Fall of the Bastille

From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Revision as of 09:17, 16 July 2008 by Bcraig (Talk | contribs)

The fall of Bastille occurred on July 14, 1789, and the event proved to be a potent symbol of the fight against despotism and an opening stage for the French Revolution. On May 5, Louis XVI called the Estate-General, and by July 9th, the group re-formed as the National Assembly and began to act as a parliament and draft a constitution. Also, bread prices were at a twenty year high causing food riots closer to Paris and troops were gathering in the city. By July 12, when news hit Paris that the pro-Assembly finance minister, Jacques Necker, was dismissed, people began to gather and find ammunition to prevent the dissolution of the National Assembly.

The Bastille was not only a prison but it was a storehouse for ammunition. A crowd stormed the prison on July 14 with the garrison striking back. The troops were overwhelmed and terms for surrender were made. On the 15th, Marquis de Lafayette arrived to command the National Guard to help restore order. This event helped pave the way for troop withdrawal and further reforms by King Louis XVI.

Jefferson was in Paris when the Bastille fell as minnister to France. He was at the Hotel de Corny on the evening of the 14th when Ethis de Corny gave a first hand account.[1]

The fourteen-century prison actually held only seven prisoners and around 80 invalids that night, and it was slated to be demolished and Lafayette got volunteer wreckers to finish the job. Jefferson also visited the prison twice, and Dumas Malone states Jefferson did visit after the event.[2] Jefferson would write about the event in a letter to John Jay on July 19, 1789[3] and in his Autobiography.

Primary Source References


1789 July 21. "Gave for widows of those who were killed in taking the Bastille 60."[5]



  1. William Howard Adams, The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson. (New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1997), 287.
  2. Malone, Jefferson, 2:226.
  3. See PTJ, 15:284-291.
  4. Ibid, 15:290.
  5. MB, 1:740.
  6. Peterson, Writings, 90.