The Influence Of The Ancien Regime

The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers rippled throughout the globe, however, they seemed to have the most interesting effect on France. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a major contributor to Frances political and social structure post-French revolution. These ideas weren’t the only triggers for the French Revolution. A combination of strangling taxes, economic disparity, and an impotent ruler led to the development of an intense need for reform in France. “France spent an enormous amount of money during the American war which put them on the verge of bankruptcy” (McKay et al., pg. 662). To make up for this immense national debt, taxes were raised which put more pressure on the already struggling working class in France. The privileged classes

The French Revolution was a time of great social, political and economic tumult in the closing years of the Eighteenth Century. The motivators pushing French citizenry toward revolution are varied in scope and origin. They range from immediate economic woes to an antiquarian class structure. Modern historians still debate the value of the changes that the revolution brought to modern society. The middle class made gains that would never be rescinded, but do revolutions always end in tyranny? In the years before the revolution citizens were rigidly constrained by the estates of the realm. These social strata had been in place since the medieval ages. The people were divided into three groups; clergy, nobility and everyone else. The clergy

The French Revolution was a time of period where social and political was a disruption in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. This time of period affected Social Structure of France prior to the French Revolution. The factors that caused this revolution was due to having a bad government system, weak superiority, and inequality of the classes of people in France during the war. In this research, I will define and explain how Social Structure contributed to the French Revolution Resentment of royal authoritarianism. The three estates that social structure consists of are first estate which are the clergies, second estate known as the Nobleman, and third estate which are the Bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers. The Revolution did not omit sharp distinctions among the social groups, neither did it alter the distribution of wealth. This caused them to divide into these three groups called as estates.

Beginning in 1789, the French Revolution was a time of rebellion, passion, betrayal, death, violence, and perseverance. Before 1789, King Louis XVI was taxing his poorest people heavily, whilst the rich were hardly taxed at all. The socioeconomic system in place at the time, known as the ancien regime, ruthlessly upheld the status quo. When the tension in France rose to a boiling point, fiery, young rebels to rose up against the Monarchy, the Ancien Regime, and the Clergy. These revolutionaries desperately wanted change, and they had three main principles around which their movement centered: Liberté, Égalité, and Fraternité. Liberty is the freedom to do as one pleases so long as one’s actions do not unjustifiably harm others. Equality is being considered the same. Fraternity is a sense of brotherhood and companionship. The goals of the French Revolution were initially achieved with alacrity, however they were abandoned with relative quickness as malcontented leaders quested for, and abused, power and authority.

The French Revolution leaves a noble mark in history where peasants of a lower class claimed their rights from a corrupt system of monarchs and social hierarchy. Looking deeper into the events surrounding the French Revolution shows that there are striking similarities with it’s American counterpart; both America and France were becoming dissatisfied with their absolute monarchy, poverty and taxation bringing citizens to a boiling point. These indignities coupled with the spread of Enlightenment ideas lead two nations to break away from old ties to monarchies that were a virtually universal standard of government for centuries within mere years of each other. When America held their revolution for freedom, France was quick to follow suite, indicating that the events of the French Revolution mirrored and were inspired by the American Revolution in the way that poverty and taxes played a role in fueling revolution, they were both influenced by enlightenment ideas, and that specific actions and people recurred throughout both revolutions.

King Louis XVI became king at a very young age. At age 15, he had little to no interest in politics and definitely was not prepared to be the leader of a country. Marie Antoinette wasn’t very interested in politics either and would much rather spend her day at the poker table than helping run the country. The members of the 3rd estate were very impacted by her gambling and huge spending. It caused the 3rd estate’s taxes to be raised exponentially and they already couldn’t afford food.

The American Revolution of the 1770’s was fueled by the ideas of social equality and political liberty as well as the desire for justice and the creation of democratic institutions. This movement as well as the writings of authors, such as Rousseau and Voltaire, speaking human rights, led way to the French Revolution. With King Louis XVI reign there was much careless spending and overindulgence leaving France in a very poor financial state when he passed away. His rule had caused the majority of French people to have distinct and feelings of resentment towards the monarchy when Louis XVI came into rule. At the time, France had three basic social classes. At the top were the royals’

