How was the membership of the National Assembly different from that of the Estates General?

Answer 1

To understand how membership to the National Assembly was different from the Estates- General it is easier when you classify each group. First, one came before the other. The Estates-General was made up of the nobility, clergy, and the rest of the population (later called the Third Estate). Each group was given a vote for tax ordinances and state regulations. Well, two against one usually meant that the Third Estate was voted out most of the time….definitely NOT in their favor. This unequal power struggle generated a large populous of disgruntled serfs/tradesmen.

This group of disgruntled French persons rose up against this old ruling body and invited clergy and nobility to trash the old ways, recognizing that things cannot be done the ways they were in 1614. On June 10, 1789 numerous clergy had left the Estates-General group and switched to this revolutionary group. Others began to follow, including nobility. As a revolutionary group designed on making revolutionary changes in their nation, they renamed themselves the National Assembly. With the power they had seized from the once ruling classes (to include the monarchy), the National Assembly met to construct its first constitution. This founding act of the French Revolution is The Tennis Court Oath. This document can be compared to the US Declaration of Independence, which stated that they will not disengage or leave until they had written a constitution for their new form of government.