There was a loud "thunk" as the blade hit the wood block. Silence and then a cheer rose from the crowd, as yet another nobleman's head rolled down. Deaths like this occurred often in the French Revolution, one of the bloodiest revolutions in history, it was responsible for taking the lives of thousands of Frenchmen. But what was the cause of this carnage? As former Vice President Hubert Humphrey said, "History teaches us that the …showed first 75 words of 1478 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1478 total…and authority as a king and tried to secretly bring troops to Paris and Versailles, where the representatives were meeting. In fear that the king planned to drive out the National Assembly by force, the people of Paris took action. It was on July14, 1789 that they stormed and captured the Bastille, a hated prison-fortress, in search of weapons. It was these weapons which they would use to defend the National Assembly against the royal troops.