The Importance Of Equality In The French Revolution

Between 1789 and 1814 the French Revolution astonished and impacted the world. The Revolution has been talked about for years because of its contributions and the way it affected the world. The significant figures from the Revolution also played important roles in history and in areas outside of France. King Louis’ absolutism and the unfair treatment between classes were political, social, and economical causes of the French Revolution. This Revolution impacted the people of France by terrorizing and affecting their rights, yet at the same time the French Revolution served as a template for other countries when it came to radical changes and Revolutions.

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.

First, one primary factor of the French Revolution was the Enlightenment. Specifically, the Enlightenment was an age of “scientific and philosophical thought” in the 18th century (An Analysis 1). The ideas that came from this age were natural rights, the sovereignty of citizens, and equal rights for everybody under the law along with questioning the divine right of the king (An Analysis 1). The Enlightenment was one primary factor because it provided ideas that the commoners wanted as it placed them at a fair and basic level in comparison to the other classes alongside questioning the validity of the monarchy. Another example was it inspired the American Revolution, where the colonists fought and won the right to govern themselves from England (An Analysis 1). This proved that a winning a

In the late 17th Century, the French Revolution began. The French Revolution was a rebellion of the third estate against the inequality and injustice of the social classes. The high economic gap and social inequality led to reforms such as the drafting of the Declaration of Rights for Men and the Tennis Court of Oath. One of the main factors that led to the French Revolution is the economic gaps between the rich and the poor.

Firstly, the French Revolution created an opportunity to make all French men equal. In Document A (The Declaration of the Rights of Man) it states, "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good," and in Document F it also states, "Frenchmen

However, ‘theory’ is the key word here, as this was not true in practice. As Johnson highlights, there were no legal provisions at any point during the French Revolution to guarantee these rights. Although the estates system was abolished, the class system remained, and there continued to be huge wealth disparity in France. As the October Days in the same year highlighted, urban workers continued to struggle to afford bread. The Declaration only guaranteed equality of rights. Although this is significant, the Declaration was by no means so revolutionary that it eliminated inequality and oppression in France. This is arguably best exemplified by examining women’s rights. The Declaration makes little progress in gender equality. Men

between the rich and the poor. Before the French Revolution a person could not work to become wealthy- they had to be born wealthy and vice versa. The French Revolution changed this for France’s citizens. Also the French Revolution resulted in freeing 10,000 African slaves. The most important cause of the French Revolution were the Age of Enlightenment, inequality of the estate system and tax structures.

During The French Revolution, many citizens (mostly the 3rd estate) were not treated the way they should have been. The French Revolution was the cause of the rebellions and difficult economic situations that many citizens had to endure. During the reign of King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette, many citizens (especially the 3rd estate) were livid about how poor they were being treated.

The first cause of the revolution to be discussed: the inequality in estates. To understand this, one must first understand the meaning of the word estate. An estate was a form of social classes made up of the first estate (clergy), the second estate (nobles), and the third estate (peasants and bourgeoisie). The problem with these estates was that the third estate was taxed much more heavily than the second estate, while the first estate was not taxed at all. This led to poverty and starvation as “the price of bread has risen above people’s ability to pay” (Doc A). Even worse for thee third estate, while they were starving and fighting to provide for their families, the first two estates were going on about their lives without concern for those dying of preventable causes.

The first reason the French Revolution occurred, was because the king and queen were spending too much money on unnecessary items that the country could not afford. The king was gambling with money that the country did not have. Also, he was staging plays while the country was 40 billion dollars in debt. This made the people despise not only the king, but the queen too because they both were spending money on clothes and

Social issues behind the French Revolution was because the third estate thought they had social inequality among the three estates, but some historians thought they were following by example.To support this the text says,” For the suffering of the people was not greater that they had before… that changed thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of American Independence… The American example cause the Revolution to break out”(Document 8, Acton). In one document there is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens finally giving equality, that was only given after the

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

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.

Many women were involved in the uncertainty of women's rights during the French Revolution between the years of 1789 and 1804. Exploration of the unfolding struggles of France managed to turn my head in the direction of woman's rights more than once in my discovery. Perhaps because of the persistence of the women during this time period and their straight forwardness in their mission, was I so determined to see a positive progression in the fulfillment of their needs. "Even during a revolutionary time like this, equal rights for women seemed out of reach. Women had to struggle for a position in the revolution" (Ajaibu 2001, 1).

Equality in government is something that is extremely important and relevant in today’s society, which is why I chose to focus on equal rights in the French Revolution for my research paper. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines equality as “the quality or state of being equal”, I am going to apply this term to government and explain why being equal in government is the best way to avoid conflict, maintain peace, and keep order. I want to focus on equality because it is a topic that is dear to my heart for many reasons and I firmly believe that the lack of equal rights is what fueled the French Revolution and led to the violence and chaos that occured. Due to the Monarchy that the French had at the time, citizens were under a feudal class system that kept their people from being equal in government. This division between classes is just one of the things that aided the violence that occurred during the French Revolution simply because people were not equal. When people are not heard, or feel their opinion is irrelevant, they begin to cause an uproar; for example, King Louis XVI made decisions that affected everyone, but only thought of himself, and didn’t want to hear what his citizens had to say. All the power lied in his hands and that was the problem. No one was represented in government and no power was distributed amongst the people; therefore, people felt they were walked on and that their life was not as important. This is just one example of how inequality led to