 10

, 1792a.Peak of uneasiness about Louis XVI’s integrity came whenPrussian duke of Brunswick published a manifesto (August 3

,1792)i.Declared intention of allies to restore Louis XVI to fullpower, and to destroy Paris if any harm came to royalfamilyb.Night of August 9

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– alarm bell sounded, carefully organizedcrowds (organized by radical leaders) laid siege to Tuileriesi.Louis XVI lost heart and ordered Swiss Guard to put downarms, but they were slaughtered anywayii.Legislative assembly ordered his powers suspended andimprisoned royal familyc.If this was not enough to constitute the overthrow of Louis XVI,the National Convention formally abolished monarchy(September 21

, 1792)V.Opposing Viewpointsa.Some might argue that the demise of Louis XVI was inevitable,and the assembly of the Estates General had no effecti.If Estates General had not met, there would have beenvery little opportunity for the Third Estate to declareanything similar to the National Assemblyii.If nothing drastic had happened to the monarchy in thepast few decades, nothing was likely to have happenedtheniii.If there was no governing body in place, absolutemonarchy would have continued