When the Estates-General convened on May 5, 1789, the deliberations became deadlocked within one day. The Third Estate’s representation attempted to make the whole body more effective, however, the group decided to begin meeting separately from the Estates-General on May 11. They established the Communes, eventually letting members of the First Estate join as well. On June 17, the Communes was declared the National Assembly with a vote of 490 to 90. As the First Estate of clergy began to dissipate into the Assembly, a political agenda unfolded as well as legislative action.

Following the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly on September 30, 1791, the Legislative Assembly was assembled. The organization operated under the French Constitution of 1791, which was a principle failure of a document. Maximilien Robespierre moved that no members of the National Constituent Assembly be allowed to serve in the Legislative Assembly, creating a power vacuum as well as much inexperience. The Assembly lasted less than a year and left France with an empty treasury, a collapsed army and navy and many misaddressed domestic problems. The Legislative Assembly became gridlocked due to the bipartisan problems present with the left-right political spectrum.