How Did Freemason Influence The French Revolution

Enlightenment ideas of the 1700th inspired the third estate to revolt against absolute authority and the social class system of the Old Regime. The third estate were the lower class citizens who made up nearly ninety-seven percent of the French population during the time, most of which are discontent with their living conditions. They began to question the social structure with ideas from philosophers such as Rousseau and Voltaire. The citizens were especially influenced by the Enlightenment ideals of equality, democracy, and liberty. Using logic and reason, most of the third estate believed that people are naturally born equal and that they should not be subordinate to anyone in society. In addition, the Enlightenment also emphasized

Giving new ideas to people can open their minds. With those other ideas, they can rebel against what they originally believed. These give them new options for society. This was seen during the Enlightenment Period. During this period, previously held concepts of thought were challenged. The Enlightenment helped add intellect to the French Revolution. The Enlightenment had a negative influence on the French Revolution by changing the minds of the common people.

Change is when something happens, resulting in a different course from the one it was on before. Generally, a major change in history or a revolution is one that affects not only individuals but a society and its future as a whole. One of the most famous revolutions in Europe was the French Revolution, where it posed as one of the first threat to the monarchies that reigned over Europe for centuries. However, change can only happen through trials and tribulations, and revolutions are no exception. The primary factors that led to the French Revolution are the Enlightenment, the unstable economy, and the political crisis. Of these factors, the most important was the political crisis.

The French revolution is notably the start of the creation of modern Europe. Within this revolution, the country experienced a drastic change in power and in government. Along with the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon, played a huge role in the changes in Europe economy. Under napoleons rule and conquest, similar to the French revolution, citizens experienced great depression, debt, and confusion. Similar to the American Revolution, the French revolution was influenced by enlightenment ideas particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights.

This is according to you Masonic Recording. For instance the first president of the United States President George Washington 1789-1797, on November 4, 1752 joined the Masonic Lodge in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He became Worshipful Master and was initiated President thus becoming the first, and so far the only, freemason to be furthermore President and Master of his Lodge. The seventh president Andrew Jackson 1829-1837.Andrew was a Member of St. Tammany Lodge, Nashville, Tennessee, as early as 1800. Andrew was the sixth Grand Master of Masons of Tennessee, serving from October 7, 1822 until October 4, 1824. The eleventh president James K. Polk 1845-1849. On June 5, 1820 James joined Columbia Lodge No. 31 Columbia, Tennessee. The fifteenth president James Buchanan 1857-1861. On December 1l, 1816 James joined Lodge No. 43, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. James Buchanan became Worshipful Master of Lodge No. 43 1822-1823 and in 1824 was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for the Counties of Lancaster, Lebanon and York. The seventeenth president Andrew Johnson 1865-1869. On May 5, 1851 Andrew Johnson joined Greenville Lodge No. 119 Greeneville, Tennessee. The twentieth president James A. Garfield 1881. On November 19, 1861 James joined Magnolia Lodge, No. 20 Columbus, Ohio. Garfield then became a Charter Member of Pentalpha Lodge No. 23 of Washington, D.C. on May 4, 1869; in fact, he was one of the Petitioners for the Lodge Charter. The twenty-fifth president William McKinley 1897-1901. On May 1, 1865 he jointed Hiram Lodge No. 21, Winchester, Virginia. “Another Mason, Chief Justice John Marshall, shaped the Supreme Court into its present form.”(History of Freemasonry

The ideas of the Enlightenment were influenced by several thinkers and French philosophers like Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Locke. Each philosopher had new ideas of freedom that inspired the ones not in power, the lower classes, to defy the monarchy. These unaccustomed concepts related to the rights of the French peasants and created envy for the monarchy. The enlightenment was not only a movement of new ideas, but a spark among French peasants that helped to spread the ideas of individual freedom which, in turn, led to the French Revolution.

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 led France to a position of being susceptible to revolution, due to their plundering economic status and the new ideals brought forward. The Enlightenment also altered France’s way of thinking, as it introduced revolutionary beliefs. Socially, Enlightenment ideas heavily impacted the French Revolution in the sense that views of liberty reflected in Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of the Laws” as well as beliefs pertaining to revolution, mentioned in John Locke’s “Two Treaties of Government” can be directly linked to the Third Estate’s desire to be represented in an equal manner and the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.” Religiously, Enlightenment ideas weren’t as impactful as social ideas. Although, the concept of rationalism was a major cause for the Catholic Church’s property to be nationalized and sold with hopes of financing the state. In addition, the National Assembly granted Jews and French-Protestants the right to practice their religion, which corresponds with the Enlightenment idea of religious toleration. The social ideas of the Enlightenment heavily impacted policies of the French Revolution through the concepts of liberty and revolution, whereas religious ideas can be observed through rationalism and religious

