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The French Revolution, which began in 1789 and ended in 1799, affected France not only politically, but also economically. During the 18th century, France was a vast and flourishing country that had troubles such as the systemic problem of collecting taxes or the treatment of the high to low system. France had a system with kings and nobles, also known as the Ancien Regime. In 1789, France was deeply in debt due to their funding of the American Revolution. Louis XVI spent half of his national budget to service the federal debt. Louis XVI tried to reform this system but failed miserably and France basically declared bankrupt. Everyone tried to reform the problems that were occurring but all they did was cause more problems to France. The harsh …show more content…
The first estate (1% of pop.) and the second estate (2.5% of pop.) were comprised of the upper class: the nobility and clergy. The third estate (96% of pop. 27 million) was comprised of: Bourgeoisie, peasants, and the city workers. They were all different from each other because the upper classes did not have to pay taxes and had all the advantages, while the hardest working, and poorer ones barely had any say in anything. The middle class (Bourgeoisie) were mainly doctors, lawyers, bankers, and the city workers who became known as Sun Culottes because of the way they were dressed. San Culottes, also part of the third estate saw their lives disappearing and that the nobles and clergies weren’t treated like the third estate. The Directory was a group run by bourgeois liberals (5 men) who practiced executive power during 1795-1799 of the French Revolution. It was a more organized government as opposed to the Reign of Terror. There were two political groups of the French Revolution: the Girondins and the Jacobins. Jacobins were the ones who wanted radical change and the Girondins were the ones who wanted conservative change. Both were a bit more wealthy than the third estate, but not as wealthy as the first two estates. Peasants couldn’t afford to become a member of the Jacobins. Jacobins supported the revolution, wanted a …show more content…
The third estate showed up with about 600 representatives and the first and second with about 300 representatives. After several votes, nothing changed so the third estate moved to the Tennis Oath Court to create their own new constitution. The representatives of first two estate opposed this suggestion as it would lower their political and social prestige, and the king sided with first two estate and close down the proposal. Louis XVI sent troops to Paris, and peasants saw it as a provocation so they stormed the Bastille. The Women’s March on Versailles mostly directed to Queen Antoinette because she spent millions on jewelry, while the peasants barely had enough food to feed their children. The women refused to leave Versailles until the king met their most important demand: to return to Paris. Women were disappointed that the Declaration of the rights of Man did not grant equal citizenship to them. Peasants were angry because nobles were trying to reimpose medieval dues. The peasants were angered and rallied against the nobles. Grain prices went up, and people who worked had to spend 80% of their income on

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