The French Revolution The French Revolution was the most important political change that occurred in Europe at the end of the eighteenth century. It was not only important for France, but also served as an example for other countries, where similar social conflicts broke out, against an anachronistic and oppressive regime, such as the monarchy. This revolution meant the triumph of a people (the bourgeoisie) oppressed and weary of injustices, the privileges of the feudal nobility and the absolutist state. During the reign of Louis (1643-1715), France was under the rule of an absolutist monarchy, the power of king and nobility was the basis of this regime, but in reality the state was in a Very precarious economic situation, Which was aggravated …show more content…
A few days after the assembly dictates the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, this proclamation became the synthesis of revolutionary ideas, based on three flags: equality, fraternity and freedom. They were interested in the freedom to trade, the defense of private property and the equality of citizens before the law. The 3rd of September of 1789, A moderate constitution was proclaimed, where the upper bourgeoisie had managed to prevail its ideals, to negotiate with the old regime, being in charge of the executive power the king (Louis XVI), the legislative power was exerted an assembly formed by the bourgeoisie And the judiciary, was composed of elected judges. It was established that only those who paid certain taxes could be voted on, and in this way it becomes evident that the equality flags proclaimed by the revolutionaries had certain …show more content…
To make better use of their control, the Jacobins formed alliances with the sans-culottes, and during 1793 an institution was set up to establish rigid control of opponents and to punish them harshly and to apply the death penalty to all those who did not Supported the republican system of government. This instrument was directed in person by Robespierre. It was about keeping their opponents dominated, through
In 1770 France was built of 3 estates. The first two estate were the privileged estates. They had access to high officials. The first estate was formed by the Roman Catholic Church. They owned 10 percent of the land in France.
The government was known to be corrupt and there was a major gap in wealth. While the monarchy and nobility were very well off, lower classes were taxed highly and starving, and the country was close to bankruptcy. The king, Louis XVI, was becoming extremely unpopular, due to his extravagant spending and lack of contact with the public. People were becoming more and more discontent with the way the country was being run – people wanted change.
According to Locke, the duty of the government is to protect the natural rights of the people. If the legislation failed, the people had the right to overturn it. The French Revolution is an example of this happen. Citizens who were part of the third estate believed that the government was not looking out for their best reasons, so they started a revolution to change
To begin, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was a cause of the French Revolution; some of the rights were not fair. Document 8 shows this by stating, "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions can be established only for the common benefit. " This is unjust because the third estate pays very high taxes and they are not very wealthy, while the first and second estate pay very low taxes, and they are wealthier; the third estate was not equal to the first and second estate. Citizens had a lot of freedom to many rights; "The free communications of
While in reality, it was used by Robespierre as a way to build upon and strengthen his power. Instead of working on the democratic ideals of liberty and equality that he spoke of in public, Robespierre used the Terror to execute or imprison thousands of people who he viewed as a threat. “Robespierre's Justification Source B: Maximilien Robespierre, speech to the National Convention, “On the Moral and Political Principles of Domestic Policy” After Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo, he was exiled from France. So now with France without a leader, the Congress of Vienna is seeking to put a king back in power in France, and resume the
French Revolution was a major revolt of French citizens turning against the traditional values of the monarchy. People realized the unfairness of the state of France and demanded change causing a major disagreement between the people of France and their leaders, the clergy and the nobility. The people of France found this unfairness in multiple way those being politically, socially, and economically. They saw the power imbalance, unequal taxing, and terrible quality of life and wanted change.
As a shrewd lawyer and politician, Robespierre was also the head of the new Committee of Public Safety, whose job was to save the revolution. He felt that the quickest and most efficient way to ensure the republic of France was to rid France of those who resisted the revolution. People grew weary of their own lives as Robespierre became increasingly radical. Ironically, he was voted to be executed by guillotine, as well.
During the French revolution terror spread throughout the land. Before the revolution the country was falling into chaos. The king and his wife spent so much money on themselves, and on supporting the american revolution that they put the country in an economic crisis. Until the people rose up to make a change and started the revolution. Using terror as an instrument of the french revolution was common practice and it had many advantages and disadvantages, such as the many arrests made more jobs and more money for citizens, it kept the revolution on track, the many deaths of nobles, and the overall deaths of citizens.
As the nation’s economic condition worsened, the First and Second Estates continued to live lavishly, oblivious to the hardships of the world, while the Third Estate received the brunt of it all. King Louis XVI was incompetent, and he did nothing to alleviate their difficulties. Wars, the king’s court life, and Marie Antoinette’s deficit spending all contributed to the increasing debt of the nation; furthermore, half of the royal budget went to interest, so both the commoners and king’s budget exceeded what they could afford. To make matters worse, peasants had fees and services owed back all the way from feudal times. So as the Third Estate fell into destitution and royal spending increased, the price of goods rose.
Our modern society has been sculpted by many revolts throughout history. Many governments and ideas have risen to power do to these revolutions. The French revolution began on July 14, 1789 due to the neglect of the people by the french government along with the mistreatment of the lower class. A important phase in the revolution was the Reign of Terror, A period where the government had been taken over by a revolutionary government called the National Convention. This new government rule france with force, executing all who opposed them and outlawing all counter revolutionary ideas and practices.
If you are an American, you are aware of the infamous revolution which was the start of the creation of our country. This revolution, however, was only one of three major events which took place during the end of the 18th century. The people of France and Haiti also decided to start a revolution against their government. Revolutionary can be defined as a complete change. Each country established their own objectives to help them win their independence from their oppressive government.
A revolution is a complete overthrow of the government. The French Revolution, lasting ten years, was exactly that. The French Revolution was the time for the lower classes to fight back against their unfair government and against the higher classes. The Third Estate, made up of the peasants, the bourgeoisie, and the urban poor were fed up with the way they were treated, resorting to not only political arguments, but also physical violence. There were political, social, and economic causes, that each had enormous effects.
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,
It was an inspiration for various other revolutionary movements across Europe, Central and South America. The revolution was a classic illustration of a revolution, which most of the nations attempted to emulate. It led to the French occupation of several areas across Europe and modernized the administrative system by destroying serfdom. The French Revolution spread the ideas of equality and liberty across Europe, thereby shaking the feudal system. It heavily blew the social and political systems of the eighteenth century.
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.