Struggling with his country's overwhelming debt, he sought assistance from the nobles and the clergy. When he obtained no support, Louis XVI called for a Les états généraux (Estates General) meeting on May 5, 1789, which had not been called in 175 years. As part of the tradition, representatives from each of the three estates, (clergy, nobility, and commoners), were directed to present a list of grievances which would be addressed at the meeting. The Third Estate arrived at the assembly acknowledging that it would be impossible to make changes under the law or to make improvements because the first two levels held more power to overrule their vote that would be detrimental to their wealth and power. Therefore, the bottom rank believed that “With the guidance of Enlightenment thinking...the system needed to be changed for their lives to change.” All three levels were fighting for alterations in the tax system; however, the Third Estate fought for representation in government and equal taxes in all social statuses. Unfortunately, the groups remained in a stalemate for five weeks over basic procedures. The Third Estate decided to seize matters into their own hands and formed what they named the “National Assembly” since they represented 98 % of the nation. The bourgeoisie lawyers, who were elected as leaders of the Third Estate, removed the King's power to solve the country's financial burdens, and as a result, their Enlightenment ideals and grievances led to the commencement of the
Struggling with his country's overwhelming debt, he sought assistance from the nobles and the clergy. When he obtained no support, Louis XVI called for a Les états généraux (Estates General) meeting on May 5, 1789, which had not been called in 175 years. As part of the tradition, representatives from each of the three estates, (clergy, nobility, and commoners), were directed to present a list of grievances which would be addressed at the meeting. The Third Estate arrived at the assembly acknowledging that it would be impossible to make changes under the law or to make improvements because the first two levels held more power to overrule their vote that would be detrimental to their wealth and power. Therefore, the bottom rank believed that “With the guidance of Enlightenment thinking...the system needed to be changed for their lives to change.” All three levels were fighting for alterations in the tax system; however, the Third Estate fought for representation in government and equal taxes in all social statuses. Unfortunately, the groups remained in a stalemate for five weeks over basic procedures. The Third Estate decided to seize matters into their own hands and formed what they named the “National Assembly” since they represented 98 % of the nation. The bourgeoisie lawyers, who were elected as leaders of the Third Estate, removed the King's power to solve the country's financial burdens, and as a result, their Enlightenment ideals and grievances led to the commencement of the