Society During the French Revolution

1775 Words4 Pages

The thesis of this study is how society was during the French Revolution from
1789 to 1799. French Revolution during this time went through significant changes from the beginning when society was run by the wealthy class and being undemocratic and changed to being a democratic state.

From 1789 to 1799, the French Revolution was a “cataclysmic political and
1
social upheaval.” French society was going though a hard period in France that

was the French Revolution. “Recent scholars tends to downplay the social class

struggle and emphasize political, cultural, ideological, and personality factors in
2
the advent and unfolding of the conflict.” The French Revolution was caused by

the unhappiness of peasants being taxed by the ruling classes of nobility, clergy,

and bourgeoisie. In addition to being taxed, the high prices of food made many

people revolt against the ruling class. The peasant women who bought the food

really revolted against the high prices.

The French Revolution’s riots started on July 12th, and on July 14th, the

storming of the Bastille (royal prison that symbolized the depotism of the

Bourbons) because of the provocative acts of Louis XXVI. Suspicions also grew

around Marie Antoinette that she was in constant communication with her brother

Lepold II, the Holy Roman emperor. Because of popular suspicions regarding the

queen’s activities and the complicity of the king, the royal family was

apprehended on June 21 at Varennes while attempting to escape from France.

This study will also include the period when public executions was out of

hand. This well-known period in history was called the Reign of Terror. During

1
Harvey. French Revolution. CD-ROM

2
Davis. Social Rebellion in French History. p. 9.

this time, society was thought to be in control but went out of hand with the daily

executions of nobles, members of the clergy, and rebels.

On May 5, 1789, the Estates General were to meet at Versailles. “There

was tremendous excitement about that meeting as hopes for change arose from
3
all sides.” The delegations representing the privileged strata of French society

immediately challenged the third-estate caucus by rejecting its procedural

proposals on methods of voting. The proposals were designed to establish a

system of simple majority rule, thereby ensuring domination of the

Estates-General by the third estate. The deadlock on procedure persisted for six

weeks, but finally on July 17, the insurgent caucus led by Emmanuel Joseph

Sieyes and Honore Gabriel Riqueti proclaimed itself the National Assembly.

Show More
Related

  • The Three Most Important Causes Of The French Revolution

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Terror in the French Revolution

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    By 1791 their had been a constitutional monarchy with the revolutions mission complete, now major changes would have to be made to ensure that the country benefited from this change, but this would be hard, the church had already been abolished and its funds taken to resolve the spiralling debt problems. A lot of groups had been set up to fight the revolutionary committee including the Monarchiens and the Noirs. The main opposition came from ...

    Read More

  • French Revolution Dbq

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Differences Between The French Revolution And The English Civil War

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    The social condition in France before the French Revolution was very poor. The society was divided into three estates: first estate, second estate, and third Estate. The first and the second estates were made up of the Clergy

    Read More

  • The Reign of Terror: Was it Justified?

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the Reign of Terror in France grew and invoked fear the internal threats became more radical and deadly. The French Revolution began in 1789 as an attempt to create a new and fair government. (Doc A) As year four of freedom lurched the thirst for power in Maximilien Robespierre stirred and the hunger for more blood provoked him urging him to create the Reign of Terror. 1793, the first year of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre grasped on to his new power and as the revolution spun out of control the Jacobins Club established a new way to “fight enemies” by constructing a Committee of Public Safety and a Tribunal Court. (Doc A) This new government was working swell it contained counterrevolutionaries in the Vendée Region, and it smothered and ferreted the internal threats. (Docs A, C, G) The counterrevolutionaries adopted a name that meant trouble – the rabble. (Doc D) In a letter written by a city official of the Town of Niort a...

    Read More

  • Cause of the French Revolution

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    the same value as the other orders. Despite the social rifts surrounding the political debate of mid-1789, most contemporaries. fervently sought social unity. This suggests that social unrest may not necessarily have been the basic cause of the outbreak of the Revolution. The.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Political And Political Impacts Of The French Revolution

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • french revolution

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the ten years of the French Revolution, various factions rose against the ruling monarch. The poor created their uprising over the lack of food and basic life necessities. Additionally, the nobles and clergy protested over land rights and taxes. Another element that distinguishes the French Revolution was that many of the French nobles became disgruntled with the events in France and left to become mercenaries assisting others throughout Europe to over-throw the ruling monarchs in other countries.

    Read More

  • The Abolition of the Feudal System in France

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    New York: Barnes & Noble, 1969. Print. The. Kreis, Steven. A. A. "Lecture 12: The French Revolution - Moderate Stage, 1789-1792.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    The later 18th century was a time of crisis for the old regimes of Europe and their economic systems and political agitation sometimes breaking out into revolts. English Industrial Revolution vaulted Britain to the fore. France was the most powerful and the most typical of the old aristocratic absolute monarchies of Europe. (lower taxes off backs of lower classes).

    Read More

  • French Revolution

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    The population of France had changed quite a bit since 1614. The people that were not aristocratic members of the Third Estate represented ninety-eight percent of the people, but still were able to be outvoted by the other two bodies. Leading up to the meeting on May 5th, the Third Estate started to mobilize for support for equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto, in other words, they wanted voting by head not by the status. All the orders shared common desires for fiscal and judicial reform as well as more representation in the form of government, the nobles started to get upset that they would be giv...

    Read More

  • Industrial, French, and American Revolutions: Common Social Revolutions?

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 reason behind the revolution was the unfair treatment of classes in France.

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Causes of the French Revolution     On July 14, 1789, several starving working people of Paris and sixty soldiers seized control of the Bastille, forever changing the course of French history. The seizing of the Bastille wasn’t caused by one event, but several underlying causes such as the Old Regime, the raising of taxes, the American revolution, and the idea and beliefs of the philosophers. The immediate causes of the revolution were the rising price of bread and the locking of the third estate out of its meeting hall. Finally, the spark was the ordering of the Swiss guards to Paris by Louis the XVI. The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    424 Words  | 1 Pages

    The people of the Third Estate were also being treated unfairly and unjustly. The tax system was another contribution of the revolution. The nobles and clergy would tax the rest of the people by voting. Since the people were divided into sections, each section would count as one vote, despite the fact that the First and Second Estate was only made up of two percent of the population. Also, the nobles and clergy were usually exempt from paying the taxes. This made the people angry. The tax system resulted in the Tennis Court Oath. Members of the Third Estates met there to gather and talk about the problems.

    Read More

More about Society During the French Revolution

Open Document