There once was a ruthless king and queen. They were called Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette. Together they ruled France and were the cause of the French Revolution.

Louis and Marie spent so much money on themselves that they left the people of France in what was know as national debt. They were left with no money and not enough food. Especially bread. This was known as bad harvest.

Estates is another word for levels. There was the first estate-the richest. The second estate-the slightly less rich. And the third estate which made up the majority of France and was very, very poor. Each estate had an estate general and they would vote in government, but estates 1 and 2 could outvote the 3rd. The third estate knew this was wrong so they all took a promise called the Tennis Court Oath. They said that no matter what happened, they would not break apart until the government was rightfully restored.

The people of France found this very unfair but were too scared to do anything about it. 'Till a hero by the name of Maximillion Robespierre decided enough was enough and started was what was called the French Revolution. He helped set up the National Assembly which was two groups of people in which one offered laws and the other rejected/accepted them. He was also part of what was known as The Directory. A special group of 5 men who controlled the entire country.

After the people of France were all riled up, they decided to take down a torturing prison in the biggest city at the time. The Bastille was a prison in Paris that was taken apart brick by brick by the people of France. They stole a lot of the things in the prison and completely destroyed it. The prison was a symbol of the kings' power and the people didn't want a king anymore.

The national assembly decided to take things into their own hands and get rid of the feudal system. So they took away the power and rights of the first and second estates so that they all could be equal. It appeared that the people of France were getting what they wanted.

Because the French wanted their rights back, the assembly wrote a declaration to the king stating their rights and how they were all equal. It said they had freedom of speech, religion, and to post whatever they wanted. This of course did not apply to women. That's why women decided to form their own declaration of rights for Marie Antoinette.

The women of France were very tired of the unfairness going on. They thought that because what the king and queen did affected them too, they should have the same rights as everyone else. And since they didn't get what they wanted they marched all the way to the queens mansion and destroyed all her jewels, dresses, and even bed. They hated the evil queen so much that wanted her dead.

The Constitution of 1791, the first constitution written in France, took some power away from the king and declared France a constitutional monarchy. They king could no longer make decisions by himself.

The people of France finally got what they wanted and sent the king and queen to die. Their heads got chopped off by a big machine called the guillotine. The guillotine was very popular because it was painless and it was quick. The guillotine killed thousands of people per month. The reign of terror had begun and ended with the of the most hated people of France. Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette. Their deaths marked the end of the monarchy.

While trying to form a new and successful form of government, the citizens formed what was called the National Convention and Committee of Public Safety. Their main goals were to open new schools and supported universal elementary education, established wage and price controls, and abolished slavery in colonies while encouraging religious tolerance.

The national convention had to write a new constitution because there was no longer a The next constitution written in France was the Constitution of 1795. It said that people could elect their representatives who were known as the Directory and they controlled most of what would happen in the country.