French Revolution and Napoleonic Era Essay
By: Danny Buck
October 31, 2014
Mr. Murphy

French Revolution and Napoleonic Era Essay In this essay I am going to attempt to explain how certain ideas and ideals affected the French Revolution and its participants. The world had already under gone political changes by the time that the French Revolution came along. The United States had declared its independence from Great Britain and had fought a war of independence. Great Britain has been governed mostly by parliament since the 1700’s. As I understand it, parliament has grown stronger over the years and the monarchy has grown weaker. It was now France’s turn at independence and democracy. However that did not happen for a while. Their first step was getting rid of the monarchy.
Liberty
Liberty means being free and not being bound by the old ways and the old ideas. By the time of the French Revolution, the people were ready for liberty. Many philosophers for years had written about liberty and other ideas that rejected the feudal system and keeping people in bondage. The Age of Enlightenment had come to Europe and the old systems of power and faith were changing. Since the 1650’s philosophers had been writing about new ideas and new ways of thinking and the people of France finally embraced those ideas near the end of the eighteenth century. The French people were suffering in poverty and they realized the power of the monarchy was keeping them that way and that life had so much more to offer. France had suffered through wars and poverty and oppression from the church and the monarchy and the people were ready for the change that was coming. (CBS NEXT, 2014)
(Equality)
It seems that many classes of people in France had suffered at the hands of the nobility and the clergy. Taxes were not equal and they were enforced upon those least able to pay. The church was not a benevolent institution, but an institution that persecuted the people with the demand for money. The people really were in a struggle trying to live and to pay their taxes. Taxes were not equal either. The poor paid more and certain regions of the country paid more. Many people from all over Europe came to America to escape to better lives and living conditions. One of these conditions included bad harvests, which meant that food was scarce and high priced. The people saw that the rich seemed to prosper and had all the trappings of wealth while the poor man was sinking lower. The people thought that the Roman Catholic Church had too much influence over their daily lives. France also had a financial crisis due to all the debt from the wars that it had been involved in and there didn’t seem to be any way out. The people realized there was a better way of life and they wanted it. Even though there were many poor people, there was also a middle class that was growing that wanted change. (Social Inequality-The Major Cause of the French Revolution, 2014) (Brotherhood) This used to be referred to as fraternity but I think brotherhood explains it better. To me, this word means a group of people working toward a common goal. It also means that many people were working together to achieve a different life for the people of France. There was inspiration in numbers and comfort in numbers. One person could not achieve what several people could do together. They worked together and they stormed the Bastille as a defiance of the rule of the monarchy. The idea of brotherhood would bind together the people of France to reach the common goal of freedom and a better life. Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood was a popular slogan during the French Revolution and it brought people together many people for a common purpose. (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, 2014) (Hubris) “Hubris describes Napoleon Bonaparte he was overbearing, self confident and because he was not born of noble birth he would have never achieved his place in the military if it had not been for that.”(Studymode,2014) Napoleon was what many generals in history have been. He was totally focused on his goals and determined to reach them. I do believe that hubris also applies to the monarchy in France that was ruling by divine right. Louis VVI felt he could do no wrong and therefore had no regard for anyone but himself and others like him. Napoleon was arrogant and Louis was arrogant and there were many others that could have been considered arrogant during this time. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014) (Fiscal Irresponsibility) France was heavily in debt in the time leading up to the French Revolution. The French involvement in the American Revolution and the Seven Years War had cost a great amount of money. The king ruled by absolute rule and divine right. The people had no input in government operations. There were few universal laws that were used by the entire country. The monarchy and clergy that collected taxes used the money for their own purposes. There were also expenses such as the army and navy to maintain and the expenses of maintaining the life styles and property of the monarchy. Louis had appointed an advisor to make an accounting of the taxes and money and Charles de Calonne tried to make the nobleman see that there needed to be a change with more revenue coming in but they refused. France also could not borrow money from European banks because the banks would not loan it to them. The financial advisor was dismissed and the monarchy, the noblemen and the church ignored the unhappiness of the people. (Spark Notes, 2014) (Democracy) Democracy had spread to America and France had given America aid and support during this time. A decade later people in France wanted the same. They were tired of the monarchy and high taxes and bad treatment. They wanted a better life. They wanted liberty and equality which we have already discussed. The middle class was growing In France. This was a group with money and some education and no power. They were treated the same as the lowest class and they wanted more and better conditions. Great Britain had achieved the kinds of changes that France wanted. “Democracy is perhaps the defining characteristic of modern Western society, but even as late as the nineteenth century it was often viewed with suspicion by many who saw it as akin to anarchy and mob rule. It was not until the French and American revolutions of the eighteenth century that electoral democracy began to gain momentum as a serious force, which was eventually to shape political discourse on a broad, international scale.” (Edelstein, 2014) I think we can safely say the ideas of democracy were important to the French Revolution and the French Revolution was important to the ideas of democracy. (Technology) In researching this, I discovered that the metric system was invented in France during the French Revolution. The metric system is a very important part of society in everywhere but the United States. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014) It is being used more here and an example of this is in tools. I was an automotive machinist for years before I had to give it up. There came a time where I had to purchase metric tools to work on some cars because the standard ones didn’t work. The guillotine was invented by a Frenchman and was made popular by its quick and humane method of death. The guillotine was regarded as an equal way of death for all classes of people in France. (“Guillotine”, 2014) (In Conclusion) The French Revolution was definitely bloody and all the elements that I have mentioned were certainly there. The French were certainly spirited in everything they did and it certainly shows in their policies over the years. I can certainly see a difference between the French, British and Americans. I studied the Americans and British in my last class.

References
CBS NEXT. (2014). Liberty and the French Revolution. Retrieved from http://www.cbsenext.com/cbse-success/liberty-and-the-french-revolution#

Edelstein, M. (2014). The French revolution and the Birth of Electoral Democracy. Retrieved from https://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&pageSubject=318&title_id=10072&edition_id=12895

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2014). The Development and Establishment of the Metric System. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1286365/measurement-system/13618/The-metric-system-of-measurement

(2013, 01). French Revolution. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 01, 2013, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/French-Revolution-1393347.html
Guillotine. (2014). Retrieved from http://guillotine. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved November 2 2014 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/guillotine
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. (2014). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libert%C3%A9,_%C3%A9galit%C3%A9,_fraternit%C3%A9

Louis XVI. (2014). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349122/Louis-XVI

(2011, 08). Social Inequality- the Major Region for French Revolution. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 08, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Social-Inequality-The-Major-Region-For-751163.html

Spark Notes. (2014). The French Revolution/France's Financial Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/section1.html