More than 2 centuries ago, in France, there was a very bad King named Louis the 16th

The king called the 3 groups of people who made up the Estates general because he wanted more money.

When the generals arrived, the peasants, who were the 3rd estate, wanted equal representation and decided not to leave until they got it.

We want equal representation!! 😡

This group of people called themselves the National Assembly. They wrote a new constitution to try and fix the bad things King Louis the 16th did.

One of the things in the new Constitution was the creation of the Legislative Assembly, which was the next form of government after the National Assembly

In the homes of peasants, there was no food. People started getting very hungry, so they marched to the castle asking for bread.

When the royals did not open the door for them, they ran into the castle, stole all the bread, and took the king and his family by force back to Paris.

The King was getting worried. He thought that he was going to get hurt so he tried to escape to Varennes, but he got caught and was arrested and taken back to Paris

When the king was in jail, the Legislative Assembly was overthrown by the National Convention, which is a new Republic Government.

The Newly formed government, the National Convention, decided that Louis the 16th should never be a king again, so they cut his head off!

The leader of the National Convention was Robespierre. He was a horrible leader. He would cut off the heads of everyone he did not like!

People started getting scared that their heads would get cut off next, so they decided to cut off Robespierre's head! 

The leader of their government was dead. Now France needed a new government, so they created the Directory.

Once again the government, the Directory, was overthrown by the Consulate. 

The Consulate was led by 3 consuls and a congress. One of the consul's names was Napoleon Bonaparte. He was strong, charming, and very short. He decided that he wanted to be the leader of France.