What was the legislative body that proclaimed an end to the absolute monarchy and started a representative government?

• A. Estates-General
• B. National Assembly
• C. Constitutional Convention
• D. Directory

Answer: (B)

The National Assembly embodies the move from absolute rule to a government based on representation. When the Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly in 1789, it rejected the old authority of the Estates-General and began creating a constitutional framework that limited royal power and established a representative legislature. This shift marked the end of the old regime’s absolute monarchy and set France on the path to a government chosen by and for the people. The Estates-General was the old assembly that led to this reform but did not itself establish a new form of government, while the other bodies came later in different phases of the Revolution.