From Estates-General to National Assembly: The Political Crisis of 1789

What this note covers

1. The Structural Crisis: Why the Estates-General Was Called
2. The Estates-General Opens: Procedural Deadlock as Political Catalyst
3. The Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789): A Revolutionary Rupture
4. The Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789): Popular Revolution Arrives
5. The Great Fear (July–August 1789): Revolution Reaches the Countryside
6. The Breakdown of Royal Authority: An Assessment
7. Historians in Dialogue: Interpreting the Revolutionary Ruptures of 1789

7 sections · 14 key terms & formulas · 6 common mistakes