To the people of Fontenay-le-Comte,
I thank you all for having provided me with the opportunity to represent you in the National Assembly. Over the past few months, I had listened to and voted on each proposition with only your best interest in mind. Yet, despite my efforts, most of you had written to me about your disappointment in the National Assembly and concern with the state of France as a country. Over and over again, you have believed that your own government had voted and acted against your wishes. Echoing Edmund Burke’s sentiments in Reflections on the Revolution, you all agree that “the fresh ruins of France, …, are not the devastation of civil war; they are the sad but instructive monuments of rash and ignorant counsel [by the radical leaders] in time of profound peace” (Popiel et. al.,149). However, I write today to inform you all to cease your worries. With foreign aid from Austria and Prussia, France is bound to return to its foundations with a renewed potential to succeed, with its entire people by its side. With the events that have recently transpired in our country, King Louis XVI has been reinstated to his former position of power. Alongside the king, the Catholic Church has also returned with more authority and influence than ever, providing you all with the guidance that you may have lost under the leadership of the National Assembly. With both the king and the Catholic Church back in power, a number of ordinances that had deprived the Church of its
Hello my French brothers and sisters! Dark times have befallen our precious land, and pure chaos has ensued. I write to the people in France in hopes of establishing a new land. A land that can be looked upon proudly with eyes of great virtue. In order to achieve our wildest dreams we must sort through the rubbish that has landed us here in the first place. How will we as a society react to the many things that have been dealt to the people of France? Perhaps our great fight ends in bloodshed, and broken promises. Or perhaps we could take heed of the laws and policies our fellow Europeans across the Sea. I had the pleasure of visiting one of the cities in America that the citizens take so much pride in: Boston, Massachusetts. A port town on the North-Eastern coast that was a large part of the American Revolution. It was also home to the Notorious Boston Massacre. There are a number of things that I enjoyed about my trip, but pointing out the differences between Boston and France had to be the most delectable part of my trip. The way in which they practice religion is something to behold. Their new Constitution is also no laughing matter, and lastly the many things Americans find fun is mesmerizing, and also repulsive. America is a tremendous place and I cannot wait to guide you through my journey and inferences.
← Doyle, William. The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2001
France during the 18th century, was a country of great progress of society and established Paris as an urban powerhouse. When talking about the causes of the French revolution, many will point to a variety of factors that they believe to have been the root cause of the ordeal. Some might focus on the growing number of the farm employees who were contracted to keep order in areas of business, some might focus on the blurring of class lines that occurred in France as new venues of income transformed every portion of society, and some might point to implementation of these unfair taxes that were placed on the people to repay debts that had been occurred in previous administrations. The ideas previously mentioned played a key role in the development of revolutionary Paris and many other topics that weren’t mentioned also played a critical role in the changing of France, but arguably the most significant of these causes was that of the desacralization of the French monarchy and how aspects such as literature and secularization would lead to the eventual downfall of the once great colonial power.
The Federalists were opposed to supporting the French, and this belief is backed up by the author’s rash description of the current state of France. France had an opportunity had freedom, but in the eyes of the author, they have squandered that chance. In the event of the violence spreading to the United States the author is optimistic that the people will band together in defense of the government, and all that the country stands for.
In the United States, there has often been debate over whether the U.S. Constitution is a “living constitution.” A “living constitution” is the idea that the interpretation of constitutional phrases should take into account the contemporaneous society. In other words, practices and traditions of the government have the ability to change and transform over time in accordance with the changes in society. Similarly, there has often been debate in the religious community as to whether the practices and traditions of the church have the ability to change and transform in order to better suit the needs of its constituents. Two Popes in the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis and Pope Pius IX, have published documents with opposing viewpoints about the church’s ability to change and transform over time. The aforementioned documents also highlight other issues commonly debated within the church. Ultimately, Pope Francis favors a more progressive church, that is opento change, while Pope Pius IX favors a church with more rigid guidelines that follow traditional practices.