French society was ingrained with the ideology of a three class or estate society. The First Estate consisted of clergy who owned approximately ten percent of France’s land. The Second Estate contained the rich nobles who only occupied two percent of the French population, but had ownership of twenty percent of the country’s land. The Third Estate encompassed ninety-seven percent of the French population. The First and Second Estates had many privileges in French society, and they paid little to no taxes. Unfortunately, the tax burden fell upon the Third Estate, which caused them to yearn for political change. Hefty taxes fell upon business owners within the Third Estate who were unable to conduct a profitable business. On top of the tax crisis,

When oppressed by a certain style of leadership, revolution becomes a stepping stone to freedom. Due to corruption in the top ranks of society and economic troubles for those below, a French Revolution was the way the troubled citizens chose to exercise their rights. In response to the uneven rights going around France, with in the seigniorial system that gave rights and privileges only to the first (the clergy), the second estate (the nobility) and not the third estate (the commoners), the National Assembly wrote the inspiration of what to achieve for the people of France, known as The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in the 18th century, which fought for liberty, equality, and fraternity. Even though a revolution moved France

During 1700’s France had three main classes or “estates”. The first estate and the most powerful one was made up of clergy this estate only accounted for 1% of France's population, but owned 10% of the property. The next estate was made up of nobles that were only 2% of the population but controlled 20% of France's land. Then there was the third estate than represented 97% of France's population but only owned 70% of the country's land. The third estate comprised of everyone from the middle class or the “bourgeoisie” to merchants all the way to peasants. The third estate was only estate that payed taxes which made them really mad because the two richer estates did not need to pay anything. Another reason why the third estate was unhappy is

In the book the Old Regime and the French Revolution, Tocqueville makes a very close analysis of the causes and antecedents of the revolution. At the first stage of the French revolution, Frenchmen's strong pursuit of liberty constitutes one distinguishing feature. However, the pursuit turned out in vain at last, as they sacrificed liberty for the sake of equality. People from different classes had shown their desire for liberty and tried to declare it through this revolution, but all failed and had to give in to the ever-growing pursuit of equality. The aristocratic liberty failed because they tried to maintain their privileges all the time; the middle class's pursuit of liberty was based on limited equality, which still could not satisfy

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen is an important document of the French Revolution. The National Assembly passed it on August 6, 1789. The Declaration presents the idea of inalienable rights of humans regardless of social status or privilege. It, along with support of the majority of France, was instrumental in putting an end to the Ancien Regime. The Ancien Regime was the old order matriarchal way, and the people of France were tired of the control this absolute monarchy had over them. The French Revolution was a turning point in European history that would forever change the government of France. Not only were the citizens unhappy with their current government, but the majority were suffering from the economic crisis as the result of war. Forty years of wars in which France was involved had taken its toll on the economy. In addition to the drain on finances by war, the extravagant lifestyles of the aristocracy also drained France’s treasury. Though economy was definitely a cause of the French Revolution, it was not the only cause. Like the American Revolution that occurred a decade earlier, there were many reasons for the revolt but the main goal being equality for all.

The French Revolution intended to accomplish three main goals: liberty, equality and fraternity. The liberty they wanted was the freedom from an oppressive government, namely the absolute monarchy Louis XVI was the king of at the beginning of the revolution. An emphasis was put on fraternity because they believed that without unification, their goals would never be accomplished. As for equality, equality under the law regardless of socioeconomic class was desired, not equality under the law regardless of gender. Despite egalitarianism not being the main intent of the revolution, women’s rights’ advocacy saw its beginnings in France during this time. This can be attributed to the many different ideas circulating at the time about what equality

The French Revolution was an era where there was a dramatic political and social change. The supporters of the French Revolution came across problems such as women 's lack of a right to citizenship, Absolute Monarchy of the Feudal System, and the lack of rights of the clergy and nobility. The supporters of the French Revolution attempted to solve these problems by abolishing the Feudal system, and the establishment of a republic. They also created steps towards resolving the lack of women’s rights, and forming an assembly.

Before the French Revolution, France had a societal, economic, and political structure; this referring to the ancien régime. The regime precisely was France’s legislative body meaning it was the Estates General. The Estates were important social divisions in the culture of ancient France. Just like a pyramid, it manages people’s placement, indicating in what estate you belonged based in due to your total sum of wealth, social status and quality of life. Of course, at the top of the pyramid was King Louis XVI, the absolute monarch; but then again, the Estates General had three major divisions: