What Caused The French Revolution Research Paper

There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a

There are very few members in the first and second estates, yet they owned the most land, while the third estate made up most of the population, yet owned very little land. “First: Clergy - 1% of the people owned 10% of the land. Second Estate: Nobles - 2% of the people owned 35% of the land. Third Estate - Middle class, peasants, city workers 97% of the people owned 55% of the land.” (Document 2) There were high prices, high taxes, and people were listening to enlightenment ideas. Louis XVI decided to tax the Second Estate. They called a meeting of the Estates-General - an assembly of representatives from all three estates. (ROI) In addition, as a political cause, the third estate had no privileges or say in the government,while both the clergy and nobles did. As mentioned before, the inequality of taxes proved another gap in the social classes. “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact.... The middle class...was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document 4) Estates- General was the first such meeting in 175 years. Met on May 5th,1789 in Versailles. In the Estate- General each estate had one vote. (ROI)

First of all, the vulgus of France were not habituated with their basic human rights. Cahiers, a list of grievances about the king, taxing and voting involving the estates explains how the third estate was not provided with equal rights. The third estate owned most of the land and made up a large percent of the population, yet were not accustomed with the rights they deserved. They paid for the wealthy to live an excessive life and didn't get anything in return. This was unjust and unfair.

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.

the French revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1799. Louis XVI was King of France in 1789. Louis was a kind man, but he was raised to be a king and had little knowledge of common people. There was a story in France that when Louis' wife, Marie Antoinette, heard that the people had no bread, she said, "Let them eat cake." Marie Antoinette never said that, but it shows how little she knew (and some say cared) about life for the common people of France.

The First and Second Estate didn’t do nearly as much work for the country as the Third Estate did. This estate consisted of 75% of the country. They were in charge of the distribution of the agricultural products that the country made. As Abbe Sieyes said, “What is the Third Estate? Everything; but an everything shackled and oppressed.” (Abbe Sieyes). The Third Estate is the same as the other Estates, but more poor than them. Abbe Sieyes believed that they deserved more recognition than they ever got. Overall, the First and Second Estate treated the Third Estate terribly, and didn’t give them recognition for their work caused the French

The French Revolution is said to have a number of causes. It was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the empire. The main causes of the French Revolution was the political, economic, and social problems happening in the society during this time. One of the causes of the French Revolution of the political tension going on during the time.

​The French revolution was caused by many political reasons. The main political reason was that the members of the third estate occupied 97% of Frances population yet they had little to no political power. They had no control over their own government, rules, and regulations. One person, King Louis XVI, had all the power. On top of the third estate having little to no power at all, they barely had any land to live on. The third estate was 97% of France’s population yet they only owned 55% of the land. Based on that statistic, it’s pretty obvious that the third estate lived in cramped and uncomfortable conditions (Document 2). The monarchy played a huge role in the start of the revolution. King Louis XVI was allowed to

Revolutions are a time of rebellion where those go against the government and demand reform or change. No matter what reforms were made, revolutions tend to have very similar causes such as unfairness between government and citizens, social inequality, and other revolutions and documents declaring independence, rights, or reform. The three main causes of the French Revolution were social inequality, unfair tax systems, and America’s reforms such as the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence.

Through 1756 to 1783, France participated in the seven years war which lead to France being in extreme debt. The American Revolution and the Seven Years war took a toll on France and took all of its money leading the country and monarchy to be in extreme debt. (fsmitha.com). The government started heavily taxing the common people in order to take care of the money they owed the aristocrats and other lenders (fsmitha.com). During the 1780s, taxation was becoming a significant problem and was inefficient and unfair. The higher classes in France such as the nobility and clergy heavily taxed the lower class but refused to contribute to the tax revenue even

One of the economic issues that caused the French Revolution is financial difficulties because in document A it states, ¨ The First Estate were the Clergy which meant that 1% of the people owned 10% of the land and paid no taxes.” It also states, “The Second Estate were the Nobles which meant 2% of the people owned 35% of the land and paid 2% of income in taxes.¨ Finally, it states, ¨The Third Estate were the middle class, peasants, and the city workers which meant 97% of the people owned 55% of the land and paid 50% of their income in taxes.¨ This shows that they were doing unfair taxes and soon they realized they were unable to meet their needs and becoming more poor.

The French Revolution was a dark time for France as a whole. There were many deaths and horrific actions that left France in shambles. There were many causes of this revolution, all falling under three categories: social, political and economic. The political factors were mostly having to do with the rule of King Louis XVI and his ways and actions. There were also factors having to do with the Three Estates and France’s struggling financial issues. The next category was economic. The economic causes of the revolution had to do with the way France spent their money and how the royals used it. Finally, the social factors had the most impact on the people. It had to with the shortages of food and effected a large percent of the population. However, there seems to be a recurring issue throughout each of these categories, which may be the reason why the revolution finally broke out in France. The French Revolution finally broke out because of the people, their actions and the conditions they were faced with in France at the time.

The meeting of the Estates General was called by the King because France was going through a financial crisis. In this meeting the estates tried to come up with ideas to get out of debt, mostly by raising taxes. The three estates were the clergy, the nobles, and the commoners. To decide, the estates used voting by order which

Economics also played an important role in the French Revolution. In France there was an abundance of debt and taxation. The French monarchy managed their fiscal affairs by using an unequal system of taxation, borrowing money, or selling noble titles and other privileges. This led to a long running fiscal debt. France could not solely rely on tariffs to generate income. Although other countries had higher taxation rates, the burden on the common people was greater in France. Peasants and other third estates were taxed harshly which in good times was burdensome and in bad times it was devastating. Nobility and clergy were exempted from paying taxes. This left the peasants, wage earners, and the professional and business classes with the burden of taxes. This burden caused the unrest, which eventually led to the French Revolution.

Revolution? The major cause of the French Revolution was the disputes between the different types of social classes in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 was one of the most important events in the history of the world. The Revolution led to many changes in France, which at the time of the Revolution, was the most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to the development of new political forces such as democracy and nationalism. It questioned the authority of kings, priests, and nobles. The Revolution also gave new meanings and new ideas to the political ideas of the people.<br><br>The French Revolution was spread over the ten year period between 1789 and 1799. The primary cause of the revolution was the disputes over