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Comparison of American and French Revolution
Compare american revolution and the french revolution
French society during the french revolution
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The French Revolution was an influential period. The revolution was against the power of the king and was against the elites who were privileged and wealthy. It also was not able to maintain a durable system of government. It was based on hatred and they desired to create a new order in the state.
William E Montgomery and Andres Tijerina describes how the French Revolution came to be. The French Revolution was feuded with the conflicts between the monarchy and the nobility that led the tax system to bankruptcy. The reaction of the people in France was strong, they believed that only the people with high class holding hereditary tiles or office were the only ones that could avoid the chaos that was bound to happen. This led to France having many financial crises that did not sit well with the people. The French Revolution gathered many of their strategies from the American Revolution that ended in 1783. The revolution led to many was to end and also ended the monarchy. The French Revolution ended in 1799, King Louis XVI was executed for treason in 1793. Napoleon took power in 1799 which was when the French Revolution ended.
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One job that everyone saw impossible to take and make it out with success. The nobility who had most of the wealth and land were happy with the tax exempt for them, yet the common people were the ones who were responsible in funding the government. The king’s decisions to help the American colonies in their war made everything worse for him. France helping America win their war, added to their financial crisis. Once the King Louis XVI decided to tax the nobility to help the people it outraged nobility. The French revolted against the monarchy executing the king. Which led to the ending of the
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble, the common people were heavily taxed, leaving many of them in poverty.
In the book Travels in France by Arthur Young, he states that “There is an injustice in levying the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little. Lands held by commoners are taxed heavily…”. This line is important because yes, it is easy to see that only the middle class but Arthur is English, not French. From the website Encyclopedia Britannica they state he is an “English writer on agriculture, politics, and economics. Besides his books on agricultural subjects, he was the author of the famous Travels in France. The book is especially valued for its vivid descriptions of the French Revolution and of the conditions that produced it”. If an English man can see that French have a financial crisis because the king is in debt, then there is a financial crisis. The clergy and the nobles were not being taxed even though they had lots of money. Even the nobility went against their own people, the website Bastille Day and The French Revolution state that “Faced with all these problems, Louis XVI needed more funds to govern is country. His financial advisers, inspired by Turgot, decided to turn to the nobility and tried to pass a law that would make them pay more taxes. The nobility opposed the king 's decision. By a clever game of persuasion, they even rallied part of the third estates at their side to denounce the power of the King”. As can be seen taxes were
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.
The French Revolution, also known as the revolution of 1789, was a movement that helped shape France into what it is today. The Revolution may have started in 1787 but it wasn’t till 1789 when the revolution actually started to become worse. The Revolution had many reasons for why it started, but it was only a few major things that really made it happen.
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.
The French Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted from the years 1789-1799. [1] The revolution arose out of hard economic times that had befallen France. Widespread famine and hunger, due to a grain shortage, rampaged through sections of the country. The economic crisis led to an increase in taxes on the lower classes, known as the third estate, to upkeep the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. [1] All of these are the known factors that led to the rise of the French Revolution.
The French Revolution started in 1787 because the country was going through financial difficulties and there was unrest between the classes of citizens in the country. The differences between the lower class citizens and higher classes, being nobles and the monarchy were great. The citizens had heard of the revolution that went on in the colonies and they also wanted freedom and independence. The real start of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. Between 1789 1793, a constitution was written, feudalism was abolished, war had broken out, and King Louis XVI was put to death. In late 1793 and early 1794, Maximilien Robespierre became the head of the Committee of Public Safety in France. This was the new governing body in France; it could be compared to the executive branch of a government. Robespierre was a great leader, he ins...
In all of the documents listed, liberty and equality are described with regards to the French Revolution. These concepts are shown to have evolved over the course of the revolution, and this is proven by the documents chosen. Liberty and equality were emphasized as either major or minor ideas in the documents, and although some were only alluded to, it is evident that the ideas of liberty and equality changed during the years of the French Revolution. Also, some of the terms used connoted different things at the end of the Revolution than the original Revolutionaries of 1789, which demonstrates the transformation of the use of words which were symbolic at that time.
They say knowledge is power. This was the case for 1789 France, where the “Enlightened” peasants, after years of autocratic dominance from the First, Second Estate and the King, decisively fought and won a revolution for civil liberties and rights, an event which would not have happened had the peasants and lower classes not been literate. But, their literacy did not come immediately. It took at least a century for the peasants to be numerously literate, and even then they were still not as educated as the privileged, wealthy nobility. In addition, different regions in France had access to different rates of schooling, which had a profound effect on how the local peasantry responded to their rulers and events. The levels of literacy in Old
The French Revolution began after some of the great philosophers such as John Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau were establishing contracts and trying to create a way for people to have a government without a king or at least without a king being in control. The king during that time was King Louie XVI and his queen was a young woman by the name Marie Antoinette. The royal couple was not well liked due to the careless spending and lack of concern for the citizens beneath them. France was on the verge of becoming bankrupt and the crops did very poorly leaving people suffering, starving and fighting for food.
Returning from the American Revolution with revolutionary and enlightened ideas, the French Citizens decided to revolt against the injustices of the monarchy as their rulers were not prepared to lead them towards a new era of hope and equality. Ideas set by revolutionaries would claim, “Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in fetters [chains],” as mentioned by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1762, which inspired people to create a better lifestyle at the cost of the government (Source ). Building a new foundation based on men’s rights to liberty, fraternity and equality were brought before the revolution due to the suffering of the estates to support the lives of the tyrannical monarchy. Westward outside the borders of Paris, France on May 5, 1789,
France had to declare bankruptcy after the American Revolution--war and debt helped bring down the monarchy. King, in 1787, called the Estates General, an assembly of noblemen buried since 1614. Thus the Revolution becan with an aristocratic attempt to recapture the state. "Men born and live free and equal under the law." Not democratic, but constitutional. The King was not King of France, but King of the French!!
The French Revolution was one of the larger social revolutions. It can be considered a revolution on the political, social, religious, and economic front, although the biggest causes were social. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with the fall of Bastille and continued until the rise of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The main re...
There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a result of the high debts held by the French Government, the King decided to start taxing the First and Second Estates. They objected causing the Third Estate to question why the first two estates were given choice in paying taxes when the Third Estate, who were so heavily taxed, paid all their taxes. These were the major causes leading up to and, in some cases, triggering, the French Revolution.
The French Revolution, which occurred from 1789 to 1799, was a time where the monarchy was overthrown, a republic was formed, and limits were put on the church. The French Revolution ended with the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The French Revolution created France’s legislative assembly, which is still in place today. Many would argue that the Enlightment was a cause of the French Revolution, but the Enlightment was not one of the main drivers for the Revolution. The bad living conditions, France’s monarchy, and the involvement in the American Revolution and other wars caused the French Revolution.