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Convening The Estates General. May 1789. The Estates General. Although limited in power, the Estates-General did have the right to approve or veto any new taxes or increases in taxes
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Convening The Estates General May 1789
The Estates General • Although limited in power, the Estates-General did have the right to approve or veto any new taxes or increases in taxes • For the previous 175 years, the absolute monarchs of France had been able to avoid calling the Estates-General by extracting money from overseas colonies and other sources • Now, faced with an economic crisis, the king was forced to take this radical step in the hope that the Estates-General would agree to increase taxes in exchange for some minor political and constitutional reforms • His desperate gamble would prove to be the death of the French monarchy
Suggested Voting Pattern: One Vote Per Estate Commoners, Third Estate Clergy, First Estate Aristocracy, Second Estate
Number of Representatives in The Estate General: Vote By Head! Commoners, Third Estate 300 Clergy, First Estate Aristocracy, Second Estate 300 648
“The Tennis Court Oath” by Jacques Louis David (June 20th, 1789)