From 1789 to 1799, Who Posed the More Dangerous Threats to the French Revolution: Its External Enemies or Its Internal Enemies?

Between 1789 and 1814 the French Revolution astonished and impacted the world. The Revolution has been talked about for years because of its contributions and the way it affected the world. The significant figures from the Revolution also played important roles in history and in areas outside of France. King Louis’ absolutism and the unfair treatment between classes were political, social, and economical causes of the French Revolution. This Revolution impacted the people of France by terrorizing and affecting their rights, yet at the same time the French Revolution served as a template for other countries when it came to radical changes and Revolutions.

In June 1791, King Louis XVI and his family snuck out of Paris during the night, hoping to escape from the French Revolution and its violence. He planned to escape the country and return with foreign assistance to reclaim control of France, but the people of Varennes stopped and detained him until authorities arrived and sent him back to Paris. Louis’ attempted escape, in addition to the letter he left behind denouncing the Revolution, “profoundly influenced the political and social climate of France” (223). His escape outraged many people and left the administration in shambles, and this caused tensions to break out. To control the situation, the people of France quickly organized

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 French Revolution was also a result of the discontentment of the social structure in France. King Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were very unpopular among the French because they did not care about their subjects.

France before the French Revolution was incredibly unstable and was facing multiple problems in the society. Louis XVI ruled France with absolutism, this caused political problems to arise. For example, in document one it states “He controlled the expression of thought by strict censorship…” Louis XVI appointed military officials, made the laws, and had power over society. Citizens of France found it unfair that Louis could control the government and the way of life in

The French Revolution was spreading and Prussia and Austria had grown fearful; therefore, to stop the spreading of the revolution the countries waged war against France, gaining land, troops, and power bringing fear to the French. The neighboring countries in the awakening of the revolution, August 1791, formed an alliance wreaking havoc in the French cities. (Doc A) When the guillotining of Louis the 16th occurred Austria became fearful and angry hoping for the safety of the queen and beloved sister Marie Antoinette. (Doc A) The raging war went on for many years but in 1794 the invasion of foreign enemies grew short and the French are close to stopping them. (Doc A) In the words of Robespierre “We must smother the … external enemies of the Republic or perish.”(Doc G)

Prior to the revolution in 1789, France had been an absolute monarchy, structured by feudal privileges and rigid social classes. The Old Regime of France underwent radical changes during the French Revolution. Changes resulting from the revolution, which were rooted in the enlightenment principles of republicanism, citizenships, and individual rights, were accompanied by warfare, violence and turmoil

The French Revolution was a time period that greatly affected France as well as many other countries in Europe. The Revolution started in 1789 and Europe had been recently influenced by the Seven Years’ War, American Revolution, as well as the Enlightenment, which was prior to both of these events. The Seven Years’ War was a war that involved France and Britain, in which Britain defeated France leaving them in an economic crisis. In addition, France continued to participate in the American Revolution, in order to get revenge on Britain, this conclusively backfired, as it brought liberal ideas to France and also pushed them further into their economic catastrophe. Ultimately, the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution

On April 1792, France declared war on Austria. France was easily defeated and this aroused suspicions of traitors. "The Assembly ordered every soldier in Paris to the frontier, put a watch on all foreigners, and decided that priests who refused to take an oath of loyalty should be expelled..." (Brooman, 1992, p.39) The King disagreed with the order given, which angered the citizens. They also discovered that Louis purposely weakened the army of France because he didn't support the revolutionary war effort and wanted protection. (Gilbert, 1992, p.39-40) Louis indeed was not a good leader of a country. "He was not capable of leading a country in crisis." (Gilbert, 1995, p.7) People even came to think he was a traitor of the country.

The French Revolution (1789-1799) alarmed the ruling classes in Europe which

They gained little attention and may have fizzled out but for the Catholic Church, they had been annoyed at the privileges given to protestants and wanted an end to the revolutionary committee. Tension had been rising slowly among the leaders of the revolution, they had started radicalism and now it had grown stronger and threatened even their own position. So in a quest to oversee this they went into talks with Louis xvi, when nothing could be gained from this, Louis felt it was time to flea and with his anti-revolutionary army he was going to gain back his power just as it had been taken from him. Louis failed miserably and was caught, this arose tension in Europe as the end to a monarchy in one country could spell disaster in other countries raising ideas. Louis was however restored to the throne under the revolutionaries' terms, however this threat from Europe would not go away and war with France was imminent. Revolutionary ideology would have to be dealt with. European monarchs did not want their stature threatened.

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.

The French Revolution started in the year of 1789 and lasted until the year 1799. During this period time France was being abolished in many ways. Powerful monarchies no longer had power as well as churches. Democracy was being occurred. The economy was falling apart people were going through financial crisis. Everybody was hungry. The financial crisis of the government was happening because of the two wars that happened the “Seven Years Wars” and the “American Revolution War”. Many priests tried to create financial stability unfortunately their goals were failing. They had many bad harvests which was one of the dependent reason financial crises was taking place. There were revolutionary wars

One of them was Jean-Paul Marat, who was famous for being a radical journalist and politician throughout the French Revolution, and was ‘kept-awake’ by the Sans Culottes. Marat was distracted by the Sans Culottes crowds; he has always watched them in a certain way. They kept him distracted on his job. Marat was so disturbed by them that he even wrote “O Parisians, you frivolous, feeble, and cowardly folk… you who have a rage or liberty as though it were new fashion trend in clothes… you whose only incentive in vanity, and whom nature might have formed for the highest destinies, if she had only given you judgment and perseverance - must you always be treated as grown-up children?” In this quote Marat shows that he has had enough of that “cowardly folk” and tries to degrade them. Another very famous character is Jacques-Louis Ménétra, a French author, who “had his own active role in Sans Culotte politics”. He took part in the Sans Culottes politics because of the influence they had on people. Even though being as “‘ordinary’ as he was,” he still had one of the leading roles in the French Revolution. Being part of the Sans Culotte politics played a great part. There also was an enormous body of propagandists, who took their time to paint stereotypes of the infamous Sans Culottes. The English were the ones who enjoyed this task the most, since they were

The most significant discontent of this period, was in direct link with the King. Since the formation of the National Constituent Assembly, there had been a rising movement for a Republic. The King showed a clear lack of support towards the new Constitution, that had structured France as a Constitutional Monarchy. In 1791 he and his family tried to flee France, but were caught in Varennes and brought back to Paris. This incident is referred to as the Flight to Varennes, and after this Louis basically became a political prisoner of the revolution. Although he was still France's Head of State, his legislating powers had been stricken, and he could do little to oppose new laws or acts. With this in mind there was a radical, yet supported, movement for a Republic, lead by the Sans Culottes, a radical group made up of the working class.