The Estates General

1. The Estates General Autumn Sausser Alex Rozwadowski

2. The Estates General chose delegates. * Delegates from various social classes were chosen. * Each delegate presented their grievances to their rulers When the king needed assistance he called upon the Estates General. * In August of 1788, Louis XVI called upon this representative body Helped with finances. Helped establish a stable government. Roles of the Estates General

3. The Estates tended to accept and welcome representative assemblies and constitutional rule and agreed about many social and economic reforms, but they still wanted to contribute what they thought needed to be changed. Grievances * called cahiers * these were lists drawn up by each assembly * they are considered the best sources of the thoughts of the French people before the revolution * accompanied every stage of the electoral process The Grievances

4. The First estate was made up of the Roman Catholic clergy. Their grievances stated that they insisted that the estates should vote by order. The second estate was made up of the nobles. Their grievances consisted of mainly the same things that the first estate’s did. The First & Second Estate’s Cahiers

5. Because of how large the third estate’s population was, the type of people varied, as did their cahiers. * Peasants’ grievances showed the “critical importance of the electoral consultation in the crisis of 1789”. * In some of the poorest groups of people, hunger was a big issue that was described in their cahiers. The Third Estate’s Cahiers