How Did The Enlightenment Cause 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

France stood as the center for the Enlightenment because it was in a constant dichotomy between “the desire to censor dissident ideas and the desire to appear open to modernity and progress” (Hunt, 4098). Parliament hindered the monarchy’s reform efforts by using their own words of Enlightenment influence against them. This was a paradox that showed how the Enlightenment affected all levels of French life, but was applied to achieve different results. While the American Revolution and the resulting new republic was regarded as a successful application of the Enlightenment, the unstable, failed attempts at change and reformation in France led to early signs of revolution as revolts “in the name of liberty” from 1787-1789.

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 American and French Revolutions were both fundamentally based on the Enlightenment ideas. The main ideas that they followed were by John Locke. His ideas inspired the Americans and the French to have a revolution. In these revolutions, the Americans had success and the French failed. The success that the Americans experienced wad due to the protection of rights they had. These rights are 'Life, Liberty and Property.? In America a constitution was put together that provided for a stable government and also a representative government. In France failure was caused by chaos, terror, fear and war. The French were unsuccessful because they failed to create a democratic

Enlightenment thinkers, also known as philosophers had a major impact on the American and French Revolution. Philosophers from the 1700s influenced the making of two documents known as United States’ Declaration of Independence and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. The Declaration of Independence is a document that was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson. It reflects the beliefs of enlightenment philosopher, John Locke. Written in 1793 by Marquis de Lafayette, the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen was influenced by the beliefs of Voltaire, another Enlightenment thinker. John Locke didn’t like the idea of absolute monarchy. He favored the idea of self- government and equal rights. Locke believed that the

To what extent were Enlightenment ideas responsible for the outbreak of the French Revolution and the reforms of 1789?

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

The Enlightenment of the 18th century evolved due to the many changes brought about by the Scientific Revolution. With all of the new scientific discoveries, new thought processes were developed. The scientists of the Scientific Revolution brought about revolutionary change. These scientists inspired the philosophes of the Enlightenment to challenge the ways of the "Old Regime" and question the ideas of the church. Philosophers such as Francois Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke published their controversial ideas and these ideas along with some important political action, helped to mold a new type of society. The new society was one that tolerated different religious beliefs. "The minds of men, abandoning the old disciplines

This barred the bourgeoisie from progressing socially and politically. The semi-feudal system found in France was not only disliked by the bourgeoisie, but it was also resented by peasants and typically any person with an income. By 1789 many French people had become critical of the monarchy, which led to a common bitterness towards royal absolutism among the French people. The people disliked this political theory because it argues that a solitary person should hold all the power in a government. The Frenchmen resented the increasing and irregular taxes, government intrusion in their personal lives, and the maltreatment of religious minorities. An uncontrollable national debt was created due to the huge saddle from the unbalanced system of taxation. On July 14, 1789, the storming of the Bastille immediately became proof that power no longer resided in the King, but in the people, in accordance with the theories developed by their philosophers of the eighteenth century. These great thinkers' philosophies were influenced by the age of Enlightenment. The age of Enlightenment, while occurring simultaneously alongside the pre-war era, played a major role in shaping peoples' negative newfound opinions of their country and their king. The age of Enlightenment is depicted as an increase in the use of reasonableness to institute morals,

During the 18th century, the Enlightenment ideas were flourishing in both the American and French Revolutions. The Enlightenment perspective consisted of people searching for their social prestige, questioning authorities and believing they could create a new republic. The Americans aimed for independence and the French desired to overthrow their monarchy. The objective in both revolutions were relatively the same, to overthrow and recreate in efforts to achieve national sovereignty. However, the outcomes of the two socials worlds were radically different. The French citizens emerged more enlightenment thinkers demanding their equal rights despite regressing back to a monarch. In contrast, the Americans formed a successful democratic republic but continued inequality within their society. Furthermore, the French were significantly more revolutionary, as opposed to reactionary, than the Americans.

Enlightenment in Europe was a period in which ideas were legitimately from one country to another. It is also known as civilization time where traditional authority was put to the question while embracing the notion of humanity to improve human change. The French revolution was directly in motivation by Enlightenment ideals which marked a peak of its influence and a beginning of its fall. The Enlightenment 's imperative of the seventeenth-century forerunners incorporated the Englishmen Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, the Frenchman Renee Descartes and the important characteristic logicians of the Scientific Revolution, including Galileo, Kepler, and Leibniz. The civilization called for changes in different parts of Europe and America than

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.

Enlightenment philosophers, like Voltaire, railed against organized theocracies and argued that religion prevented rational inquiry while it endorsed repression, tyranny and war. The philosophy of Immanuel Kant, who sought, “liberation of the human mind from the dogmatic state of ignorance,” had a major impact on the future ideology of revolutionaries.4 It was Enlightenment ideas which challenged people to question religious orthodoxy and use their own intelligence to draw conclusions about the legitimacy of traditional authority. These philosophies were the foundation of modern, egalitarian, democratic societies which would later replace Louis XVI’s absolutist monarchy. Enlightenment ideals had profound effects upon the politics of the early and mid-nineteenth century. However, a severe backlash against rationalism and liberal ideologies in France caused the return of church-state power; while conversely, in the state of Prussia, Enlightenment ideals inspired a suppression of the church’s power.5 Whether or not Enlightenment ideals and values were able to root themselves permanently in society, the introduction and widespread acceptance of secular ideas created major changes across Europe.

The Enlightenment era was a heavy influence on the French Revolution to find ways to govern people in society after the absolute monarchy of King Louis XVI. The beliefs of the Enlightenment, including Locke’s “natural rights”, Voltaire’s free society; and Rousseau’s social contract and general will, ultimately swayed ideas towards to understanding aspects of life and

The Enlightenment philosophies and the way of life in France during the Ancien Regime contradicted each other. The Enlightenment contradicted the way of life in France during the Ancien Regime because the enlightenment philosophies believed that education should be equal among men and women, that there are three branches of government who share the power, and that man is born free. The way of life in France during the Ancien Regime did not include any of those three things. The culture in France during the Ancien Regime contradicts the Enlightenment philosphies because the lifestyle didn’t include equal education for both genders, had the king holding all of the power, and men were born to serve the government.