‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’: the motto that France uses to this day and first came about as a result of the French Revolution. This in itself shows that the revolution had a major impact on France. It played a significant role in changing France through, for example, the new definition of nationalism, the abolition of the monarchy and the abolition of feudalism. Whether these changes succeeded in modernising France or resulted in something that was not any better than pre-revolutionary times is what will be discussed in more detail using the above three examples.
Nationalism did exist, to a certain extent, in pre-revolutionary France, and ‘it played an important role in the Revolution itself’ (O’Brien, 1988:18) but it only had a real impact on France after the revolution. The nationalism that existed before the revolution gave rise to the idea of a more equal society without the monarchy or clergy, therefore after the revolution, this pride in the nation was shown through the equality which they managed to achieve, and gaining the desired result of no monarchy and no clergy. It was the beginning of this concept of nationalism that resulted in Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and consequently what brought about the motto that France uses today. O’Brien emphasises this idea of nation above everything else, including their king, which the French were driven to achieve, so not only was this idea of nationalism present before the revolution, being one of the causes of the revolution, but also after the revolution, staying with the French until the present day, and influencing other countries to exalt this idea of nationalism and implement it. However the nationalism that existed in relation to Joan of Arc was still cl...
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...ay had the revolution never occurred. There would not be such a strong sense of nationalism present in France today, without the revolution.
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the French Revolution. Hunt, Lynn & Censer, Jack. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press (2001)
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Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
One more long-lasting effect from the French Revolution is nationalism. They called fraternity at the time, but both words share the same meaning. The French people fighting for their right to survive and later to protect their borders from foreign powers seeking to restore tyrannical order, produced a sense of pride and brotherhood. No longer being forced to front lines by an unseen monarch hundreds of miles away, the French people started to find, close to heart and empowering reasons, to defend their
Ed. John Hardman. French Revolution Documents 1792–95, vol. 2. “Père Duchesne, no. 313”. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1973.
[7] Hunt, Lynn. Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: U of California, 1984. Print.
Sutherland, Donald M.G. The French Revolution and Empire: the quest for a civic order. Oxford, UK. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 2003. 40-43. Print.
There are plenty of speculations concerning why there was a French Revolution and plenty of articles and books written on the subject of why did France revolutionize? Was it because France was following in the footsteps of the Americans and rebelling against a negligent monarch or was it because it was time for a reformation in France? Perhaps it was none of those reasons but because of a language sweeping that nation of France that calls the bourgeoisie, the foundation of the nation that was France, into action. Maybe the French Revolution began simply because the city-dwelling bourgeoisie overthrew the empowered nobility and monarchy, which is what most speculations, ultimately leads to. However, all of these assumptions may be partially true, but not the whole truth and therefore, are all wrong. The French Revolution occurred because of a series of dependent occurrences that led to the culmination of the members from the bourgeoisie storming the Bastille in July and the overthrowing of the monarchy and the nobility. The French Revolution began not because of one single, particular act like overthrowing a government or agitating the lower classes, but a combination of those reasons listed above and others not mentioned in this introduction but that will be addressed later in this paper.
Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 12: The French Revolution - Moderate Stage, 1789-1792." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. .
The French Revolution was one of the most violent and chaotic events in history. It took place in France from 1789 to 1795. The end result was a good one, with France’s government being transformed from an oppressive monarchy, to a nationalist state that stood for freedom, equality, and unalienable rights. The process, however, is the interesting part.
However, even if the original goal of a constitutional monarchy was not reached in France, the revolution still had a large impact on the French population, for now they had the ideas of equality and natural rights in their minds, and also many of the peasants were better off in the country because feudal rights had been abolished for lords. Even though the French revolution was only partly successful, the values and foundations for the French and American revolutions were largely the same. It is important to draw similarities from these two Revolutions, so that questions such as “If these two revolutions were so similar, why did one result in a victory and one not accomplish its original goal?” to gain a deeper understanding of the French and American
During the eighteenth century, France was one of the most richest and prosperous countries in Europe, but many of the peasants were not happy with the way France was being ruled. On July 14, 1789, peasants and soldiers stormed the Bastille and initiated the French Revolution. This essay will analyze the main causes of the French Revolution, specifically, the ineffectiveness of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the dissatisfaction of the Third Estate, and the Enlightenment. It will also be argued that the most significant factor that caused the French Revolution is the ineffective leadership of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Gottschalk, Lous Reichental and James T. Shotwell. The Era of the French Revolution (1715-1815). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1929. Print.