This legislative body ended feudalism, serfdom, taxes to the church, and the special privileges of the First and Second Estates. Which is it?

• A. Directory
• B. National Assembly
• C. Legislative Assembly
• D. National Convention

Answer: (B)

The National Assembly is the body that did this. It formed when the Third Estate insisted on representing the nation and began enacting sweeping reforms in 1789, including the decree that abolished feudal privileges, ended serfdom, and eliminated the special tax and legal exemptions enjoyed by the First and Second Estates. These moves dismantled the old regime’s hierarchy and privileges, setting the stage for more égalité-based reforms. The other bodies came later and carried forward or altered these changes, but the decisive abolition of feudalism and aristocratic privileges happened under the National Assembly.