French Revolution: Death Or The Reign Of Terror?

Just about any country that one can name has some history of civil unrest, class issues, rioting in the streets, and outright warfare. These patterns of behavior are common denominators for most civilization in the world. The names, faces, and places may change, but the motivations are generally the same, because of the need for change and the willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve it. In contrast to the United States, which was in the process of freeing itself from British colonial rule, France was working to free itself from royal absolutism. This period is historically known as the French Revolution. Many scholars do not agree on the chronology of the French Revolution; some scholars suggest that the Revolution took place between 1789 to 1799 while others feel that it did not end until Napoleon lost power in 1815. To better understand the history of the French Revolution it is necessary to discuss the causes, major events, significant figures, and the outcomes associated with these political developments. Without this uprising, that changed the face of the entire country and influenced local political life in many countries in Europe, in all likelihood the France we know today would never have existed.

The events leading up to the French Revolution were many things, but the biggest and most recognized by historians is the fact that the French government was bankrupt due to funding the American Revolution. This lead for the king, King Louis XVI to raise taxes just like any country would. The only problem with what he did, was he was not taxing everyone. He was just taxing the poor, the people with the least amount of money. This left more wealth for the clergy and the

Revolutions are often started as a response to an unjust form of government, and the Reign of Terror’s new revolutionary government was no exception. Although the revolutionary government was meant to replace a tyrannical government, it quickly turned into the dictatorial government it tried to replace and in many cases stepped far outside of the bounds of lawful or just action. During late 18th century France in the time period between the execution of King Louis XVI and the execution of Maximilien de Robespierre, the Reign of Terror senselessly guillotined thousands of people. Conditions in France in 1793 and 1794 were not serious enough to justify the revolutionary government’s response due to the response to external threats, response to internal threats, and the extreme methods deployed.

Throughout History the Age of Enlightenment refers to the age of where people brought up new ideas, and thinking. In that period of time, they was philosopher, politician and intellectual. So people adapting to the idea lead up to the French revolution. During the Enlightenment they was a reinforcement on the political conflict between the monarchy and the nobility. The nobility are the people who belonged to the noble family, and the monarchy are people in the throne (King and Queen). Therefore the conflict between the head of the monarch and the nobility was about taxation. The French government was in a deep debt after fighting a war with the American, their king Louis the XVI forced the noble and the clergy to pay tax in order for them to pay their dept. As a result the nobility revolted. During the French revolution political, social and economic conflict is the events leading up to overthrow the king Louis the XVI and Marie-Antoinette which mark the reign of terror. First of all I will talk about the French revolution political, social and economic cause, then I will talk about the role of the Enlightenment then finally I will talk about the reign of terror how everything how everything ended.

In 1789, an event would take place that would shake a nation. This event further altered the country of France’s history and drastically changed its future. This event was known as the Storming of the Bastille, the first violent instance to instigate the French Revolution and the formation of a rebel alliance to overthrow French monarchy. However the motives of the renegades is far and wide. The question must be asked; What were the major reasons for the French Revolution? Many elements of France’s infrastructure were created to suppress the qualms of the people. However, the major influences that caused the French Revolution were the new ideas of the enlightened thinkers, powerlessness of the Third Estate, and famine crises. Without these factors within French society, a governmental collapse may not have occurred.

The screams and spirits weeped inside the walls of Versaille while the queen herself, Marie Antoinette lays on her freshly washed out white covers in sorrow. Baskets full with several heads, countless corpses, and terror, roamed the streets of France. France was in steep debt with a very high amount of starving poor civilians throughout the lowlife of the town. In addition, Louis created a severely unfair tax system by allowing only the peasants and lower class to pay taxes while the 3% of the upper class did not pay at all. The majority of France began to become angry and rebelled. A man named Maximilien Robespierre was a chief prosecutor who helped France turn on Louis and had him executed. Louis’ execution on January 21, 1793 was start of a 19 month period known as “The Reign of Terror” led by Maximilien. The Reign of Terror was not justified because the lack of rights given to the people, the amount of deaths, and the abstraction of power.

