Causes of the French Revolution Essay

Unlike the 3rd estate, the 1st and 2nd estate were granted many privileges such as not having to pay taxes and earning more rights than the 3rd estate. Soon enough, the 3rd estate got tired of having to suffer with all of the issues that the nobility had place onto them. So they decided to revolt against the king, the clergy, and the rest of the nobility.

The high costs of maintaining the army and navy exacerbated the situation, along with the lavish lifestyle of King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie-Antoinette. Louis appointed Charles de Calonne as comptroller-general to solve France’s financial crisis. Calonne knew that the only way to get France out of debt was to fairly distribute the tax burden among the three estates. Of course, this did sit well with the nobility and Calonne was dismissed after giving his presentation at the Assembly of Notables. In a desperate act, Louis called the Estates General. The Estates General was an ancient practice that had not been called since 1614. Events there would prove to be the beginning of the revolution proper. France suffered under years of inept and self-serving monarchs. Louis XVI was preceded by his grandfather, Louis XV. It was his loss of public opinion and war spending that put his grandson in such a precarious position in the years after his reign. The rule of Louis XVI would prove to be a doomed one. He was ousted after a comparatively short 17 years. The outdated political system gave way to a constitutional monarchy, and when that failed, the French Republic. This Republic however would not prove to last. Feudalism was the whole of existence for rural commoners in the time before the revolution. Farmers had no right to the land they worked and lived on. Serfs were beholden to their manor lord

Before the revolution France was ruled under the Ancien Regime system, meaning the country and all its people were under the reign of an absolute monarch. This was a tradition that had been upheld through the years and the Royal family had enjoyed a life funded by the people of France, the royal family’s lifestyle unaffected by the situation outside their palace. The Palace, Versailles, was built by king Louis XIV and the expenses for building this “village” was very high, and in later years the cost for its upkeep would play a significant role in Frances financial difficulties. In order for these difficulties to be overcome France needed a tax reform. The government had a very high tax rate on the poorest of their people, the Third Estate, and they were still not getting enough money to get out of their

There are very few members in the first and second estates, yet they owned the most land, while the third estate made up most of the population, yet owned very little land. “First: Clergy - 1% of the people owned 10% of the land. Second Estate: Nobles - 2% of the people owned 35% of the land. Third Estate - Middle class, peasants, city workers 97% of the people owned 55% of the land.” (Document 2) There were high prices, high taxes, and people were listening to enlightenment ideas. Louis XVI decided to tax the Second Estate. They called a meeting of the Estates-General - an assembly of representatives from all three estates. (ROI) In addition, as a political cause, the third estate had no privileges or say in the government,while both the clergy and nobles did. As mentioned before, the inequality of taxes proved another gap in the social classes. “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact.... 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.” (Document 4) Estates- General was the first such meeting in 175 years. Met on May 5th,1789 in Versailles. In the Estate- General each estate had one vote. (ROI)

Both countries also had a similar hierarchy. For example, the French First Estate was made up of members of the Church, just like Parliament's House of Lords. The French Second Estate was made up of nobles, and the House of Commons was made up of elected men. The Third Estate was made up of all of the other citizens, who paid the most in taxes, without power in government. The American colonists paid the most in taxes, without power in government, showing similar hierarchies among the two rebellious

First of all, the vulgus of France were not habituated with their basic human rights. Cahiers, a list of grievances about the king, taxing and voting involving the estates explains how the third estate was not provided with equal rights. The third estate owned most of the land and made up a large percent of the population, yet were not accustomed with the rights they deserved. They paid for the wealthy to live an excessive life and didn't get anything in return. This was unjust and unfair.

The Third Estate was made p of the "common" population. They included lawyers, merchants, and peasants. They were made up of the Bourgeoisie which is the middle class which is the highest portion of the third estate.

This lead to kings being unfair or making poor decisions that negatively influence everyone. Examples of this include king starting wars or people being killed or imprisoned without committing crimes. The Estates-General was also unfair because the groups were not representative of the populations each group represented. Also, when they said "In order to assure the third estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers…its votes in the assembly should be taken by head… (Document 8)," the king rejected it. This and other similar things the king said caused social issues between the three estates in the

The first estate, for the people of the highest position in France belonged to the clergy; this group contained the members of the religious rules such as Bishops, Monks and Nuns. However, the people of this estate were not popular among many people of especially the third estate. This was mainly because of the power

Before the French Revolution, there were three estates, or classes: the nobility, the clergy and the commoners. The nobility and the clergy had many more privileges than the third estate and that is what caused the French Revolution. The Third estate was composed of the peasants, the workers and the bourgeoisie; unlike the other segments of the Third Estate, the bourgeoisie was able to communicate its grievances to the public during the period after the French Revolution: 1789-1799.

The first group of the Old Regime system was the first estate. This group was made

One major cause of the old regime were the taxes and laws between the three estates. As seen in Document 2, “the 3rd estate paid 50% of income in taxes while the 1st and 2nd paid less than 5%” (Doc 2). This clearly shows that the most populated estate, the third estate, paid half of their income as their taxes. Larger amounts of taxes the third estate paid versus the lower amount of taxes for the first and second estates. Another significant cause was the unequal three estates and the third estate was overpowered. The third estate had more power in laws and taxes and their relationship with the lower estates were not good. As demonstrated in Document 7, the cartoon of the “The political and social system in France” (Doc 7). This cartoon proves the relationship between the third estate and the two lower estates. The lower estates didn’t have anything to do with taxes and laws and the third estates were all in laws and taxes. The final

The French Revolution was a period of time from 1789 to 1799 in France where there was political instability. It officially began on the 14th of July, 1789, when the Bastille, which was a symbol of the King’s harsh policies, was stormed. The King, Louis XVI, the Queen, Marie-Antoinette and about 40,000 people were all brutally murdered. But there was also a positive side, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally adopted on August 1789 and feudalism was abolished. This essay will address the issues of the three estates system, food shortages and the fiscal crisis. It will also be argued that the most significant cause of the French Revolution was the social inequality that stemmed from the three estates system.

The idea of an absolute monarchy had been the foundation of rule in Europe from the beginning. However, a constitutional monarchy would provide a greater representation and opportunity for the subjects of France moving forward. Migrating to a more democratic government through a constitutional monarchy would better suit the people because it would grant the subjects more political power while limiting the power of the King, and creating an equitable administration that would abolish the caste system. Allowing this change created a form of accountability in regards to the political power of the King to ensure that no ruler could abuse it.

The French Revolution was caused by many factors; some were significant and played a large role while others were of minor consequence. France was one of the richest and most powerful nations even though they were facing some economic difficulties. The French Revolution was a pivotal period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. During this period of time there was the formation of republicanism which replaced the absolute monarchy in France.