From the Estates General to the National Assembly (1789)

Identify the three estates of pre-revolutionary France and state which social group belonged to each.

The First Estate consisted of the Roman Catholic clergy; the Second Estate consisted of the nobility; and the Third Estate consisted of commoners, including peasants, urban workers, merchants, and professionals.

Explain why doubling the number of Third Estate deputies in December 1788 achieved nothing without changing the voting method.

If the assembly voted by order, each estate cast only one collective vote. Having 600 deputies gave the Third Estate no extra power, because the nobility and clergy could still outvote them 2 to 1.

Calculate the majority: If an assembly has 1,163 total deputies, how many individual votes are needed for an absolute majority? If the Third Estate holds 578 seats, how many votes from other estates are needed under voting by head?

An absolute majority requires 582 votes (half of 1,163 is 581.5, rounded up to 582). The Third Estate would need 4 additional votes from sympathetic clergy or nobles to pass a measure.

What was the core pledge made by deputies in the Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789?

The deputies swore never to separate and to assemble wherever circumstances required until they had drafted and established a written constitution for France.

Read this excerpt from Abbé Sieyès (January 1789): 'What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been heretofore in the political order? Nothing. What does it demand? To become something.' Explain how Sieyès redefines the word 'nation' and whether you think his argument justified bypassing the King and the nobility.

Look for: Sieyès defines the nation as the productive citizens who perform all useful labor (the Third Estate), arguing that privileged orders contribute nothing and exist outside society. The student should evaluate whether bypassing the King was justified based on majority representation versus the established constitutional laws of 1789.