Same year George Washington was elected president
Started in 1789 and lasted until 99
France and England were considered the most advanced countries in Europe and the world
It had a large population and a great foreighn trade
However, much of the world did not know the extreme debt that France had occurred
Old Regime
The social and political system of France was called the Old Regime
Under this Regime, there were three large social classes classed Estates
First Estate
Made up of clergy fo the Roman Catholic Church
Had to pay two percent fo their earnings to taxes
Owned then percent of the lands in France
Their jobs were to provide religion, education, and relief services to the poor
Less than one percent of French population were in this estate
Second Estate
Rich nobles
They held the highest offices in the government in France
This estate paid nothing of income to taxes
Owned twenty percent of the lands in France
This estate had only two percent of the population of France
Third Estate
Everybody else
Had no power to influence their government in France
Had to pay fifty percent of income
Resented the first two classes
Owned seventy percent of the lands in France and consisted of ninety seven percent of the population
Third estate was becoming very tired of the Old Regime
They prompted the ideals of equality, liberty, and a democracy
Louis XVI
He was very indecisive and paid very little attention to his advisors
Mari didn’t help much either with constantly expressing hfer opinion and the fact that she was from Austria
He finally wanted to tax the nobles, but they weren’t happy there either so the Estates-General was called
An assembly of representatives from all three estates
Their goal was to approve the new tax
The meeting was held on May fifth 1789 in Versailles
It was the first time the assembly had met in 175 years
The the past, the three estates would meet separately and there would only be one vote per estate
This allowed for the first and second estate to always beat the third
The king sided with the nobles again and they were outvoted
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