Louis Xiv Dbq Essay

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DBQ

Louis the XVI’s reign was a time of political turmoil in France. Massive debt from his predecessors, especially Louis XIV, and from various wars caused numerous economic struggles for the entire country. Many people began to lose faith in an absolutist government and rooted their ideas in the Enlightenment. The people called for reform and, because of his weak position due to his earlier capitulations, Louis XVI had to call the first Estates General meeting in over a century. The three Estates came with their cahiers to address their concerns. The grievances laid out before the Estates General were both political and economical, and while the nation was successful in addressing (but not resolving) these requested reforms, the

lack of unity of the Estates still lead to the Reign of Terror.
The first issue the Estates had to address was how the voting should be conducted in the Estates General. Each Estate had the same number of votes, despite the Third have drastically more population than the other two. The voting issue was the start of cracks in the reform process, eventually leading to the start of the revolution.
All Estates agreed there needed to be political reform, however, they dissented on how drastic it should be. The First and Second Estates wanted the government to become more of a republic, while the Third Estate, because it was the largest, advocated for a democracy. After meeting, a constitutional monarchy was formed, taxes had to be approved by the Estates, and the government guaranteed some individual freedoms. The aforementioned changes were not nearly enough for the Third Estate, and consequently they walked out along with a few radical nobles and clergymen to form the National Assembly and met on a tennis court.
Divisions between the Estates and unequal representation led to ineffective political compromises. As seen in the 1789 French Political Cartoon, the Third Estate was the basis of all the others, carrying the nobles, clergy, and even the king on their back. This was the view of liberals who agreed with the Third Estate’s sentiments; because they made up a majority of the French population, encompassing peasants, commoners, and bourgeoisie, they were the working class and the salt of the earth, the entire nation relied on them. Radical clergyman Abbe Sieyes had a different point of view than the rest of the First Estate, agreeing with the Third. The liberal had very Locke and Rousseau like ideas by believing the Third Estate was in chains because of the others, and that they should take a stand against the oppressive Estates by forming the National Assembly.
As a result, the National Assembly published their own decree addressing their political grievances.

Their decree in August of 1789 abolished feudalism, a long standing system which allowed nobles to exert unchecked power on peasants. Also, the Assembly called for the removal of noble privileges and equality in the eyes of the law. However, these reforms were still not enough for the misrepresented commoners. Later in 1789 they took to the streets during “the Great Fear.” At this time, the peasants started to seize land from the nobles and demand that all of their privileges be stripped. As seen in the map, the Great Fear affected most of France, making it a widespread event close to the revolution. Eventually, the peasants’ demands were met in the Declaration of the Rights of Man, giving all Estates inalienable

rights.
Economically, the Estates differed on whether or not there should be reform. The Third Estate, most affected by the debt of the nation and the rise of bread prices, demanded reform whereas the nobility of the Second Estate disagreed. Despite the divide between the bourgeoisie and the commoners, both thought there needed to be some degree of economic reform. Poor parish priests of the First Estate also backed their views. The Cahier of semi-literate master cobblers expressed most of their concerns. The struggling workers described the toll of the taxes and decreed there should only be one. They also demanded free game, allowing farmers to hunt freely, easing the toll that animals made on their harvests as well as putting food on their table. The Cahier of the rural peasant village of Menouville detailed their crop failures due to weather and rabbits. The poor farmers attribute those failures as to why they can not pay the dues they owe. Their solution is similar to the bourgeoise cobblers, except more extreme. The peasants call for no tax, whereas the cobblers call for one tax.
The peasants strongly believed in their cause because of the toll the economy took on them.

English agronomist Arthur Young retold his encounter with a French Peasant in 1789. He claimed the peasant said France was a sad country to live in and complained about the numerous taxes. Young also described the woman, saying she was only twenty-eight but looked to be in her seventies because of the toll the hard labor took on her body. While Young’s encounter matches what many French peasants would describe, his English point of view may have been skewed. French-English relations at the time were not good because of both the Seven Years War and the American Revolution, both of which the countries were on opposing sides. Young may have attempted to portray France as a terrible country to boost national pride at home in

England.
The economic grievances of the peasants culminated in the National Assembly’s decree, which the nobles resented. The document abolished all types of tithes, dues, and taxes. The peasants also called to destroy exclusive hunting rights, allowing them to hunt unrestricted by the nobles. Clearly, the nobles would not willingly give up their social and economical privileges, and therefore disliked and disagreed these reforms, causing tension between the Estates.
While their grievances and concerns were being addressed, the peasants did not think they were being taken seriously enough. Louis XVI broke up the National Assembly, annulling all of their grievances. The Assembly was the Third Estates way of expressing their perceived injustice of the Estates General. With it gone, the commoners had no way to effectively express their cahiers. The peasants believed that the other Estates were conspiring against them with the King, causing them to take to the streets. The people stormed Bastille, an old prison, in order to seize weapons and gunpowder for the inevitable revolution. The momentum gained from Bastille Day showed the other Estates and the King that the peasants are capable of winning a revolution. The day eventually led to the Reign of Terror, where the King and many nobility were executed in the name of a new government. Perhaps if the Estates were more unified in their attempts for reform, the French Revolution may have been avoided.