ith the meeting of the Estates-General on May 5, 1789, the Revolution began. The representatives of the Third Estate led the way. Some of the nobles and many of the clergy joined with them. They changed the name of the gathering from Estates-General, which represented classes, to National Assembly, which represented the people of France. When the king shut them out from their usual place of meeting, they took the famous Oath of the Tennis Court (June 20, 1789), pledging themselves not to separate until they had given France a constitution. When the king sent a messenger to remove them from their hall, the fiery Mirabeau cried out: "Go tell your master that we are here by the will of the people, and that we shall be removed only at the point of the bayonet."Paris, 11 miles away, was alarmed by rumors of the troops gathering about Versailles. A Paris mob stormed and captured the old royal prison in Paris, called the Bastille, on July 14. Here for generations kings and ministers had imprisoned men and women at will. Soon after, its thick walls were torn down. The date of its capture became a French national holiday. When the king was told what had taken place he exclaimed: "Why, this is a revolt!" "No, sire," was the reply, "it is a revolution."After the fall of the Bastille a revolutionary committee of middle-class citizens governed Paris. A national guard composed mainly of citizens was organized. It was commanded by General Lafayette. Then the provinces followed the lead of Paris and formed revolutionary governments. The peasants in many places burned the castles of the lords in order to destroy the papers which contained the records of the lords' manorial rights. There was anarchy in many country districts.Nobles Give Up Their "Privileges"A report of the peasant outbreaks made a strong impression on the Assembly. Some liberal nobles in that body set the example of giving up their feudal rights. Amid the wildest enthusiasm, men weeping and embracing each other, one noble after another gave up some exclusive privilege. Finally a decree was passed which aimed at abolishing the entire feudal system. That wild night of Aug. 4, 1789, marked the beginning of equality. Remnants of feudal dues, however, kept the peasants uneasy until 1793.Meanwhile work continued on the constitution which the Assembly had promised to prepare for France. It was finally finished in 1791. Nobility was abolished. France was made a limited monarchy, with a one-house legislature. The immortal part of the document was the Declaration of the Rights of Man.Â
