Liberté, Egalité, et Fraternité!

French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille on this day in 1789 and took "Liberty, equality, and fraternity" as their slogan.

The Bastille was an old royal prison that came to represent the political, social, and economic problems of the French monarchy. In 1789, turmoil erupted largely because of steep public debt and hefty taxation of the common people.

Angry citizens stormed the Bastille and tore down its walls. This act is viewed as the end of French monarchy and the beginning of the republic.

In Paris, Bastille Day is celebrated with a military parade up the Champs Elysées, shown here in a painting by Stokely Webster. Throughout the country, celebrations continue all day and into the night with dances and fireworks. Vive la France!

Pictured: Stokely Webster, born 1912, The Champs Elysées, 1938, oil on wood, 13 x 16 1/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. Stokely Webster.