The French Revolution Essay

The French Revolution happened in France around the period 1789-92 (although these dates are disputed by historians), and resulted in the overthrow of the French monarchy and the Ancien Régime (the system of government). The monarchy in France had been established for many centuries, and the causes of the Revolution were deeply-rooted, including the problems with the Ancien Régime, the growth of nationalism, the influence of philosophers, and the example of the American Revolution. In the short term, there were other factors that precipitated the French Revolution, and these included the character of Louis XVI (the reigning French monarch at the time), the Bankruptcy of the French Crown, and, in the

One of the most important causes of the French Revolution was the French system of taxation. According to document one, there was an “injustice in levying the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility were taxed very little. Lands held by commoners were taxed heavily.” This means that the third estate was responsible for paying most of the country’s taxes, while the first and second estates, were responsible for very little. Since the third estate was responsible to pay the most in taxes, they began to suffer the most. The taxes caused them to not be able to afford simple necessities in life, such as bread. This injustice caused the people to want to reform their economic situation by finding a way to avoid strangling taxes and make the first two estates contribute to a failing economy.

One of the other ways in which the Revolution affected the rise of modernity was by asserting the importance of the middle class and masses. Before the revolution, France was made up of three estates: The First Estate was the Church, which made up 1-2% of the population, the Second Estate was the nobility which made up less than 2% of the population and the Third Estate was the commoners, which made up approximately 96% of the population. Whereas the First and Second estates enjoyed luxury, extensive privileges and great wealth, the Third Estate were the heavily taxed and poorly treated bourgeoisie, peasants and city workers. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. Those in the Third Estate grew tired of the unjust laws and taxes they were forced to

Looking at the historical timeline, one can see that the French Revolution derived after the Enlightenment, which brought different ways of thinking, and different outlooks on government and society (553),(555),(558). The Enlightenment also changed the world of public debate, and established some ideas central to the French Revolution. The French Revolution of 1789 occurred due to government debt, class conflict, bankruptcy, the Enlightenment, and the rule of absolutism. These social, economic, and political conditions in France would ignite the start of the French Revolution (562). The Third Estate felt the need to eliminate the problems that was altering their growth in society in order to achieve political, economic, and social equality (564-566). The government at the time had serious financial problem that resulted in great taxations. The French spent too much money on wars, and too much money to keep up with their lavish lifestyles. Moreover, the economic depression at the time led to a recession in the areas of agriculture, trade, and manufacturing. As a result to of all these problems, the King became unable to re-establish control (564-565), (567), (569), (572).

During this time the Clergy and the Nobility were tax-exempt. The Third Estate owned the least land and had to pay excessively high taxes. Meanwhile, the other Estates had abundant land and paid little to no taxes. Not only did the Third Estate have to pay taxes on their land but also on their produce. Therefore, the price of food was so high many couldn't afford to buy it. On top of that, King Louie wanted to raise the taxes even higher to save France from its economic struggle due to poor spending. The people of the Third Estate felt that taxes should be charged only for a limited time. They also believed that taxes should be paid equally by all the classes. The First and Second Estates refused to pay taxes so the Third Estate was automatically

Before we analyze what factor most influenced the start of the French Revolution, it must be acknowledged that although many factors had a role in the outbreak of the Revolution, not all factors were equally responsible. I believe that the political and social discrepancies within the country of France were the most significant element in leading up to the French Revolution. As explained before, many historians believe that the French Revolution was a result of the tensions felt within the Third Estate. This emphasis on a singular group in France’s political system limits one’s ability to fully analyze the tensions of the time. Instead, by taking place during a period of Enlightenment, the time of the French Revolution was a dynamic point in European History. Many accredit this enlightening as being what allowed the French commoners to evolve from being obedient laborers of the state to leaders of a countrywide revolt. However, regardless of what infused a sense of revolution in France’s societally-recognized lesser class, without general stratification of the country and the conditions that bred inequality, the newfound furor to revolt would not have sparked any interest. Others magnify the situation even moreso than looking at just the First or Second or Third Estate and look directly at the rule of Louis XVI as being the determining factor in the Revolution. Although the king ruled over France and held the most power, and even though

The French Revolution was caused by a tragic economic crisis, inequality between the estates, unreasonable taxes for the third estate, and a political order called the Old Regime. The third estate of France spoke but was never heard, so they made people listen. They were treated differently than other estates. They were not allowed to voice any sort of opinion, when they tried others just simply turned their heads. And the money they earned would be mostly spent to pay off their taxes and fees.

