The Second Estate Formed A Chaotic State

Moving on to the time period of this document this document was written March 1, 1789 a couple months before the storming of the Bastille. Thus, at this time in history there was a significant amount of commotion arising from the people of the Third Estate. The people of the Third Estate were trying to voice their opinions on the oppressive political and economic situations occurring at this time in France in order to try and bring about a reform. These oppressive political and economic situations that the Third Estate were trying to reform included things such as the king heavily taxing only the Third Estate, who already did not even have the finances to survive let alone pay these high taxes. Another example is the fact that the Third Estate did not have equal representatives in the political society to represent their wants and demands in comparison to the First and Second Estates, which can be seen through out Cahier de Doleance’s, Villagers of Lion-en-Sullias, Women of Paris, Flower Sellers, and Village of Pithiviers-le-Vieil. Cahier de Doleance’s, District of Mansigne. Not only does this text help historians and the reader get a better understanding of the specific wants of the Third Estate but the rest of his documents such as Villagers of Lion-en-Sullias, Women of Paris, Flower Sellers, and

← Doyle, William. The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2001

The People of France in the last part of the 18th century were experiencing severe food shortages, increasing the cost of living, and political leaders who were doing very little to fix the state of chaos in which most people found themselves. In both rural and

Document D states that without the assistance of the National Convention, western France “would today have fallen to the rebels”. The idea of equality is what fueled the Reign of Terror, and without it, this idea would have never become reality. Robespierre pushed to make France a constitutional republic and forgot the practices of a monarch ruler. Of course, Third Estate immediately supported this belief due to their constant mistreatment by the monarch of the time, Louis XVI. The Reign of Terror ultimately gave the Third Estate an escape from a continuous barrage of taxes and other things, which would have gotten worse if Louis XVI stayed in a position of

Liberté, Egalité, and Fraternité were the main principles of the French revolution. However, it was a time where these three ideals would be twisted into nothing more than moral and physical violence. The revolution was ultimately a failure which spun out of control and began to murder itself. The French wanted Freedom from its absolutist ruler, but in turn saw themselves being governed by the devil. These citizens wanted a sense of brotherhood amongst their country, but saw their nation being torn apart by violence. Furthermore, the third estate sought to benefit from a new government that promised equality; however, the result was a further imbalance in an already corrupt society. Ironically, the gruesome reign of terror which was

The author explained how the French Revolution starts and also how choice made by the royal government affect the old regime which moved the country into different conflicts. For example, in chapter 1 “The

France was experience a great amount of change in the summer of 1793, when the Jacobins succeeded the moderates in the National Convention. With the radical Jacobins in power, the country was in tumult, and a Reign of Terror ensued due to a law of suspects that legalized local revolutionary committees. Because of this, thousands of people were killed by guillotine or other methods. Throughout the summer of 1793, the radical Jacobins’ control of the Committee of Public Safety instituted the Terror which was advantageous in it’s intended purpose, yet it was disadvantageous because of the enemies it created.

The French Revolution was a period of time from 1789 to 1799 in France where there was political instability. It officially began on the 14th of July, 1789, when the Bastille, which was a symbol of the King’s harsh policies, was stormed. The King, Louis XVI, the Queen, Marie-Antoinette and about 40,000 people were all brutally murdered. But there was also a positive side, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally adopted on August 1789 and feudalism was abolished. This essay will address the issues of the three estates system, food shortages and the fiscal crisis. It will also be argued that the most significant cause of the French Revolution was the social inequality that stemmed from the three estates system.

An Obstructed Path: The French Revolution’s Political Security Dilemma and Due Process In 1793, the French Revolution entered its most hysterical phase The Terror. The National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, the Revolutionary Tribunal, and the Committee of General Security. The Convention created these institutions to secure the principles of the revolution from domestic and foreign attacks.

During the eighteenth century there was one central political cause for the French Revolution. King Louis XVI was a weak ruler who endured a lavish lifestyle. He disregarded the people’s needs, leaving much of the French population in discontent. Prior to the revolution the form of government was Absolute monarchy led by Louis XVI. The problem with absolute monarchy was that people were denied basic rights, and a say in government because the divine right theory was abused. The King ruled by the divine right of theory which

France had become a nation run by it’s people more so than before, and although the governing structure was more in line with popular vision, there were some problems they were still struggling to deal with. To start, France was fighting wars against countries such as Britain and Holland (1), as well as fighting a civil war against former nobility and clergy who had preferred the old system of government. As well as fighting for their ideals to be considered “right” across Europe, France was also dealing with national debt and hunger (2), and to add on to the chaos that France was forced to deal with, in 1793 King Louis XVI was executed (3). The law of suspects was passed at this time, which allowed the government to “to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution”(5). Although this stage of the revolution was a violent time, documents such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen from the Constitution of the Year I (1793) and the Constitution of 1793 were created, expanding the social and political rights of peasants (4).

The Royal Family of France’s attempted escape on June 20th, 1791 made many people very unhappy with the King. The mob, ever ready to exercise the uncontrolled Rights of Men, made a mock parade of the King’s Arms in the market places, and, dashing them and the figure of a crown to the ground, they trampled upon them, crying out, “Since the King has abandoned what he owed to his high situation, let us trample upon the ensigns of royalty” (Ascherson 48)! The Royal Family not only lost many of its followers through their attempted escape, but also because King Louis XVI kept making bad decisions, ones that had no benefit to France or its people. The people wanted someone who would lead them into a revolution and change France for the better, not because they wanted the power, but because they believed in France and wanted it to become a great nation. That man was Robespierre, who after the flight of the King followed the Jacobin club in its move toward republicanism. He called for universal male suffrage and the end of property qualifications for voting and office holding (Blumberg 290). Robespierre wanted to make France a republic, a government for the people and by the people, a country where everyone had the freedoms and rights they deserved. In January of 1793, Robespierre voted on whether or not he thought that King Louis should be executed for his actions. At the Convention on the trial

Inequality fosters resentment. The French Revolution has been variously called a great turning point, a watershed, and a point of departure at which the traditional social and political institutions of premodern Europe began to give way to powerful new forces and ideas (5). While several historians concentrate on the discrimination of the Third Estate, the social troubles among France were a lot more extensive than those felt by the commoners. The French Revolution comprises a series of events which contributes to both its rise and downfall including the establishment of the Estates General and National Assembly; nonetheless, the unstable country has reached its limit resulting in the Fall of the Bastille and the Great Fear. The country experiences

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.

Many Historians have come to the decisive conclusion that the French Revolution, an event that characterises Modern European History, has changed Europe. It was a time period that took place prior to the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, between 1789 and the late 1970s. it denotes a time period in which the French civilians were aroused unanimously in overturning the traditionalistic “institutions” such as the monarchy and the feudal system. Though the causes of such an event remain inexplicit, intriguing arguments can be drawn in considering an array of reasons that initially sparked it. One plausible assumption has been that it was merely the result of the assumed divine power that King Louis XVI had that ignited the civilians’ revolt. This is particularly acceptable, seeing that this event was draped in the uprooting ideals of Enlightenment. From this pivotal event in Modern History, Historians have gained an insightful scope of not only the evolution of peasantry and lower-societal revolts against an usurping power (i.e nobility) and in some occasions their demise, but have also gained insights into the unnoticed power of the working class. Ultimately the major havoc-inducing factor that led to the crisis of the Ancien Regime can be a derived from a state of hierarchal power. The division of class and the prestigious stance of the nobility helped rouse the