Abstract
In the spring of 1789, Louis XVI summoned a full meeting of “Les Etats Generaux,” a general assembly of estates consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. The three estates gathered at the Palace of Versailles. The First Estate comprised 300 nobles; the Second, 300 clergy; and the Third, 600 commoners. Thus, the “estates of the realm” became known to the world. Years later, Irish philosopher Edmund Burke cast his eyes upon the Reporter's Gallery of the House of Commons and said, “… yonder sat a Fourth Estate, more important far than they all.
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