Source one has shown enlightened thinking of generally the third estates, also known as the National Assembly and represented the people of France. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a social factor which shaped French Nationalism. It’s an enlightened idea which was spread through media, to motivate commoners to fight for their rights, which has questioned the divine right of the king. Even though the Declaration of the Rights did not create a new Country, but it did give the people of France a sense of belonging, and their rightful rights. As a result of the Declaration, was the Storming of the Bastille, where political prisoners were freed from the Bastille, and a significant “victory” towards
New circumstances called for re-appraisal of the church: its position and purposes. A pragmatic response to changed
Not just any institution, the Catholic church yields power and influence on a global scale. Yet again, we see the presence of both an oppressor as well as the oppressed. The Catholic Church has been viewed as the ‘defender of all that is right and just’ throughout history because it claims that many of its unholy actions were carried out in the name of God. As we study history to make sense of the present, we can often become naïve, accepting ‘facts’ at face value. With that said, we form ‘silences’ just like in the historical narrative
The men who founded the legislature of our country had seen first hand the difficulties that church and state partnerships could create in Europe. The consequences of this partnership are the main
However, the source is limited because as a French writer, his views on the French monarchy may be unduly influential. This book was published almost two hundred years after the revolution. This implies that the sentiment towards the monarchy may have evolved over time and would not precisely display the true emotions of the French people from about two centuries earlier.
As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.
Millions of French people suddenly revolted against a society that their past families had accepted forever. Ways of life that once worked well for people became rigid and not suitable over time. New conditions/thought changed the minds of many people across the country. Suddenly, what had seemed so reasonable before had become outrageous and unnecessary. In the French’s case, it was the institutions of feudalism and monarchy that stopped working. There was great divide between nobility and commoners which further perpetuated the process of conflict. By the 1770’s, France was on the edge of a full on war. People were unhappy. There is political corruption everywhere. The clergy and aristocracy owned 30% of French land even though they were only 2% of the French population. Many enlightenment thinkers give up on the operation of their country. Montesquieu, a French scholar once said, “There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.” While most people are suffering through poverty, the government is spending on luxuries and over taxing. The Third Estate barely gets any say and gets worse when Louis XVI locks them out of the assembly. The debt was made worse from spending in both the Seven Years War and The American Revolution. These events added up and eventually seemed impossible to fix and impossible to be prevented. However, several things could have been done to stop the
Much progress has been made in the National Assembly over these past few weeks. Thanks to the amendment to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, women are now on a level playing field with men. All rights laid out in the document belong to both men and women. To go along with that, Marie Antionette’s suspensive veto power from henceforth will be ignored. Her abuse of this power left the National Assembly no choice to vote, unanimously, to revoke this power that she felt was hers. From this point forward, the National Assembly can debate upon any topic that they desire. Ms. Antionette will no longer be able to delay progress towards a better France. This better France will be achieved through a National Guard filled with men and women, as well as women trained in the use of firearms and other weapons.
In History the American and French Revolution has been one of the greatest events that was a symbolism for reaching equality. The purpose of the American Revolution was to refrain from unfair taxes that was embedded on Americans from the British Parliament. While on the contrary the French Revolution main purpose was to overthrow tax-related issues, and hierarchical differences. Furthermore, in the course of this essay it will note the similarities each revolution had with one another, and why it occurred. Next, the essay will follow explaining in my opinion why the French Revolution took a turn for the worse compared to the American Revolution. Finally, the essay will mention Tocqueville, and the certain thing he found special about the
The French Revolution began as an expression of rebellion against centuries of absolute rule in France. After an interim of experimental liberalism under the rule of Jacobins and Girondins and then the infamous reign of terror, the people of French were drawn to a man who promised them a return to stability, and honor through the expansion of empire. France and it’s people had long yearned for this sens eof honour, it had seemed, and could finally sens eit in a lasting rpesence under the rule of their prodigious, unbeatable general, Napoleon Bonaparte. He would soon take the reigns of civil government as well and become yet another Absolutist ruler, yet this