The French Revolution began in 1789. It was about words, and the great Montesquieu’s The Spirit of Laws became the bible for leaders of the French Revolution. On June 17, the Third Estate, the people, declared it is now the National Assembly (Schwartz). They were now the legislature of France. A month passed to bring the fall of the Bastille on July 14. The shot heard around the world from America years earlier was certainly heard in France. The people understood that they could rebel against their king and gain fair treatment. Had we unleashed the Golden Age? The fall of the French prison signified the end of Louis XVI’s authority and became a symbol of triumph over despotism. The cowardly nobility began emigrating, while the Assembly endorsed peasant revolution by abolishing feudalism. The “Great Fear” came about in August when nobles hired brigands to destroy peasant harvest and hopes of reform (Jones 182). The job of the nobility was to organize and lead the defense of their country and their king (Durant 251). I do not believe damaging crops fit in the category of defense. A nation is truly corrupted when it loses character and liberty (Halsall). This fear mobilized the peasantry into direct action against …show more content…
This included myself. I recollected Voltaire’s thoughts as I stepped closer to my death. There are no miracles, for if there were, I should not have my life cut short when I gave the French reason. My neck was positioned at the bottom and I closed my eyes to reason where I was going. There was no reasonable explanation for my destination after having my head sliced. None of Robespierre’s people deserved this because the Terror saved the republic. I did not witness from France the Convention being replaced by the Thermidorian Convention. In November, the new Convention closed all Jacobin clubs in Paris (Schwartz). The radical stage was
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.
It’s been over 200 years since the original thirteen colonies of America fought their revolutionary war against Great Britain, in hopes of achieving their independence. We shall be going through a few areas of the Revolution, such as the military, social hierarchy, the role of men and women during the war, the colonists’ values of equality and their social contract response to the British government’s abuses, and we’ll compare these areas to the present day. The American Revolution started around April of 1775, when British redcoats and American militiamen exchanged gunshots in Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. However, that was only the beginning of the fighting; the reasons for the war date from years prior, when resistance from the
In synthesis, the American Revolution inspired other countries of liberty and independence, specifically the French Revolution. Beginning in 1789, the French rebelled because the tyranny of King Louis XVI. Compared to America, however, the French responded more violently in order to end the monarchy, for example the Reign of Terror in 1793, in which hundreds of lives including King Louis XVI and his wife were
Was 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.
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.
During the French Revolution, people fought and killed for the things they believed in, specifically rights. It was started for many things, including resentment of royal absolutism, rise of enlightenment ideals, unmanageable national debt, and the unfair treatment of the Third Estate. The French Revolution produced written works such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which served as a model of man’s inalienable right to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. Everyone during the Revolution agreed on and wanted one thing: rights. However, not everyone wanted people to have this privilege, and cared more for themselves.
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
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
On the other hand, in France, members of the Third Estate led a revolt against the monarchy in hopes that by overthrowing the monarchy, they would be granted a constitution and a new assembly would be created with delegates of the Third Estate. Although the radicals were successful and a National Assembly was created, there were still problems. The worsening economic issues had not been solved and many citizens did not gain any rights. When the Revolution took a radical turn in 1792, the French Republic was formed. Finally, in 1799, after the end of the Reign of Terror in which the monarchy and its allies were executed, the French Revolution came to an end, with Napoleon gaining power over France.
May 5, 1789, the beginning of the infamous French Revolution. Historians around the world studied the causes of the French Revolution, arguably regarded as one of the most important events in human history. Many important ideologies were developed during this time period. The current western political philosophies in France is the result of the French Revolution which introduced the principles of civic equality and popular sovereignty that challenged the historical Three Estates. Following many European reform trends, France in 1789 began their own major reform that lasted nearly a decade.
Compare and contrast of The French Revolution and The American Revolution The American revolution and the French Revolution are two major incidents happened in the 1700s, which had intense social impacts on both French and American societies. In general, the American Revolution was more successful than the French revolution. The similarity between them is that the citizens in both countries, both faced the block of common economical development of the government. However, there is a difference that makes the American revolution succeeded while the French revolution doesn’t.
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.
Was the French Revolution preventable? This is a question that is fascinating to think about. What could have been done differently to prevent this revolution that cost countless people their lives? Why were others willing to give their lives, for what cause? Why was life so turbulent?
They had an election between all the Estate and everyone got to choose and the result was shocking. The King got executed by a very close result; the king got executed by 1 more vote. After king got executed by a very close result some people thought they were free now from absolute monarchy but other people knew there is a big war coming up. Their politic power was all gone and more people start dying because Robespierre stood up and started to execute every person who was going against revolution or did something bad or broke a law. Still need a conclusion Overall would all of the revolution be considered a success or a failure?
The French Revolution was undoubtedly influenced by the political theorists of the Enlightenment. The ideas of two French political theorists in particular are easily seen throughout the French Revolution, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Baron Montesquieu. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts and texts, such as the Social Contract, instilled the entitlement of basic human rights to all men. Rousseau’s concepts on rights combined with Baron Montesquieu’s ideas on government provided the backbone of a radical movement in the French Revolution known as the Terror. When one delves into the beginnings of the French Revolution, the motives and actions of the National Assembly, and the Terror of the French Revolution, one can obviously see the influence of two Enlightenment political theorists, Rousseau and Montesquieu.