There were many profound reasons why the French revolution occurred such as: A large gap in wealth between the rich and poor, and irresponsible aristocracy- legacy reign of louis XIV, ideas of

The third estate made up approximately 98% of France. Most of them were peasants, working on increasing small pieces of land that they rented from their 'lord' from an extortionate amount of money, or they worked in the factories in the cities, were the working and living conditions were atrocious. Although in the present day state of mind, were it is uncommon for somebody not to be educated, it is hard to realise that these people were contempt in life. As I explained earlier, the 1st estate had extreme power over the 3rd estate. The Peasants went to church and believed that there current life was insignificant as long as they obeyed God and were guaranteed a place in heaven.

The immediate cause of the French Revolution in 1789 was the near collapse of the French budget. On the day before the revolution, the French king continued to spend large amounts of money on wars and court luxuries. Another cause of the revolution was the three estates. The nobles didn’t have to pay the taille and the middle class, also known as

Finally, there was the third estate, which consisted of everyone else in France. At the top end of this estate were the rich merchants, industrialists and business people. The bourgeoisie held about 25% of the land in France.   They had to pay taxes. This was very unfair and as a result of the heavy burden of taxes, some peasants had a very poor standard of life. For example, the majority of workers in the towns lived in crowded and unsanitary tenements. I believe this inequality and injustice is an important factor, which caused the French Revolution.

The French Revolution (1789-99) violently transformed France from a monarchical state with a rigid social hierarchy into a modern nation in which the social structure was loosened and power passed increasingly to the middle classes. There is considerable controversy over the causes of the Revolution. Marxist scholars emphasize material factors: as the population increased, food supplies grew short; land had become divided into such small parcels that most Frenchmen lived close to the subsistence level; and after 1776 agricultural recession forced property owners to exploit their sources of revenue. Marxists also maintain that commercial prosperity had stimulated the growth of a monied middle class that threatened the position of the

In Paris the people also stopped eating rolls and soft bread due to the fact that they weren’t allowed to have wheat. After that, people started to post signs that were used to spread negative rumors against the government and it kick started a lot of things in the third estate. Therefore, because of the unequal rights between the estates, not only was there high taxes but there was control of grains and what they could eat too.

The French Revolution This essay intends to draw on the much similarity between the French Revolution and the age of antiquity, more specific Ancient Greece. We shall compare dominant figures of both the French Revolution and Ancient Greece by using examples from writings from both ancient literature and contemporary and giving direct examples to support the ideas in this essay. Furthermore, this essay will discuss how similar the emergence of democracy in Ancient Greece is to the emergence of it in the French Revolution. The French Revolution was the first modern revolution in history.

Many political, economic, and social problems led to the beginning of the French Revolution. In a political sense, King Louis XVI ruled as an absolute monarch and believed in the divine right rule, which meant that he was essentially a god and that gave him absolute power. Also, Louis XVI did not give citizens their natural rights that they should receive, he was completely oblivious of how upset and angry people were because of the lack of natural rights (Document 1). The economic issues included the estates and how unfair and unequal they were. The first estate was made up of the clergy, the second estate was made up of the nobility, and the third estate was basically everyone else in society. The third estate was treated like trash and was ordered to do all the labor and work, while the clergy and nobility didn't have much work to do at all. The third estate was also forced to pay high taxes, which connects to the economic problems. There were economic problems too that caused the French Revolution, such as France being in debt because of their participation in the American Revolution. France's debt