Turning Points Of French Revolution

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 The middle class made gains that would never be rescinded, but do revolutions always end in tyranny?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

No one could have imagined the impact that the Enlightenment would have and its long-lasting effect. The Enlightenment and its ideas became so widespread that they did not only affect France, but many other countries also. The French Revolution was directly inspired and influenced by the Enlightenment. Revolutionaries in France built their cause around the ideals of the Age of Reason.

The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political change in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. Before the revolution there was a period of time called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement in which followers considered that human reason brought a move from theory to practice and criticism to reforming education, household administration, social reactions and politics. Voltaire, a French philosopher and contributor to the Age of Enlightenment, expressed these ideas utilizing his intelligence, wit and style to mark his name as one of France’s greatest writers. The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution to a great extent by introducing new ideas that encouraged questioning of authority and religion, advancing people’s outlook on commodities, and forcing citizens to compare their need with the Republic’s needs. This further brought an uprising of people wanting more such as equality and civil rights. In the process to do so there were 250,000 casualties in the Reign of Terror followed the Thermidorian Reaction which implemented an oligarchy government called the Directory. Royalist riots prompted the Coup d’etat of Fructidor which brought Napoleon into Directory which he later overthrows and creates an Authoritarian Republic.

The French Revolution were influenced by many factors such as the Enlightenment ideals, concepts of popular sovereignty, and unchallengeable rights. France’s costly involvement in the Revolution and excessive spending by King Louis XVI and his predecessor had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers exhausted, but two decades of poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor. (history.com).These actions played a critical role in shaping modern nations. As

French Revolution: Final Essay The French Revolution accomplished many things. The clergy and nobility began to struggle to keep their power in the resolutions losing some authority over the people. The peasants and san culottes got more rights in the first revolution but they did not get any political power.

The French Revolution of 1789 was inarguably a significant turning point in the history of Europe. However, there have been historical debates over the major contributing factor that had caused the French Revolution. Many historians have argued that the French Revolution was sparked by the emerging new age ideas of Enlightenment in the 18th century, which encouraged people to think logically and critically about their society. Many notable writers such as Diderot and Voltaire began to publicly criticise the social structure and the governance of France. (Darlington et al., 2004, p.25) But other historians argue that ideas affected the way people saw

This paper will discuss the main cause and/or causes of the French Revolution. Two of the main causes of the French revolution as well inequality as gender roles. History shows that the American Revolution was quite different form the French. The American Revolution expressed tension of a colonial relationship with a distant imperial power, French was driven sharp conflicts within the French society. Another was the French Revolution different from the American was its influence spread.

In the 1700’s France was very close to be in bankrupt. There was a climate of social unfairness because taxes and laws were different in each province, and the country was immersed in big debts which were left by Louis XIV and Louis XV when they died. In 1789, France was in the worst economic and social situation. The social structure of France was a key factor that could be considered as an indirect cause of the French Revolution. French society was divided into legal categories known as the three orders or states. The discontent among the lower and middle classes was one the reason the revolution originated.

At once France had an impressive industrial foot print, but feel behind due to the extensive loss of population during the French Revolution. After the French revolution societal changes happened in which a person did not have to work within his/her class therefore a peasant would not have to remain a peasant. Although the France was able to get Industry up enough to sustain itself I feel the development in the banking and financial institutes is responsible for the success of the French during this time

The French revolution of 1789 is often cited as one of the pivotal events in the formation of the modern world, a world which, contrarily, neither required a revolution during such a time period nor a particularly French one at that. Indeed, societal change occurs almost solely in times of relative crisis and furthermore tends to follow the contained characteristic of such, only occurring in the immediate vicinity of the upheaval in question. The combination of debt, famine, and an expanding divide between the governing elite and the lower social classes can be argued to have been the ultimate cause of the revolution in France, just as the political and economic degradation following the end of the Second World War can be linked to the rise

In “Lasting Economic Structures: Successes, Failures, and Revolutionary Political Economy,” Jeff Horn researches the impact of the economy during the French Revolution. Historians investigated consumption, production, labor, and technology of the political economy during the Revolution. Guy Lemarchand, a historian, intensively approached the political economic history before and after the Revolution. Therefore, Horn researched the economic policies from 1789 to 1799 to conclude that they influenced the outcome of the Revolution.

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.

Whilst the emerging enlightenment ideas had a role, it was the deteriorating economic and social conditions of France that were most significant in the lead up to the French Revolution. These factors were similar in creating destabilisation between the estates. Upon looking back on history, we can refer to the Revolution as a result of these three major causes; enlightenment ideas formed during the Enlightenment period which challenged religious ideals, social injustice amongst the third estate and the financial crisis within France, leading to an Estates General which turned against the King.

The French Revolution was a turning point for Europe from which there was no return. It set the mold for revolutions of the Age and showed just how deeply ingrained and powerful the ideals of the Age could be in the Western World. The French Revolution finds its causes in the now cliched concept that when the masses are displeased, the king is in trouble. However it is crucial to understand that the French Revolution established this cliche for the West. The simplest way to chart out the atmosphere of France at the time, a look at the PICSET categories of France offers the clearest depiction.

French Revolution had some long-run causes, leading up to the French Revolution— such as social, economical, and political difficulties endured at the time. Which resulted no quicker said than done, a need for change. This added to the fury coming from the French Estates-General’s beforehand, however; which experienced problems in their own classes. Firstly, matters in the French Revolution were unjust enough, causing bloodshed, violence, and likewise, change. The French, divides three classes— the Clergy, Nobles, and Commoners; secondly, crudeness France endured from wars’ made by Louis XV and Louis XVI, while lavish expenses made dented the government. Consequently, the French Monarchs having unlimited power and declaring themselves as “Divine Ruler’s” contributed to the French Revolution, in 1789.