The Debate on the Role of Orders in France, 1787–1789

Abstract The attitude towards the three orders of the kingdom (the clergy, the nobility and the commoners) on the eve of the French Revolution remains little examined and has often been misunderstood. Orders became controversial in the aftermath of the meeting of the Assembly of Notables in 1787, which had been called to address a major fiscal crisis. The failure by the Notables to yield fiscal privileges gave rise to the perception that the Notables had placed their interests above the good of the state. Demand for the convocation of the Estates General grew, with the most critical issue being the form of voting. It had been done by order when the body last met in 1614, but in 1788–9 the Third Estate demanded a doubling of its representation and voting by head. The debate was intense and prolonged, but it focused only on orders as a basis for voting—there was little animus directed at orders themselves. When the Estates General opened, it immediately fell into a deadlock that went on for weeks, until clerical and noble deputies entered the National Assembly on 27 June and tacitly acceded to vote by head. Distinction of orders did not fall into desuetude, however. The Assembly continued to observe it in its seating until the meeting of the night of August 4. Although the Assembly itself abandoned distinction of orders, distinction of orders continued to exist in society. It was abolished in an almost incidental fashion in October 1789, and the abolition laid the foundation for two of the bitter divides of the Revolution.