Following an insurrection by the Paris Commune on August 10, 1792, the Legislative Assembly suspended the powers of King Louis XVI and called for a new National Convention to draw up a new constitution. An election was held for all Frenchmen of 25 years or older by universal male suffrage. The National Convention was first brought into session on September 20, 1792. The first order of the body was to abolish the monarchy. It also established September 22 as the first day of the French Republic.

Following the heavy losses of the French and Indian War, as well as France’s involvement in the American Revolution, the country found itself in a massive financial crisis. Debt, inflation, a lack of food, King Louis XVI’s lavish spending practices and an archaic taxation system. The First Estate of the Clergy and the Second Estate of the Nobility was not required to pay taxes, leaving the commoners in the Third Estate with the duty of filling the national coffers.