French Revolution Causes

From the monarchy being overthrown and the royal family’s execution to Maximilien Robespierre and Napoleon taking over. France went from being a country severely in debt to being one of the most powerful empires in Europe. But for every rise there must be a fall. A rebellion is an act of violence or open resistance to an established government or ruler. But what causes a rebellion and eventually revolution?

80,000 Austrian and Prussian armies were marching towards France to end the revolution (Doc C). It is true that the French forces stopped them at the Battle of Valmy in 1792, a year before the Reign of Terror (Doc C). But the goals of the revolution was to spread the new ideas of liberty, equality, and male suffrage (the right to vote) across Europe. In 1791, Austria and Prussia officially expressed their support for the French monarchy (Doc B). Furthermore, France faced internal threats in the Western region of Vendee, where emigres or nobles conspired against the young republic.

Prior to Napoleon's reign as emperor, France had been through the rein of terror and the French Revolution. King Louis the Sixteenth and his wife Marie Antoinette had put France in major debt and took no responsibility for it. He was killed by the guillotine. Robespierre took control after his death and caused more problems for France and killed anyone who was not passionate enough about his ruling. He too was killed by the guillotine.

As what 's defined as a revolution from the dictionary, “is a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system”. This occurred multiple times around the world, some included in the countries France; The French Revolution, Mexico; The Mexican revolution, China; The Chinese Revolution, Russia; The Russian Revolution, and many others around the globe. As both French and Mexican revolutions fought for independence and to convert to a modern world government, they both were concerned with inequality with the lower classmen.The French Revolution fought to end monarchy establishment, while the Mexican Revolution fought to end dictatorship and to establish a constitutional republic. As the French had about Twenty-five million people, 100,000 were clergy, 400,000 were the nobleman, and the rest was known as the third estate. The third estate was left to starve, while Louis XVi and Marie Antoinette lived a luxury lifestyle.

Jefferson was scared of the British but he hoped that it would have an effect on Napoleon. If Jefferson was actually serious and if the US actually allied with the British, then history would have changed forever. On October 1802 Spanish again closes the ports to the Americans. The Americans get mad and assume that French are behind the embargo. The war finally ends in 1802 and France actually ends up losing at Saint-Domingue.

The leaders of the political parties at that time were Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The acts were passed after the XYZ affair. At this time, many federalists wanted the President, John Adams, to declare war on France. Adams refused, but started the building of an army and enforced a land tax to pay for it. This caused what Republican party leader Thomas Jefferson called a “War Fever”.

However, the French revolution had led France to dictatorship and tens of years’ chaos after that. There was endless struggles between the left wing and the right wing during the French revolution. Although the left has published the Declaration of the rights of man, since the political environment was so unstable, that didn 't really changed the society into a republic. After “The Terror” which killed 40,000 people, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned as an Emperor, a dictator of France. Then, after Napoleon died, monarchy and republic appeared alternately.

The goal of the American Revolution was to get away from the British government and be free. The Declaration of Independence was basically announcing them as not the thirteen colonies but as the first thirteen states of the U.S. The goals of both of these are different for a reason, because the French Revolution wanted a government and the American Revolution wanted to get away from their government. The revolutions were similar because they both wanted a different ruler and they both had absolute monarchs. They were also similar because they both had social inequalities which was basically if you were in a different social class you were treated differently.

The Reign of Terror In September 1793 to July 1794, the Reign of Terror killed over 40,000 people in France using the guillotine a machine that made it a simple way to execute a mass amount of people. The Reign of Terror was led by no other than , Robespierre. He was trying to form a new government but instead caused thousands of people to be massacred. Ultimately, The Reign of Terror in France was not justified because the threats did not require it, the methods were too extreme and It did not support the ideals of the revolution. The threats made during The Reign of Terror were not remotely extreme enough to resolve in death and therefore was not justified.

Jefferson uses loose interpretation to say that the federal government does have the power to regulate commerce, while Madison complies with his party's beliefs of strict constructionism. During Madison's presidency, he was forced to fill the ranks of the regular army by compulsion, which was drafting men from the militia into the army without a formal right from Congress. In a speech written Daniel Webster, he renounced Madison's policies since there was nothing specifically stated in the Constitution that he could use to justify his actions. Although Madison relied on his party's views of strict interpretation in regards to domestic affairs, he realized that their views in regards to foreign policy and war