Risk: The French Revolution

The initial impulse of the French revolution was destructive. For those who lived through all, or even part, of these vast upheavals, the shock was overwhelming. Maximilien Robespierre was a proud disciple of the enlightenment and declared that no political writer had foreseen this revolution. Robespierre (1758-1794) was one of the leaders of the Committee of Public Safety, the effective governing body of France during the most radical phase of the revolution. The leaders of this revolution attempted, perhaps more than any other revolutionary leaders before or since, to totally transform human society in every way. (Supreme Being) Although Robespierre began with patriotic intent he still was the face of the Reign of Terror and was viewed as being a radical person.

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 topic that I will be writing about is the French Revolution and how it affected France as a nation. The book that I read was "The French Revolution, A tale of Terror and Hope for Our Times", by Harold Behr. This book gave a very large and broad overview of what transpired during the French Revolution, which occurred during the years of 1789-1799. Though the book covered a lot of material that happened throughout those years, I will be covering the main topics, such as what were the events leading up to the revolution, how the revolution affected the people of France, how the revolution affected the country as a whole, how the revolution affected the world, and whether or not the revolution in the end helped or was more detrimental to the country. All of the topics will be covered from my point of view and how I interpreted the author, there is another point of views on the revolution but this will be from what I felt the book meant to me.

The 3rd estate was made of of the peasants and the bourgeoisie that made up about 97% of the total population of France. In France, their legislative body was called the estates-general. It was made up of one vote of each of the 3 estates. The 1st and the 2nd estates were comprised of the nobles and clergy who had taxes only in times of war. They were very happy with the way things were at the time, so the 3rd estate was always outvoted in the estates-general.

This statement shows how poorly people of the lower class were treated, and how corrupt this system of government is on the people of France. Once the French monarchy faced bankruptcy in 1787, the Estates General was called, and a new form of government was formed called the National Assembly. This government was composed of members of the third estate, because they were the only estate that had to pay taxes when they were already poor. The National Assembly was the rightful representatives of the French people, who demanded tax reform and greater political equality. In a report of the British Ambassador, the Duke

The French revolution which is also referred to as the Revolution of 1789 was a period characterized by both social and political upheaval that span close to a decade in France. It was during this period that the country’s political landscape was redesigned and it involved

The French revolution started in 1787 and ended in late 1799 with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This was also known as the Revolution of 1789, the reason it is called that instead of the Revolution of 1787 is because the climax was 1787. Some of the reasons for the French revolution are; international, political conflict, the Enlightenment, social antagonisms among two rising groups: the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, the weak ruler: Louis XVI played a big part in it and economic hardship. The revolution seemed necessary for the idea of the enlightenment era. The main people who the French were trying to meet the ideas were Montesquieu, Voltaire, or Rousseau.

This inequality and mistreatment outraged the Third State to started a revolution. Louis XVI locked them out of the meeting hall, so the Third State decided to create the National Assembly that took place in a old tennis court, in this they did the Tennis Court Oath in which they swore that they will not stop meeting until they have a constitution for France's

The Third Estate was a social class which was established by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes in 1789, right before the French revolution. This Third Estate had goals of gaining freedoms that the other “estates” had at the time. The Third Estate was defined majorly as the common people of France or the middle class, while the first estate was made up of the clergy of the church and the second estate was made up of the french nobility and monarchs. This Third Estate ultimately played a major factor in spurring on the French Revolution by igniting the passions of those trying to achieve freedoms among the French population.

The events of 1789 resulted in a constitutional monarchy in France. The Estates General gathered to discuss changes in taxes. This legislative body comprised of delegates from the three estates. The delegates representing the commoners refused to accept a system dismissing popular majority votes by counting one vote per estate. Instead, they called themselves the National Assembly, and its members took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing they would fight for a new constitution.

For my book review, I have read and evaluated Sylvia Neely’s history book entitled A Concise History of the French Revolution published in 2007 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Neely’s purpose is to gives an overview of the French revolution with the most important events, the most prominent people and the essential terms. We can see that the author proved her thesis by explaining the background causes of the revolution such as the ancient regime with Louis XVI. Also she described all important events in chronological orders which made it easier for the reader to understand. Neely’s book is at the same time an history book, but also an kind of encyclopedia because she included all essentials terms which were use during that time period, such as “dérogeance”, which means the loss of nobility.

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.

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.

Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout world history. With the amount of revolutions in history, there are those that get lost and those that are the most remembered or well known. One of the well known revolutions is the French Revolution which occurred in the years 1789 to 1799. Before the French Revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, this meaning that one ruler had the supreme authority and that said authority was not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs, a definition given by wikipedia.com and the feudal system, which was a system that said a peasant or worker would receive a piece of land in return for serving under a king, a definition given by vocabulary.com. Those who opposed the, then

Edmund Burke published the Reflections on the Revolution in France in 1790; after the Bastille had been stormed by the Paris mol. He reflects upon about how France was very chaotic. Burke opposed the values of his contemporary revolutionaries; and he predicted that the French revolution would cause problems of fear and chaos to the country. Burke also believed that the revolutionary leaders were more interested in themselves and that they wanted power, however; and really did not care about the well-being of the French people. He believed in the concepts of liberty, equality and the right for everyone; he argues that people should have the opportunity to own their private property. Furthermore, Burke viewed the revolution as a violent takeover of the government, emphasizing that citizens should not have the right to do this. He also argues about importance of tradition in that tradition is what holds society together.