The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform. Taxes, which is still a commonly disagreed topic, were a major reason the people of France revolted. The members of the first estate were paying only a fraction of what the members of the third and event the second were. Arthur Young, a man who travelled through France from 1787 to 1789, made the observation that land owned by nobility and people of the upper class was taxed very little compared to the land owned by common citizens (Doc. 1). This injustice took a great toll on members of the third estate and …show more content…
The substantial taxation, discrimination, and overall unjust treatment of the less fortunate was too much to just be ignored. The French citizens held riots and even stormed a famous fortress in revolt. It was suggested that the Declaration of American Independence inspired the people of France. When the American citizens broke away from England because of a disagreement with how things were being ran, it served as an example to the third estate of what could be (Doc. 5). No change taking place in society really lit a fire within French citizens. Overall, the French Revolution occured because of horrendous treatment of the third estate. Unfair taxation, an obvious bias towards the upper classes, and an inadequacy of change for the better was what caused it to happen. Unfortunately, a vast amount of lives were lost to this hopeless
Summary- Harry Sandwith is a 16 year old English boy. He is sent to live in France with the Marquis de St. Caux who is the brother of a man his father knew. The marquis believes with Harry’s schooling history he can influence and become friends with his two sons. Harry thinks he will get bigger opportunities when he moves to France and joins the British army.
France was very poor before the revolution. The monarchy paid no taxes, there were three classes, Nobles, Clergy and the common man. Nobles were given large parcels of lands by the king and lived in big houses. The Church owned the most land in France, put taxes on crops. Commoners were the poorest, made to pay taxes and had nothing to eat.
During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment,
In the first place, both the American and French Revolution had their causes that would change history. The American Revolution was caused by the greed of the British and the thoughts of the enlightened people. All the peasants wanted to be free of the unfair taxation on items such as tea and stamps considering they had no say. This coincides with James Otis’s phrase, “taxation without representation is tyranny,” which led to, “no taxation without representation.”
Arianna Paulin Mr. Bonnet World History II, French Revolution 27th of October, 2017 Through His Actions and Policies, To What Extent was King Louis the XVI Responsible for the French Revolution? Introduction Paragraph Between the years of 1785 and 1793, the French society was on the verge of collapsing. There was poverty and famine roaming the streets, making it nearly impossible to survive given the ridiculously high and unjust taxing system.
The main difference between the American and French Revoultion was that one successfully converted to a democratic government and one did not. The French Revolution was not successful in forming a democratic government due to France’s history of a monarchy, economic issues and divison among its’ people. Unlike America, France had a long history of sole rulers and dictatorship which made the change to a democratic government much more difficult and ultimately impossible. America’s motto of “all men are created equal” (Doc A) was the complete opposite of France’s dividing estate class system. The third estate consisted of peasents, common people and the bourgeoisie, the second estate belonged to the Nobles, and the first was the home to the Clergy.
The French Revolution was one of the most significant wars that changed France’s history. The Revolution started in 1789 and ended in 1799 and was mainly initiated by the conditions affecting the Third Estate. Louis XVI was predominately the king during this time period but little did he know that an uprising among the peasants was happening. The French Revolution was caused by the Enlightenment ideas because of the American Revolution, the knowledge of rights, and the questioning of France’s government. The American Revolution was basically the “fire” that ignited the change the Third Estate wanted to see in their country.
The French Revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, was primarily a response to the poor leadership of King Louis XVI who had been ruling France at the time. A number of commoners took to the streets of Paris to protest against the monarchy after years of alienation and paying abundance of tax and fees. The bourgeoisie was also out of touch with the rigid social structure orchestrated by the regime as they were often excluded from law-making decisions and other political rights that were given exclusively to noblemen. Shortly after the monarchy had been abolished, the church became victimized at the hands of the revolutionaries who recognized the institution as a chunk of the Ancien Regime that needed to be destroyed. On that note, the French
The unfair taxes was a cause for the french revolution. Despite being unprivileged of basic human rights, the third estate was also very heavily taxed. The third estate had very high taxes on many things. There was taxes on their land and produces [Document 1] In the diagram of [Document 2] The third estate had lots more land but that they had to pay more for there taxes.
How revolutionary was the French Revolution? Did the Revolution simply replace the old ruling elite with a new bourgeois one? What were the major effects on different groups of people, including nobles, priests, peasants, urban workers, slaves, and women? This essay will address the French Revolution and the degree to which it can be aptly described as “revolutionary.” How revolutionary was the French Revolution? Was the storming of the Bastille, the destruction of feudalism, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of a fundamental and radical and revolutionary nature, or, alternatively, simply a series of historical events that results in the supplanting of one authoritarian regime for another and at great cost in
The French Revolution was bound to happen. With the oppression of the lower class, a broke government and nobility questioning the government it was only a matter of time before the people fought back. Crane Brinton in The Anatomy of Revolution says that oppression and a broke government are just some of the reasons that the revolutions happen. Brinton argues that every revolution especially in the western hemisphere follows a pattern. He believes that the French revolution is clear example of that pattern.
Opening paragraph The French Revolution was a major failure and a minor success. After all of the blood shed, the laws, civil rights, and codes did not get instituted effectively and did not represent the values that the citizens had fought for. Examples of this were the Napoleonic Code and Declaration of Rights of Man. Another reason it was a failure was because during the revolts and reforms more than 40,000 men and women died.
The French Revolution all began after people in France decided it was time to fight for their rights and freedom and escape the tyranny that took place and give the people more power. At the time King Louis XVI was the French king and had power from 1774 to 1792 and was later executed in 1793. In France, the people were divided into three separate social estates, clergy, nobility, and the commoner as the lowest and the highest above all of course would be the king. The Enlightenment was a movement by intellectuals who promoted reason and science, and they began to question the system in place at the time in France and they began to spread revolutionary ideas that got people thinking about change. The “French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals” and when the ideas began to spread people were newly educated about something they never thought about, and after
The first and most obvious cause to the French Revolution was the royal family themselves. During the period before the revolution the royal family was known for their extravagance, for throwing parties when their people were starving and couldn’t afford bread. Another contributing to the rebellion and revolution were the Class System called the Privileged Estates. France was severely in debt at that time, banks couldn’t give people who needed money because they didn’t have any to give, even with the high taxes.
The French revolution is considered to be the most significant and effective event in the history. It changed the lives of many peoples and changed the future. Since people of France were under the control of the King they wanted to get rid of French government to eliminate power of the king. There were numerous other factors that also lead the French to the revolution. There were also many social unfairness among the taxes between the estates.