Liberté, Egalité, and Fraternité were the main principles of the French revolution. However, it was a time where these three ideals would be twisted into nothing more than moral and physical violence. The revolution was ultimately a failure which spun out of control and began to murder itself. The French wanted Freedom from its absolutist ruler, but in turn saw themselves being governed by the devil. These citizens wanted a sense of brotherhood amongst their country, but saw their nation being torn apart by violence. Furthermore, the third estate sought to benefit from a new government that promised equality; however, the result was a further imbalance in an already corrupt society. Ironically, the gruesome reign of terror which was

The reason I am interested in this section is because I don’t really know a lot of information about wars that were fought. I know this war was fought for freedom in the Europe area with French men. I just want to know all the aspects that go with it like who started it? How many people fought in it? Did any countries help out? Etc.

The French Revolution was a failure because after all of the blood shed, the laws, civil rights, and codes did not get instituted effectively and did not represent the values that the citizens fought for, examples of this were the Napoleonic Code, Declaration of Rights of Man. Another reason it was a failure was because during the revolts and reforms more than 40,000 men and women died, this enormous massacre of people went against Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, all of which the national assembly declared were every man's right. Much of the killing can be related back to Robespierre and King Louis XVI. Although it was mostly a failure, some achievements can be seen through the revolution, the French revolution helped the french people become a more equal and socialist state, this showed Europe that the french

The American revolution and the French revolution were very similar to each other. During this time period both revolutions has problems with debt. The countries were in trouble, Britain had debt from the war going on and they had to pay for their war debts, the French had to pay off their debt caused by financial crisis. When both of their governments were in debt they took from those that had nothing to do with how they wounded up in debt in the first place. For example, when Britain needed money they taxed the colonies. They taxed tea and any paper that was printed. Similarly, the French took money from the lowest class when they didn’t have money to support themselves in the first place Instead of taxing the middle and upper class that

The American and the French Revolutions manifested themselves both as the reflection of the Enlightenment ideas and the fight for their ideals. Both revolutions were the product of ideas concerning the natural rights and equality while also a reaction to the situation that was settling in the respective countries. Taking place one after another, the revolutions share similarities while still staying different in some aspects. It is important to understand that the French Revolution appeared to some extent as a result of the American Revolutionary War since gaining victory over the Great Britain resulted in immense debts and respectively high taxes imposed on the population (Tombs and Tombs 179). Following the American Revolution, the French

The French Revolution (1789-1814) was a period that affected the outcome of world history tremendously. This is considered a major turning point in European history which has led to dramatic changes in France and other regions of the world. Various social and political issues led to the start of the revolution. Politically, France suffered under the rule of Louis XVI, who ruled by absolute monarchy. Many people had their natural rights renounced and weren’t able to have a political voice. Socially, France had divided its population within 3 estates (classes). French citizens took it upon themselves to remodel their country 's’ political structure. The French Revolution had encountered both positive and negative effects. However, many Europeans viewed the Revolution as much more than just a bloody massacre. The French Revolution was used to demonstrate new ideology that would emphasize the principles of liberty and equality throughout Europe.

There is no doubt that the French Revolution has had a profound effect on the world. The cause or causes of it have been greatly disputed. Clearly the Revolution's primary cause was the presence of a weak monarchy and a lack of a stable system of government.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité was the cry of freedom that countless people used to propel them through, and to the end of the French Revolution. This long period of social, political and economic change in France lasted 10 years, starting in 1798 and ended with Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Revolution greatly affected all of Europe at the time and continues to represent the embodiment of revolution to this day. This constant struggle between the heavily taxed, burdened, and unrepresented third estate and those higher created an environment of monumental change for everyone. In the years leading up to the French Revolution, new beliefs and ideas were reaching every corner of Europe creating the thought that men should live free of oppression. However, in France the leader Louis XVI lead like a tyrant leaving the people impoverish and angry. Through the analysation of numerous circumstance present during the Ancien Régime, such as an inferior fiscal leadership, massive debt, and the forthcoming of new ideas during the Enlightened period, it can be concluded that the means for this revolution were justified as it is in our essence to revolt for a change.

Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout world history. With the amount of revolutions in history, there are those that get lost and those that are the most remembered or well known. One of the well known revolutions is the French Revolution which occurred in the years 1789 to 1799. Before the French Revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, this meaning that one ruler had the supreme authority and that said authority was not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs, a definition given by wikipedia.com and the feudal system, which was a system that said a peasant or worker would receive a piece of land in return for serving under a king, a definition given by vocabulary.com. Those who opposed the, then