What Is the Third Estate?
Quick Summary
The pamphlet "What Is the Third Estate?" by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès was a pivotal text during the French Revolution. It defined the Third Estate as the vast majority of the French population, distinct from the nobility and clergy. Sieyès argued that the Third Estate constituted the true French nation and possessed the sole right to draft a constitution.123
The pamphlet's ideas fueled the transformation of the Third Estate's deputies into a National Assembly in June 1789, marking a significant step in the revolution. This challenged the traditional social order of the ancien régime, where status and privilege were inherited rather than earned.214
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