Causes Of The French Revolution
1789 is the year that the French Revolution officially started. The war only lasted for about 10 years, it ended in 1799. The events that lead up to the war are just as important as the events and actions that were taken place during the war. The French had weak and horrible political leaders that were in charge of their government. Their economic structure was corrupt and was not fair for everyone. The social classes were unfair, the rich got more wealthy and the poor starved to death. The poor would pay more than the rich, this did not sit well with the poor. The main reason why the revolution took place is because of the unfair social classes, such as the First, Second, and Third Estate.
In Document #2 there are two pie charts, one of the percentage of population, by social class. The other was the percentage of land ownership, by social class. The upper class citizens of the First and the Second Estate own less land than the Third estate citizens. The way that people were taxed back in the late 1700’s was by how much land they own. The poor own more land, so they have to pay higher taxes than the rich. To
…show more content…
make it fair they should have made it so there is a percentage of your yearly makings are used to pay taxes, everyone will pay the same percent of money and there would be less conflict. Document #4 of the packet shows, in order, what was going on in the world to trigger the ideas of enlightenment which lead to the revolutions of many countries including the French Revolution.
Right before the French Revolution flared up, the thirteen colonies of America rebelled and won their revolution. The American Revolution is in fact one of the main reasons that the French Revolution took place. The American Revolution gave hope and showed it was possible to revolt against a powerful government, the Third Estate in France Revolted against the Rich and powerful government, they wanted to change the economic, social, and the political problems that affected their lives. They had weak political leaders who spent for themselves and not to the starving poor. The way taxes were paid made it hard for the poor to make a
living. Document #3 of the packet shows a poor Third Estate citizen on the ground, to his left are a few guns, swords, and knifes. In front of him are two well dressed men in fear of him. The man on the ground is looking at the weapons as if he wants to use them. This picture represents that the First and Second estate were scared of the Third Estate rebelling against them. The Third Estate makes up 98% of the population of France. They out number the higher class citizens by a very large amount. If the Third Estate were to all band together they could take over the nation with ease just because of the large amount of people that are in their situation and do not like how the government is run. In Document #5 there are three quoted paragraphs of the god given rights that each country believes in. England, America, and France have the same relative idea of rights everyone should have. Frances “Bill of Rights”, was created before the French Revolution, the ideas of the people might have changes because they got rid of the horrible rulers they have had leading their country. Napoleon and Louis XIV were horrible rulers who did not think about the poor hard workers. The unfair treatment of the social classes enrages the poor. There will always be more unwealthy people then there are rich, the rulers around the time of the French Revolution ultimately could not find a way to please and keep the poor happy, this lead to violent outbreaks throughout France. Economic, political, and social issues tear a nation apart.
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.
The French Revolution started during 1789, it allowed for the people to have a better government that actually protected the natural rights of the people. This toke a nearly a decade of rioting and violence for the Third Estate to have their way and get the rights they deserved. From all the causes like the famine of wheat, long debts because of wars, the heavy taxes, and their rights not being protected, some causes stood out more than the others. It is noted that these reasons had to play a major role in order for the French Revolution to occur. The three most important causes of the French revolution are the ideas that came from the Enlightenment, the Old Regime not being an efficient class system, and the heavy taxation.
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.
The American Revolution began due to problems within the British economy. The most prevalent issue of the time was "taxation without representation". Unlike the leaders of America, the leaders of the French did not turn out to be as positive for the country. In fact, some of these leaders have caused much more harm than good.
...d estate was made up of a city-dwelling, well educated middle class called the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes and the farmers, all of which made up about 80 percent of Frances population and yet received less money than both the other two states combined. This did not stop from the government taxing the population though and the burden of it fell mostly, if not almost all on the peasants. They lost half or more of their income in taxes and were forced to pay ridiculous taxes like feudal dues to the nobles, tithes to the church and royal taxes to the king?s agent and besides all this, peasants had to pay a certain tax which was paid in work rather than money. The two other estates on the other hand paid no or very little taxes thus the third estate all had reasons to hate the old regime. The French and American revolution was partly the outcomes of these resentments towards the government and was also the result of weak leadership at the top.
The beginning of the French Revolution had many causes that began with the frustrations of the bourgeoisie. The irritation was a result from being treated very poorly by King Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette. The bourgeoisie carried a huge weight on their shoulders because they were demanded to pay the most taxes. However they were the largest population that made up France. A variety of reasons contributed to the rebellion of the third estate, they understood their human rights and were not going to tolerate this absurd behavior from the monarchy any longer.
The first and main reason for the French Revolution was the terrible leadership of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. The peasants wanted to overthrow them as they made France bankrupt by overspending. He spent a little less that 228 million livres in the span of 15 years. King Louis had sent huge amounts of money, military equipment and soldiers to America during the American Revolution because he wanted to help them beat Britain. He also spent a lot of money to build his palace, the Versailles. Marie Antoinette also used huge sums of money for her lavish parties and to fulfill her extravagant tastes. Both of these combined created a further debt for France. King Louis wanted to increase the taxes of the Third Estate to pay off the debts, which made the peasants even angrier, which will be talked about in the next paragraph. King Louis came into power at the age of 20, and he put most of the financial duties to Turgot, one of the best statesmen. When he finally realized the French Revolution was a big problem, all his attempts to stop it were all in vain because he didn’t know what to do sin...
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...
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.
The French Revolution had straight forward causes. For many years the French had endured inequality and exploration, under a social hierarchy that required them to carry a taxation burden. France was the most expansive and profitable empire yet it is domestic wars. The French were roused by action by political propaganda that took many forms: from high-minded Enlightenment philosophy, to populist pamphlets about the right of people. The noble class wanted autonomy and to share the royal power where the high class, also known as the wealthy bourgeoisie, wanted political representation in France. The middle class wanted food and taxes at a lower cost. Also the middle class wanted the feudal bond and restrictions to stop so they can have relief. Harvest failures, food shortages and price rises in 1788-89 were dangerous exclamation points at the end of this turbulent decade (Llewellyn,
During the Enlightenment period, many thinkers and philosophers advocated for equality among people as well as abolishing the Catholic Church and the monarchs that ruled countries with an iron fist. One philosopher in particular, John Locke, believed in the concept of natural rights; an idea that stated all men are born with the rights of life, liberty and property and whenever government policies appropriate these rights, it is in the people’s hands to rise up against the government. This controversial idea of rights and equality traveled around Europe until it reached France. The French Revolution was influenced by the way the American colonists were able to stand up for their rights and fight for their freedom. The only people who wanted
A second underlying cause was the raising of taxes. The third estate was already being taxed enough, and the nobles refusal to pay taxes only worsened the problem.
Revolution? The major cause of the French Revolution was the disputes between the different types of social classes in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 was one of the most important events in the history of the world. The Revolution led to many changes in France, which at the time of the Revolution, was the most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to the development of new political forces such as democracy and nationalism. It questioned the authority of kings, priests, and nobles. The Revolution also gave new meanings and new ideas to the political ideas of the people.