Estates General
The Estates General is a legislative assembly of the
First, Second, and Third Estate that meets when called upon by the king. There are three rooms, where each of
the three Estates meet. Each Estate gets 300 representatives and for a law to
be passed it requires two out of three Estates to agree. The Estates
General was a failure from the beginning. A common law that was debated by the Estates General, was the taxation of the Rich.
Results: Should the Rich Be Taxed?
First Estate: After much debating: No
Second Estate: After much debating: No
Third Estate: After much debating: Yes
Overall Decision: The Rich should not be taxed.
Why?- Even though the Third Estate voted "Yes", the First and Second Estates voted "No" so the overall action is no. As a result, nothing was ever accomplished by the Estates General.
Results: Should the Rich Be Taxed?
First Estate: After much debating: No
Second Estate: After much debating: No
Third Estate: After much debating: Yes
Overall Decision: The Rich should not be taxed.
Why?- Even though the Third Estate voted "Yes", the First and Second Estates voted "No" so the overall action is no. As a result, nothing was ever accomplished by the Estates General.
Demands of the Third Estate
In May of 1789, King Louis XVI assembled the Estates General to try to fix the economic situation in France.
The Third Estate refused to attend unless their demands were met:
The Third Estate refused to attend unless their demands were met:
- Third Estate should have two times more representatives (King gave Third Estate 600 Representatives)
- All voting should be done in one room (King said this would be done, but it never was)
