French Revolution & Democracy in the Contemporary World

The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers rippled throughout the globe, however, they seemed to have the most interesting effect on France. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a major contributor to Frances political and social structure post-French revolution. These ideas weren’t the only triggers for the French Revolution. A combination of strangling taxes, economic disparity, and an impotent ruler led to the development of an intense need for reform in France. “France spent an enormous amount of money during the American war which put them on the verge of bankruptcy” (McKay et al., pg. 662). To make up for this immense national debt, taxes were raised which put more pressure on the already struggling working class in France. The privileged classes

The French Revolution was a time of great social, political and economic tumult in the closing years of the Eighteenth Century. The motivators pushing French citizenry toward revolution are varied in scope and origin. They range from immediate economic woes to an antiquarian class structure. Modern historians still debate the value of the changes that the revolution brought to modern society. The middle class made gains that would never be rescinded, but do revolutions always end in tyranny? In the years before the revolution citizens were rigidly constrained by the estates of the realm. These social strata had been in place since the medieval ages. The people were divided into three groups; clergy, nobility and everyone else. The clergy

The People of France in the last part of the 18th century were experiencing severe food shortages, increasing the cost of living, and political leaders who were doing very little to fix the state of chaos in which most people found themselves. In both rural and

1. For the lower classes, colonial society had been based on inequality, deference, and obedience. How did the American Revolution challenge that social order? After the American Revolution, the restrictions on society were more limited, allowing a greater sense of freedom.

The French Revolution was a time of period where social and political was a disruption in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. This time of period affected Social Structure of France prior to the French Revolution. The factors that caused this revolution was due to having a bad government system, weak superiority, and inequality of the classes of people in France during the war. In this research, I will define and explain how Social Structure contributed to the French Revolution Resentment of royal authoritarianism. The three estates that social structure consists of are first estate which are the clergies, second estate known as the Nobleman, and third estate which are the Bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers. The Revolution did not omit sharp distinctions among the social groups, neither did it alter the distribution of wealth. This caused them to divide into these three groups called as estates.

The years 1750 to 1820 were characterized by the Seven Years’ War, the American and French Revolutions, and the Napoleonic Wars. These political events coupled with the drastic social change proven by the shift of power from the aristocracy and church to the middle class,

In the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century, France was undergoing major changes. Before the French Revolution, France was experiencing political, social and economic problems. During this time period France was unstable, and wasn’t able to keep up with the new arising Enlightenment ideas. In addition, there were high taxes, unequal power distribution and social inequality. The French Revolution not only impacted the citizens of France, but people from other countries as well.

Social Classes are one of the 3 main causes of the French Revolution. The 2 upper estates paid almost no taxes and also owned most of the land. The cartoon in document 7 shown

The lives of the industrial classes were all different. The upper class lived in luxury while attending fancy parties and extravagant dinners. The middle class did not have as much money as the upper class. Although, they had enough money to support their families and live comfortably. The lower class were not as fortunate. They lived in unsanitary conditions and had to face many struggles just to be able to barley have enough to live. The differences between the 3 classes lead to social, economic , and political issues.

France in Middle Ages era was ruled by the arbitrary monarch. Besides the king, the clergy and the nobility, which were the officials of the church and the group of aristocrats respectively, had supreme power than the society. In the way it ran, there were many problems in the social and economic section, such as poverty and taxation issues. Thus, French Revolution is one of the turning points of French public life. It is popular with the slogan “liberty, equality and fraternity” that brought French to be a new revolutionary country. While many people are still arguing whether French Revolution is the main effect of the Enlightenment ideas emergence or social economic disruption, I will argue that this revolution was an ultimate outcome of the social and economics disarray by looking at the details of foreign and internal aspects.

The middle class was sensitive to their inferior legal position (document 4). The working class was incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution (document 4). The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution in some major

The social state of France was the final reason for the French Revolution. The French social class was divided into three classes that included the clergy, nobles, ant the common people. The First estate was made of the higher and lower clergy. The higher clergy lived amongst luxury while the lower clergy were miserable. The Second Estate was made of the court nobles and provincial nobles, the court nobles also lived in luxury and the provincial nobles did not enjoy the same treatment. The Third estate was made of common people such as farmers, cobblers, and sweepers. In document 10 it presents a political carton that shows people of the upper-class standing on and crushing someone of lower class. This shows how the upper class were riding

An economist Fredrick List was one that was concerned with the health of the lower class and the availability of bread in his pamphlet in 1834 describing how the body would deal with the poor health in which they were receiving (doc. 5). Others took less concern with the lower class situation and were in a state of new inventions and discovering which had created confusion. Riegel was a book seller who had written an essay discussing the economic changes that the Germanic states were going through and how they would possibly cope with these changes (doc. 6). The middle class was sufficient with their social status where they did not have to pay taxes. They also did not want the lower class to receive more power than they deserved. The middle class believed that the actions of the lower class were not deserving of more power due to their actions such as the riots depicted in Prussia (doc. 9). The middle class was experiencing the changes along with the aristocracy.

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 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.