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Did The French Revolution Influence The Enlightenment Idea Of The American Revolution

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During the late eighteenth century, the people of France began to feel a sense of dissatisfaction towards the government due to a number of causes. Many scholars argue that the nobility and bourgeoisie, or middle class, had internal conflicts with each other or that the two classes had similar interests and formed an educated elite. In addition, France was very poor at the time and sported a massive financial debt due to the nation’s participation in the American Revolution. This in turn led to famine and popular unrest within the citizens of France. Although many monarchs, such as Louis XIV and those of Prussia and Austria, opposed the idea of a revolution, the citizens, influenced by Enlightenment ideas, realized that kings were unnecessary and overthrew …show more content…

Due to the enormous national debt, King Louis XIV had no choice but to increase taxes. In 1787, the minister of finance imposed a tax on all land and formed assemblies to help institute the tax. The minister persuaded Louis XIV to call an Assembly of Notables, or a group of nobles and clergy, to gain support for the heavy taxation. The notables advocated for a meeting of the Estates General since the sizable tax would have a great impact on the economy of the nation. The Estates General was essentially a legislative body made up of representatives from the three social classes; the last time it met prior to the 1789 congregation was in 1614. The clergy, nobility, and commoners each elected their representatives separately and created a list of grievances. Although the spokesmen for each class had different living conditions,

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