The Age of Napoleon Podcast Episode Seven: The Undesired
17 snips
Jun 13, 2017 Topics discussed include the French Revolution, the early reign of King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette, the tennis court oath, the storming of the Bastille, and the Great Fear and peasant unrest in France.
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Public Opinion Weaponized By Elites
- The Parlements used the press to recast elite disputes as a fight for liberty and rallied a growing literate public.
- That popular framing transformed factional squabbles into mass political momentum.
Estates-General Reopened Constitutional Change
- Calling the Estates-General reopened constitutional possibilities unseen for over a century.
- The 1789 convocation created expectations akin to a new constitutional convention.
Oath Turned Legislature Into Resistance
- The Tennis Court Oath converted legal procedure into political resistance by securing a legislative pledge.
- That legal framing forced the king to back down and legitimized the Assembly's claim.