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A depiction of the Third Estate
carrying the other two on its back. |
The Third Estate of France represented the lowest class. The first two estates represented the nobles and the clergy and they tended to exclude any representation from the Third Estate. To effectively "get back" at the other representatives, the Third Estate representatives held their own assembly. They, of course, invited the other representatives, but the first two estates again ignored them. The assembly was designed to give authenticity and power to the Third Estate so that they could have an influence in making laws.
