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Declaration of the rights of man and the citizen
What caused the French revolution
What caused the French revolution
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The French Revolution was a period that covered ten years of France’s history in the eighteenth century. It was a huge modernization of France where the Old Regime was ended. The liberal phase of the French Revolution spanned over the years 1789 to 1793. It was intended to enhance the power of the Third Estate, but the movement greatly impacted the nobles. Due to these new reforms, the nobles were negatively affected because they lost most of their power due to the formation of the National Assembly, and also to the publication of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and the Constitution of 1791. The revolution stemmed from the aggravation of the third estate, or commoners, who were suffering under the feudal system of France. …show more content…
The main purpose of this document was to create a constitutional monarchy. It contained 18 main points that highlighted Enlightenment ideals and focused on the equality of all men, white males in particular. It also mainly focused on the topics of civil equality and unjust privilege in French society. Most importantly, this document made wealth, not legal privilege, blood line or birthright, the new foundation of modern France. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen made things worse for the nobles. This put them on the defensive as all their rights were directly affected by one statement: “Men are born and remain free and equal in …show more content…
Many of the decrees limited the power of the King, which Royalists did not go along with. Many members of the Third Estate got angry at the King, which forced him to try to escape from France with his family. Unfortunately, the escape did not work. King Louis XVI and his family were carried back to Paris by force. Along with the relocation of the National Assembly, Paris became the new center for the revolution. Not only did these reforms affect the nobles, but they also affected the status of the clergy in France. The reformation of the church took away all the land owned by the church, and also forced clergy members to swear an out to the revolution. To add to all of this, the National Constituent Assembly wrote a new constitution in
First, the French Revolution was a result of the failed estate system and the extreme economic and social inequality it led to. Under the rule of Louis XVI, the people of France were divided into three main social classes or estates as they are called. The First Estate featured wealthy members of the Church such as Bishops and Priests who held great political power due to their influence on government affairs. The Second Estate was a class comprised of the wealthy nobles and
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was formed and intended in 1789 by the National Assembly of France to be the very backbone for the constitution. This allowed the nation of France to become liberated and achieve a more secure and structured society by changing from that of an absolute monarchy to a more constitutional democracy. France sought to gain equality and freedom for all individuals; after being fed up with the constant corruption for so long. France managed to successfully obtain an equal nation and government, in which power was given to the people and not to some tyrannical or dictatorial figure.
Historian Albert Mathiez states that “The middle class… was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The revolution came from them- the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” The middle class were not able to have a class on their own; they were still considered peasants. In the illustration it showed how much people and land each estate held, the Clergy was one percent of the population which owned ten percent of the land. Nobles were two percent of the people that owned thirty-five percent of the land. The middle class, peasants, and city workers were ninety-seven of the people owned fifty-five percent of the land. This means that if the third estate were to riot, this would cause havoc. There was a lot during that time; the website Macrohistory and World Timeline shows that “The population of France had grown to between 24 and 26 million, up from 19 million in 1700 without a concomitant growth in food production. Farmers around Paris consumed over 80 percent of what they grew, so if a harvest fell by around 10 percent, which was common, people went hungry. There was insufficient government planning and storage of grain for emergency shortages”. If there were approximately 26 million people, there would be 25,220,000 people in the third estate, 520,000 people in the second estate, and 260,000
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.
Some people like Emmanuel Sieyès, middle-class writer who was taken by the Enlightenment ideas, believed that all of French Society lay on the backs of the third estate. On the contrary, Robespierre, the monarch at the time, believed that the third estate did not have the power to do anything important to society. The third estate had to pay taxes like the Gabelle and Taille while the first and seconds estates did not have to pay any taxes to the king. Also, the third estates had less of a representation in voting. The first and second estate could outvote the third estate every time and this was a huge inequality. The condition of the third estate was horrible but a good portion of this third estate was the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie had some wealth and social class, so they influenced the rest of the third estate about their rights, while also inspiring some lower clergies and provincial nobles and thus led to a group of rebellious people to fight the monarchy. This fight for political representation and political rights was only one cause of the French Revolution. Another causes lies in the French Monarchs: Louis XlV, Louis XV, and Louis XVl. When Louis XlV was ruling, the monarchy had unlimited power and was known as a
The Third estate, the lowest estate, had risen up to the top to become a National Assembly. Some of main goals of this insurgency were to get rid of monarchy and to have a political say for the Third estate. Many events like the Storming of Bastille, Bread March, and Napoleon’s reign all happened during the French Revolution. After the King Louis and Queen Marie’s death, France was in great danger on all sides. The National Convention created C.O.P.S or the Committee of Public Safety. This was to deal with the threats to France. Later on Napoleon Bonaparte came and dictated France. He made many good decisions to take France to the top like reuniting the church to the peasants and creating the Napoleonic Code. The start of Napoleon’s fall happened when he was trying to invade Russia but was defeated by his own ignorance and stubbornness. After he came back with only 40,000 soldiers out of 600,000 he was abdicated to King Louis XVII. Though the France went back to feudalism, they did pack a punch to the other monarchs of different countries which they formed an alliance with each
Cause of the French Revolution The essential cause of the French revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges”. This statement is very accurate, to some extent. Although the collision between the two groups was probably the main cause of the revolution, there were two other things that also contributed to the insanity during the French revolution – the debt that France was in as well as the famine. Therefore, it was the juxtaposing of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy as well as the debt and famine France was in that influenced the French Revolution. Many people were making a case for a new concept of society, in which commoners, especially the educated middle classes (bourgeoisie), had.
One of the main causes of the Revolution was the issue of the estate system in conflict with the desires of the social groups (i.e. nobility and th...
]“Little by little, the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him.” – Jennifer Donnelly. The French Revolution was a time period in which the people of its country had enough. They ripped up the thousand-year-old monarchy and redesigned their country’s way of government. The French Revolution was a time of struggle for its people. King Louis XVI had essentially bankrupted the country with his lavish spending and his involvement in the American Revolution. While the king was living a luxurious life, his people couldn’t even eat. During this time the king had people heavy taxes on the Third Estate, which consisted of 98% of the population, causing the French citizens to resent the monarchy. This lead to riots, looting, and strikes in a stance for better living conditions. Women of France had a specific hatred of the queen, Marie Antoinette. In the early days of October 1789, thousands of Partisans, several of which were women, walked
Prior to the revolution, King Louis XVI was at the top of the ancien régime, the social, economic, and political structure in France, which means he had absolute power. When he received the throne in 1774, it came along with insoluble problems. The people were split into three estates which divided social class. The first estate consisted of 100,000 tax exempt nobles who owned 20% of the land. The second estate consisted of the 300,000 tax exempt clergy who owned 10% of the land. The third estate consisted of the remaining 23.5 million French people who were 90% peasants. The third estate was the only estate that paid taxes. Their taxes ensured the financial well-being of the clergy, state, and nobles (French Revolution Overview 6).
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...
The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).
The French Revolution represents a period in history that brought about a major change in not only Europe but the entire world. The French revolution spanned from 1789 to 1799. It brought about several key changes in not only the economic state of France but also the perception of the Christian church, specifically the Catholic church in France. Its impacts both economically and religiously are still felt to this day. The French Revolution may have temporarily destroyed Christianity in France, however, it acted as a savior for the future of Christianity.
Causes and Effects of the French Revolution The 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.
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.