[Sidenote: Election of the Estates-General]
The elections to the Estates-General were held in accordance with
ancient usage throughout France in the winter of 1788-1789. Also, in
accordance with custom, the electors were invited by the king to
prepare reports on the condition of the locality with which they were
familiar and to indicate what abuses, if any, existed, and what
remedies, in their opinion, were advisable.
[Sidenote: The Cahiers]
By the time the elections were complete, it was apparent that the
majority of the French people desired and expected a greater measure of
reform than their sovereign had anticipated. The reports and lists of
grievances that had been drafted in every part of the country were
astounding. To be sure, these documents, called _cahiers_, were
not revolutionary in wording: with wonderful uniformity they expressed
loyalty to the monarchy and fidelity to the king: in not a single one
out of the thousand _cahiers_ was there a threat of violent
change. But in spirit the _cahiers_ were eloquent.
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