The Second Estate Of France

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

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 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.

In 1789, the French Revolution struck the citizens of France. The economy started to struggle after King Louis XVI was drowning in debt from the expensive wars and the prices of bread started to grow. This caused chaos among the people of France, as fear for survival increased. King Louis then called the estates general to help fix the financial crisis. They came up with the Declaration of Man and Citizen which promised “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.”

The citizens of the 3rd estate and some citizens in the 2nd estate in France during 1789, were not happy at all. They were getting heavily taxed by Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and the Catholic Church. When they didn’t have the money to pay the taxes that was forced upon them. After all of the hard work they put in to growing crops, the crops were taken

During the 1700s, France’s government was run by a three system estate system. The First Estate was made up by the powerful clergy members, while the Second Estate was made with nobles. Peasants and working men made the Third Estate, also the largest estate. In this large estate there was a little class named the Bourgeoisie was a part of the Third Estate. Though the Bourgeoisie was highly educated and always had stable professions, they were not set aside from the peasants. The Third Estate was treated very poorly during the 1700s. Life was not suitable for the working class. The mistreatment and inequality led to the French Revolution. Inequality during this time period meant that things were not the same throughout each class. Unequal power between the estates, abuse of the Third Estate, and the taxes and price raises were the three reasons that outweighed the many political, social, and economic factors that led to the French Revolution.

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.

This statement shows how poorly people of the lower class were treated, and how corrupt this system of government is on the people of France. Once the French monarchy faced bankruptcy in 1787, the Estates General was called, and a new form of government was formed called the National Assembly. This government was composed of members of the third estate, because they were the only estate that had to pay taxes when they were already poor. The National Assembly was the rightful representatives of the French people, who demanded tax reform and greater political equality. In a report of the British Ambassador, the Duke

The third estate’s citizens had the lowest income in France, yet they were the ones who were supporting the government. The burden of the countries taxes was nearly impossible for the third estate to carry. One peasant woman said that the taxes were “crushing” her and her fellow third estate members. (Document 2).The first and second estate made up the wealthiest portion of France, yet they paid next to nothing in taxes. This obviously and rightfully angered members of the third estate. Why should the only people who can afford to pay taxes be exempt from them? This kind of inequality resulted in violence from the third estate. As a form of rebellion, peasants attacked tax collectors whom they owed money. They also burned land registers and court records. This example, along with the formation of the National Assembly show that the first actions of the revolution were a result of not giving the third estate the voice that it’s members felt it

A revolution is the outcome of a spark, a spark to improve economic standards, espouse new ideas of life, to obtain an equal position in society, and to have an improved political system. Both France and the 13 Colonies had been through various economical crises’ which resulted in citizens to rebel. France had lost lots of money in expanding Versailles and by losing numerous expensive wars. In order to recover from this debt, the third estate of France had to pay more taxes, despite the farmers going through a series of crop failures, while the higher estates were exempt from taxation. Increasing this debt was Queen Marie-Antoinette who continued to spend lavishly on herself and did not care to think about the third estate. In the 13 Colonies, citizens were restricted to sell their goods to

During the reign of King Louis XVI, France was going through severe economic crisis. France was in debt from war and helping America in the American Revolution, and poor harvests inflated the prices of bread, causing poor people to starve. Most importantly, the unfair tax system forced the lower class to pay all of the taxes. On June 20, 1789, powerful men from the third estate walked out of a meeting with the Estates General and vowed to create a new constitution (BE). Many people, like the nobility, Catholic Church, conservative, and foreign monarchs, disliked the reforms. To deal with the opposition, the French Revolution made a radical turn under the control of Maximillian Robespierre. Robespierre was the chief prosecutor who got Louis

The French Revolution occurred from 1789 to 1799. A major issue during this time period in France was social classes, which included the First, Second, and Third Estate. The First and Second Estate had freedom, rights, and equality while the Third Estate had almost nothing. Third Estate got no recognition for their work, while the French Church had problems with voting, and salaries. The Third Estate formed the National Assembly to write The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and The Civil Constitution of the Clergy. They wrote them to help fix the problems that caused the revolution. The causes of the French revolution are the French Church, the inequality of the Estates, and the minimal freedom and rights that the Third Estate has.

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.

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.

And he relies, everything. He argued that because the third estate carries out all the labor required to maintain France and that the third estate makes up a complete nation. He calls the first and second estates a form a cancer as they do not add anything to the civil order like the third estate does, he later states “The noble order is no less foreign amongst up by reason of its civil and public prerogatives.” He knows that the first and second estate do not pay taxes of any kind, yet they are the main beneficiaries from the king. He calls the first and second estates a cancer that must be removed from a society so that the society may remain healthy, “It is impossible to say what place the two privileged orders ought to occupy in the social order…what place one wishes to assign to a malignant tumor.” The Divine Chain of Being which gave a natural order to the world was now called into question and rejected entirely because of the French Revolution.