How Did The Women's March Affect The French Revolution

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many European women were still struggling for basic rights such as choosing who they married, obtaining full citizenship and having the right to vote. Because so many women were fighting for the same thing, many formed groups or alliances that were designed to fight against the male-driven political parties that wanted to deny them their rights. As the “woman question” became a bigger deal in politics and society, people began to form stronger opinions about whether or not they thought women should be allowed to vote. The eighteenth century in Europe began a revolution on the topic of women’s suffrage. An overwhelming amount of feminist groups argued for women’s suffrage and fought against

The worn out battle for gender equality has not always been so unfortunate for women. Throughout the years a number of women and even men have stuck up for equality and tried to make a difference. These small changes could have a major impact if everyone tried just a little bit harder to stick up for their rights. In 1848, a group of courageous woman willing to fight society's harsh standards organized a public meeting, their goal was to “improve the republic” (Women’s History.)

Many believed that a woman’ brain was smaller than a man’s brain. Therefore they were incapable to understand political issues. Women were represented by their husbands, they did not fight in wars and defend the country, so why should they have the right to vote and voice their opinions. Women were child bearers and that would stop them from taking part in political life. The Woman’s Suffrage movement is based on the idea of the equality of the sexes, and tends to establish those competitive relations which will destroy chivalrous consideration (The Atlantic 2012).

First and foremost, Louis XVI and Marie lost their power over the throne and the balance of the power was completely off when the commoners had control of the king. Once the king was in Paris, they gained control of the country as well. The march was a also symbolization of the strength the women had politically. The women marched all the way to Versailles, and they demanded what they wanted, and eventually got what they asked for. In the end, Louis XVI and Marie no longer had any control over France. They were essentially prisoners in Paris, never returning to Versailles.

Throughout history women have played a pivotal role in the development of advancing societies, but the recognition that has been so long deserved was denied to them. For centuries women were viewed as little more than property and were not allowed to own property, hold any type of public office, or even vote for elected officials. Decisions in society were made by wealthy men, which meant there was little place for open-minded women seeking a change in the status quo. The Women’s Suffrage Movement allowed women to gain more rights by protest, taking the place of men in the workplace, and strengthening society.

Another group of activists whom Historians have examined are the militant women of the Revolution. In their article “Women and Militant Citizenship in Paris,” Darline Gay Levy and Harriet B. Applewhite examine the participation of women in political life during the Revolution, arguing that this participation laid the foundation for women’s claims to active citizenship. They focus their argument on three specific instances of women’s practice of militant citizenship in revolutionary Paris: “the women’s march to Versailles in October 1789; women’s participation in armed processions and their demands for the right to bear arms during the spring and summer of 1792; and the organized insurgency of women in the Society of Revolutionary Republican

The French Revolution was a time of cast conflict that dramatically altered the political and social order of France. Women during the revolution period had many roles including they're political involvement, donation of time to revolutionaries, and contributions to ideologies. However, with all the contributions, women were still victimized by the changes that occurred. While these roles had a huge impact on the equality between mean and women this impact did not last. Individuals such as Olympe de Gouges and Marie-Jean Roland inspired women to become involved in the revolution because of their significant political achievements that are still discussed today. Without the service and intelligence women

The French Revolution brought with it many sweeping changes in the realm of human rights both to France and eventually the rest of the world. Through Enlightenment ideas, groups previously viewed as second-class citizens, and even those viewed as hardly human, gained greatly enhanced rights and even citizenship with all that this entailed. Amazingly with all the rights and privileges that were being recognized as inherent to various social groups, half the population was left with little or no improvement in their station. This, of course, refers to women. While there were those who fought for women's rights, such as Condorcet, Etta Palm D'Aelders, and Olympe De Gouges; these

As with many revolutions, the cause of the revolutionaries is quickly legitimized with military support (Katz 2004). In the case of the Women’s March, the French National Guard refused to stop the mob from storming the palace (Doyle 2002). Such examples of violent protest proved effective at the beginning of the revolution. The Women’s March on Versailles, from October 1 to 5, 1789, was successful albeit violent (Ibid). The peasant women marched on the palace with cannons and handheld weapons and engaged in armed skirmishes with members of the royal guard (Ibid). Following the raid, the National Guard transported the royal family to Paris on the orders of the peasantry

During a time of technological advancement, women were mistreated and were put under heavier stress than before. As stated earlier, “an increasing number of women began to work outside the home during the Industrial Revolution, however, the entrenched roles of men and women began to erode, giving rise to demands for political and economic equality and ultimately the women’s suffrage movement”. The Industrial Revolution was a catalyst for the fight for women’s rights. Women began to make changes and fight for equality. The early suffragists based their argument on thinkers from the Enlightenment and French revolutionaries that believed in the idea that all people shared common rights and should be able to partake in the government.

The commoners wanted equality, they wanted the Nobility and the clergy to pay taxes and take some of the stress off them, but also they knew by the clergy and nobility paying taxes it would help France get out of debt. Women during this time were watching their children starve because of a lack of bread. So one women by the name of Olymp de Gouges who was a play writer and pamphleteer, refuse to excepts France's exclusion of women from political rights. Women knew they needed to do something about the situation before it got much worse so”on October 5th, after marching to the hotel de Ville, the city hall, to demand bread, crowds of Parisian women numbering in the thousands set off for Versailles, 12 miles away, to confront the king and the National Assembly.

One of the main women involved in the French Revolution was Olympe de Gouges. Olympe de Gouges is how one

During the time of the French Revolution, yet distinct from the political revolt against the Bourgeoise, the women of France took up a revolution of social nature against the established patriarchy. Olympe de Gouges, the author of a piece entitled "Declaration of the Rights of Women," applied the same claims to women as the National Assembly had claimed for themselves in "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen." Statements like "Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights.," and "The purpose of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of woman and man; these rights are liberty property, security, and especially resistance to oppression." 5 exposed the irony of the French political revolution by demonstrating that while the National Assembly had claimed equality for men, they had not also effected it for

This emphasis placed on supposed active resistance led to revelations of women’s efforts during the war and the roles that they had played in the resistance. I believe that it was these revelations that were responsible for the sparking of women’s suffrage in France and as a consequence, led to French women gaining the right to vote in 1944. There is ample evidence that the role women played in the Resistance had a significant impact and this consequently helped to secure their right to vote. It is a great shame that today the vast majority of the French population know little about the surprisingly large role women had to play. I believe that although subtle, their involvement in underground operations was significant. It was after this success in gaining the right to vote that a period of advances in women’s lives took place between 1945 and the late 1970s.

The French Revolution led to reconsidering women’s place in society because the idea of the French Revolution was to find new ways to govern a society. Pre-revolutionary, the social norms for women was to stay home, take care of the children, and be dependent on their husband. Although women had some form of political rights, they were insignificant compared to men. During the French Revolution, women hoped that there would be social, political and economic change away from social norms, but it is seen that women were still experiencing inequality. Feminists like de Olympe de Gouges and Marquis de Condorcet had such difficulty persuading men to recognize women as equals. Even with the influence of ideas of the Enlightenment period, women’s rights were still ignored due to the perception of women being unfit in politics and being more fit in the role of a mother and a wife. The Declaration Rights of Women (1791), published by Olympe de Gouges, challenged the social norms and countered the declaration for men. Soon after, women again were backlashed for trying to obtain rights after Napoleon came into power.