The Enlightment and the French Revolution

There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a

the claim to the Crown, and he believed that individuals held the right to revolt against a

The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France mad many French people discontented. Most disaffected were merchants, artisans, workers, and peasants. The ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers brought new views of government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the coming of The French Revolution. Therefore, The French Revolution of 1789 had several causes not only due to political, but also due to social and economic issues and problems as well that made France ripe for revolution. The most important long-range causes of this revolution, however, were the ideas of the Enlightenment, the unfair taxes, the gap between the rich and poor, and the American Revolution

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 ideas of equality and rights to men which were stressed by Enlightenment philosophers are all incorporated into documents 1,4 and 5. Society before the French revolution was

The Enlightenment was the root of many of the ideas of the American Revolution. It was a movement that focused mostly on freedom of speech, equality, freedom of press, and religious tolerance. The American Revolution was the time period where America tried to gain its independence from England. They got influenced very much from many philosophers. That will be discussed throughout the essay. The Enlightenment ideas were the main influences for American Colonies to become their own nation.

The French Revolution were influenced by many factors such as the Enlightenment ideals, concepts of popular sovereignty, and unchallengeable rights. France’s costly involvement in the Revolution and excessive spending by King Louis XVI and his predecessor had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Not only were the royal coffers exhausted, but two decades of poor cereal harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor. (history.com).These actions played a critical role in shaping modern nations. As

The Enlightenment is said to have begun in the 1680’s, the same decade that the “Glorious Revolution” occurred, which crowned daughter of James II Mary and her husband Prince William of Orange Monarchs of England. This turning point in English history can be considered part of the Enlightenment due to the switch from an Absolute Monarchy to a Constitutional Monarchy and the passing of the English Bill of Rights in 1689 after William’s ascension to the throne.

One major cause of the old regime were the taxes and laws between the three estates. As seen in Document 2, “the 3rd estate paid 50% of income in taxes while the 1st and 2nd paid less than 5%” (Doc 2). This clearly shows that the most populated estate, the third estate, paid half of their income as their taxes. Larger amounts of taxes the third estate paid versus the lower amount of taxes for the first and second estates. Another significant cause was the unequal three estates and the third estate was overpowered. The third estate had more power in laws and taxes and their relationship with the lower estates were not good. As demonstrated in Document 7, the cartoon of the “The political and social system in France” (Doc 7). This cartoon proves the relationship between the third estate and the two lower estates. The lower estates didn’t have anything to do with taxes and laws and the third estates were all in laws and taxes. The final

The French Revolution and Latin American independence movements are connected to the enlightenment in many ways. The enlightenment is connected to the beginning of the French Revolution because the 3rd estate who started the revolution took many ideas from enlightenment ideals, and a successful example of an enlightened revolution in the American Revolution. The National Assembly created the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen as their new constitution, and it used many enlightened ideas. One example of this is that the declaration declared all citizens equal before the law, which is enlightened thinking. Enlightened thinking is also shown when the document guarantees freedom of speech, press, and religion.

Prior The Enlightenment: The Enlightenment influenced the French revolution in many ways; Second, religion and church. Enlightenment thinkers began to oppose the Catholic Church that earth, was the easy way to the eternal passageway. They question the priests, the revelation of God, and the teachings of the church traditional studies. They began to say “Creator should only obey the laws of nature" Financial: Louis XVI was aggravated that France had involvement in the American Revolution, led to France getting reduced privileges and new taxations even though the taxes were already high enough. Eventually Caused France's debt

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.

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.

And he relies, everything. He argued that because the third estate carries out all the labor required to maintain France and that the third estate makes up a complete nation. He calls the first and second estates a form a cancer as they do not add anything to the civil order like the third estate does, he later states “The noble order is no less foreign amongst up by reason of its civil and public prerogatives.” He knows that the first and second estate do not pay taxes of any kind, yet they are the main beneficiaries from the king. He calls the first and second estates a cancer that must be removed from a society so that the society may remain healthy, “It is impossible to say what place the two privileged orders ought to occupy in the social order…what place one wishes to assign to a malignant tumor.” The Divine Chain of Being which gave a natural order to the world was now called into question and rejected entirely because of the French Revolution.