French Revolution Middle Class
Learning about history is critical because it allows individuals to understand why certain events happened and how they can learn from these events. When one studies the French Revolution, he or she is able to learn what happens when a portion of society remains oppressed and neglected by their government over an extensive period of time. In France, the middle class grew tremendously between the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XVI, but both kings seemed to want nothing to do with the middle class. In addition, Louis XVI continued to exclude the middle class from political power and chose to “defend privileges of the clergy and nobility” (Neal 129). While the middle and lower classes received little attention from the government, the nobility …show more content…
On July 14, 1789, the build up of these events lead the middle class to storm the Bastille and release the seven prisoners; this marked the beginning of the French Revolution and “the symbolic end of the ancient regime” (Neal 131). The revolution continued until 1799, and approximately 40,000 people were executed during the “Reign of Terror” (The Reign of Terror). In today’s society, several groups of society are still marginalized and feel oppressed by the government. In the case of the French government, oppressed individuals ended up overthrowing the government since the monarchy would not improve their living situation. While it is idealistic to think a government can solve all of a society’s problems, individuals feel encouraged and hopeful when governing bodies make decisions to better their quality of life. In other words, we have history to prove that oppressed individuals will revolt over time if their living situations do not improve and continue to decrease in
Ap Euro Dbq French Revolution
512 Words | 3 PagesThe 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.
Storming The Bastille
1996 Words | 8 PagesThe Storming of the Bastille is a clear example of how violence had an overwhelming and even mob like effect on the French revolutionaries. As a physical monument, the Bastille prison served as the embodiment of “tyranny”. The English Classical historian Lord Acton depicted the Bastille as “ an instrument of tyranny”, and place that “overshadowed the capital”, and “ darkened the hearts of men.” In this quote, Acton is illustrating the Bastille as a cursed and dark place, a place that fed violent hatred both physically and mentally. Violent events did occur during the storming of the Bastille, ultimately concluding with the savage act of decapitating a prison guard.
French Revolution Dbq Essay
1427 Words | 6 PagesDue to their education, the working class understood how vastly dissimilar their standard of life was to the nobility and the clergy. The bourgeoisie were educated and had the means to obtain literature from around the world. They, thus, knew what the standard of life should be, how the upper estates were living, and what their life was actually like. This caused an immense amount of resentment (Document 4). The American Revolution also greatly influenced the French rebels.
Explain The Inequality Caused By The Principal Estates Of The French Revolution
167 Words | 1 PagesUp until the French Revolution, eighteenth-century France was based on the inequality caused by the division of society into three principal estates: the clergy, nobility, and commoners. The first estate was primarily composed of religious members of the Catholic Church, otherwise known as the clergy, and only made up about 0.5% of the total French population. The second estate included members of the royal family and comprised about 1.5% of the population. Despite their sizes, together the first and second estates held the majority of the power in the nation and left the third estate, the commoners, without any say in government matters. The first and second estates were exempt from taxes while the third estate was heavily fined and oftentimes
The Enlightenment: The French Revolution
135 Words | 1 PagesThe Enlightenment was a period of time that stressed the importance of reason and individual ideas. Many philosophers published works criticizing a country’s monarch or divulging the flaws they saw in a system within the government, such as the justice system. The Enlightenment also stressed the importance of education, and as a result of this, literacy rates experienced a major upward trend. Now able to read the philosopher’s works, a larger sum of people now were educated on the corruptions within their government. This caused a questioning of traditional practices, and people began to believe they could revise their government.
Propaganda In The Handmaids Tale
1784 Words | 8 PagesTo begin, the foundation of every government’s power has always been fear. Governments depend on public fear to secure societal position. Tracing back to thousands of years ago, governments relied primarily on conquests. The research author Robert Higgs argues, “Losers who were not slain in the conquest itself had to endure the consequent rape and pillage and in the long term to acquiesce in the continuing payment of tribute to the insistent rulers.” In other words, Higgs’s point emphasizes that the government violently conquested lands and hence attacked people living there in the old times.
Was The Reign Of Terror Justified Analysis
764 Words | 4 PagesWas The Reign Of Terror Justified? The French Revolution was a very problematic time period. After the execution of Louis XVI, the Reign of Terror began during the years of 1793 - 1794 which was led by French politician, Maximilien Robespierre and lasted for 18 months. This topic is controversial when the question, “Was the Reign of Terror justified?” is asked.
Similarities Between Haitian And French Revolution
582 Words | 3 PagesRevolutions were a common occurrence in many parts of the world. The 17th century was miserable. Between 1790 and 1848 many different people in Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, and other areas of the world struggled to gain freedom and independence from oppressive and dictatorial regimes. While the the French and Haitian Revolutions, inspired by the American Revolution, were alike in many areas such as social class struggles, economic inequities, and personal freedoms. In spite of their similarities the revolutions in France and Haiti were more different than similar because pitted While France struggled with it’s
Haitian Revolution Enlightenment
1244 Words | 5 PagesIt was the bourgeoisie class that was educated, yet they didn’t have privileges like the First and Second Estate consequently, they began to question if there should be a social and political change in France. John Locke is an example of a philosophe who helped shape the outline of the French Revolution because he said that if people are dissatisfied with their governments, they should overthrow them, so they could create a new government. In Haiti, the enlightenment helped shape the Haitian revolution because ideas like freedom and liberty inspired them to bring
What Caused The French Revolution Dbq
817 Words | 4 PagesThe 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.
How Revolutionary Was The French Revolution
1059 Words | 5 PagesHow 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
Rebellion Against Government: Is Rebellion Justified?
1613 Words | 7 PagesSome may say that the most effective way to become free of oppression is in the form of insubordination or an uprising. Rebellion against government is justified only if the people of a nation are being deprived of their natural rights to live and better their lives. This has been the case in many revolutions in history, including the French and American Revolutions. Rebellion is not always justified, but can be
How Did King Louis Xvi Cause The French Revolution
797 Words | 4 PagesIn 1789, France was precariously balanced on the edge of chaos. King Louis XVI was ruling monarch of France. King Louis’ youth depicted him as reckless, thoughtless, and unwise. A series of bad financial and political decisions, lead to his unpopularity among the people of France. King Louis was young, distracted and misguided.
The Successes And Failures Of The French Revolution
1911 Words | 8 PagesOpening 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 Old French Social Order
145 Words | 1 PagesOne of the major reasons why the Revolution came to pass is due to the Old French Social Order, also known as the Old Regime. In the years directly preceding the Revolution, French society was sharply divided into social classes, some highly privileged, others much less so; and all classes increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with traditional sociopolitical order, making the demand for and implementation of systemwide change inevitable. The social order of Continental Europe was anchored firmly on the assumption of human inequality. The privileged were divided into churchmen, or the First Estate, and the aristocracy, the Second Estate. More than twenty-four million Frenchmen, artisans, town laborers and countryfolk, were grouped in the unprivileged
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