French Revolution Peasants

The French Revolution began in 1789 due to the discontent of the Third Estate being unequal to the First Estate, who were exempt from taxes and held special privileges. Although, Louis XVI attempted to tax the First Estate in order to fix France, who is on the verge of bankruptcy. However, the First Estate refused to be taxed because it goes against the traditions imposed years ago. Louis XVI attempted to solve this by calling the Estates-General, where all three estates could meet and attempt to settle issues. The Estates-General failed to solve any problems, with that the Third Estate decided to separate and form the National Assembly. The liberal phase was primarily focused on turning France into a constitutional monarchy, where the National

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.

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)

Another example of the French Revolution not embodying Enlightenment principles is by denying the citizens the right to overthrow the government with the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was a period from 1793-1794, and during that period of time, “the committee often had these “enemies” tried in the morning and guillotined in the afternoon...The “enemies of the Revolution”...were fellow radicals who challenged his (Robespierre) leadership...Thousands of unknown people also were sent to their deaths, often on the flimsiest of charges. For example, an 18-year-old youth was sentenced to die for cutting down a tree that had been planted as a symbol of liberty” (Modern World History textbook, pages 226-227). This horrendous act of mass murder during the French Revolution was caused

Question 2: If there is one art the French people perfected, it is the art of ennui. While this is diluted with every new generation, the French people still seem to be perpetually uninspired by their political system. Today, this ennui results in little more than complaining, but historically, it has led to unrest. The paramount result of this is the French Revolution. Before the Revolution, French society had been highly divided by class lines and the Third Estate struggled while the First and Second Estates enjoyed prosperity. After the French Revolution, however, the French did everything they could to distance themselves from this system.

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

There are many reasons for the late edification of the French people after the Revolution had started, one of these being that the more educated people saw the anger of the poor as an opportunity to justify the total reform of their presently corrupt government. So, what we have are these secret societies that would meet together and essentially philosophize about what basic human rights are, and the role of a government in protecting those rights.

The French Revolution had many contributions to its cause. One of these many causes was financial crisis and economic conflicts. There was an injustice in the amount each person must pay (document 1). The people of nobility were taxed very little and the commoners were taxed heavily. Also, the poor people were extremely poor.

During the reign of King Louis XVI, France was going through severe economic crisis. France was in debt from war and helping America in the American Revolution, and poor harvests inflated the prices of bread, causing poor people to starve. Most importantly, the unfair tax system forced the lower class to pay all of the taxes. On June 20, 1789, powerful men from the third estate walked out of a meeting with the Estates General and vowed to create a new constitution (BE). Many people, like the nobility, Catholic Church, conservative, and foreign monarchs, disliked the reforms. To deal with the opposition, the French Revolution made a radical turn under the control of Maximillian Robespierre. Robespierre was the chief prosecutor who got Louis

The peasants in the French Revolution had many un-communicated complaints. The peasants felt they were being taxed too heavily. This was true because the government could not tax the clergy or the nobility, and they needed money. As a result, they raised

Who or What turned peasants into citizens? Throughout the seventeenth Century, peasantry made up a major proportion of the population (75% in Prussia and France, over 90% in Russia.) They produced exports exclusively to trade, which resulted in the wealth of the crown, church and nobility. At the beginning of the century, peasants were being tied down to their landowners and working excruciatingly long hours, resulting in no opportunities to leave their villages’ and climb up the social structure.

The majority were already struggling with the cost of living, and the addition of extra taxes caused it to be near impossible for them to survive financially. This angered the third estate, and provided an incentive for the revolution. Therefore, it is evident that the social inequality that derived from the three estates system was the most significant cause of the French Revolution.

It is not an exaggeration to claim that all peasant revolts in north France were the anti-tax revolt. New heavy taxes, tolls, illegal impositions which were levied in Normandy, Brittany, Burgundy, Languedoc, and Dauphiné was more than the ability of peasants to afford it. For the reason that their income were reduced significantly due to losing their agricultural products and the ruining of their fields and products. Their fields were ruined caused by the passing of the armies and the pillaging by the brigands and soldiers. Moreover, the impact of inflation and debasement should also be added to it. The incitement for all peasant revolts was owing to their refusal to pay the taille, the gabelle or the tithe. Contemporary historians, such as

France was close to bankruptcy and had a financial crisis, there were bread riots and nobles were denouncing their royal tyranny, fearful of taxes. This caused Louis XVI to finally summon the Estates-General. The first estate was made up of clergymen and the second estate was made up of nobility. The third estate was made up of a majority of the population including rural peasants, apprentices, journeymen, lawyers, middle class officials, and writers. The Estates-General met in May 1789. From the start, the delegates worried about the issue of voting by order or voting by head. This contributed to democracy because the people were not represented equal.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, so far that it was in the 1780’s there lived a government