“The exact origin of Freemasonry is not known but the beginning of organized Freemasonry began with the founding of the Grand Lodge of England on June 24, 1717, the first Grand Lodge in the world”. There is not an exact known origin of Freemasonry but two main theories are evolved from this secret society. One begins with stonemasons, who built cathedrals and castles, in England that had secret lodges in which they discussed trade affairs, initiation ceremonies, trade union membership cards, and had secret signs and words to know if one were a “trained” mason moving from site to site. These lodges, in the 1600’s, soon

1. The English government, especially under Oliver Cromwell, had little interest in controlling the government of the colonies. That being said, they were interested in the economy of the colonies. This is shown through their attempts to control the economies of the colonies. For example, the Act of 1651, which was issued by the English Parliament, controlled colonial trade. It stated that all importations to England or from Asia and Africa must be carried out on English ships. This navigation act was meant to reduce the colonies’ commercial freedom in order to cut ties with the Dutch, who were profiting from the colonies. This was followed by many more navigation acts. The Navigation Act of 1660 required all trade to be carried out on ships controlled by England. It also stated that certain products, such as tobacco, were solely for England. Finally, the Navigation Act of 1663 stated that all trade with Europe must be inspected and taxed by the English government. Each one of these acts was fueled by mercantilism, which was rampant in England. Mercantilism stresses the importance of

Greece (508 BC) The Greeks developed a system of government based on the idea of “rule by the people”. The origin of the word “democracy” came from the Greek words “demos” (people) and “kratein” (rule). Discussions were held in public gatherings and decisions were made by consensus. Consensus was possible due to the limited numbers involved.

The great nation of north America would not be the same if not for is glorious fight nearly three hundred years ago. The American Revolution and the French Revolution are considered to be two of the greatest fights for independence in history. The American Revolution was one of the main influences of the French revolution because of their similar circumstances. The ideas of the Enlightenment have strongly influenced the government and society of the United States and many other nations such as France. During the Enlightenment, political thinkers such as John Locke, Baron Montesquieu, and Mary Wollstonecraft tried to use reason to improve the government.

The Enlightenment is seen as a time period in which people began to pay more attention to the role of the government and the way individual rights were treated. New ideas were brought to the surface by people who would later become known as “Enlightenment Thinkers”. These ideas were spread seeing as revolutionaries used them as the overall idea of their statements. People began to actually realize the inequality and injustices of the government once they receded from the Age of Absolutism. The Age of Absolutism meant that all of the ruler's had sustained divine power against the citizens, during this time they had no ability to speak or think against the rulers orders. There were many aspects and ideas that pushed the French Revolution further,

France, 1789. Conflict was beginning to stir among the people. With famine in France, the people starved and had to pay high taxes, as an enlightenment began, inspired by the American Revolution. The French Government wasn’t that much better, either. To begin with, the French Government was poor since they supported the American Revolution financially and they spent money to fight the Seven Years War (or the French and Indian War as many know it as). This lead to unrest and uprisings. The French king at the time, King Louis XVI, called for a Convocation of the Estate General which consisted of clergy, nobility, and those representing the common people. They assembled at Versailles. Their debates only lead to the Third Estate to vote on a National Assembly of France and a constitution. King Louis was threatened by this and closed the doors of the assembly room, forcing the Third Estate to vote in a tennis court, where they took what is called the tennis court oath. The king then allowed them to assembly, but brought in foreign troops to prevent a rebellion and fired his financial advisor for suggesting lower taxes on the people.

From the point when the French revolution started to the point it got frozen in 1795 (9 Thermidor), it was not just influencing the entire French community but also the entire Europe. The European monarchies like the Austrian monarchy hated the idea of a revolution. If the same would have happened in their empire, they would lose their power over the whole state. The Austrians were not only once influenced by the actions of the Third Estate in France. Prussia and Russia were on the same side as Austria and there was also Britain which hated France because they were helping the Americans to get away from the Britain rule and become independent.

During the 16th through 18th centuries, European civilization experienced big changes to its social, political, and economic structures. A break from the Middle Ages began during the Scientific Revolution when respected thinkers of the time began to explore new possibilities, such as the likelihood of a sun-centered universe instead of an earth-centered one. The Enlightenment was an intellectual and cultural movement that pointed out the danger of unchecked authority and concentrated on values of law, reason, humanity, and religious toleration. The French Revolution represented a broad wave of political changes and democratic ideas that splashed France, and subsequently, all of Europe. The Industrial Revolution changed the way people lived