...The French Revolution was a very important event in the history of the world. France was under a feudal-like system called “The Old Regime”, and it consisted of 3 estates. The 1st and 2nd estates were the richest while the 3rd estate consisted of the middle class and the poor. The 3rd estate is the one that started the French Revolution. The most important causes of the French Revolution were the lack of power for the third estate, the over taxation, and the ideas of the American Revolution. One of the most important causes of the French Revolution was the lack of political power for the 3rd estate. Before the French Revolution, the 3rd estate had almost no political power. It can be speculated that the lack of political influence was the...
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...Regeneration of French Society The Regeneration of French Society came from the revolutionaries’ aggravation with the government of France. King Louis XVI was an incompetent and ineffective ruler. The Monarchy and nobility engaged in political conflict over reform of the tax system, leading France to bankruptcy. In order to regenerate French society the revolutionaries had to reform the main leading figure and symbol of power, King Louis XVI and the absolute monarchy. Although the revolutionaries at first did not intentionally try to inspire nationalist symbols from the events of the French Revolution, the republican ideals of liberty, freedom, and equality that arose from the fighting, nevertheless came to be embodied in French art as powerful symbols that helped to further drive the revolution. The events of the French Revolution were not intended to create nationalist symbols, and only later developed symbolic significance, they were at the time rational acts in attempt to reach a goal. Nevertheless, paintings of the events reinforced republican ideals and symbolism and artwork became a visual aid to the revolution. The artwork was a way for the revolutionaries to visually express nationalism and their goals in a coterminous fashion, combining the two and linking them. French art in a way advertised the revolutionary ideals and the events which publicized the French Revolution. In July 1788 the announcement that the king was going to make the Estates General caused...
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...terror of the guillotine – the French Revolution has all of the ingredients of an engrossing drama. Yet to delve beneath the surface of these characters and symbols is to discover the complexity of this transformative era. The events of the French Revolution, transpiring over the span of a decade, were part of a grander Age of Revolutions and at the same time were comprised of a series of smaller stories of individual French citizens becoming politically engaged amidst tremendous poverty, intellectual transformation, and ultimately... violence. A combination of factors including rising expectations spurred by the Enlightenment, massive starvation, and frustration with the mismanagement of an inept monarchy pushed the Revolution’s initial aims. These aims were worn down as political conflicts splintered revolutionary groups and led to a frenzy of executions by guillotine. The special two-hour presentation, The French Revolution, peels through the layers of these remarkable years, from 1789 through the turn of a new century, to reveal an era of intense and lasting political and intellectual change. While the complexity of the French Revolution might seem to present daunting challenges, its significance in shaping international currents merits a careful exploration. Within the course of a decade, the French monarchy was shorn of its political power, a framework was created for a universal understanding of basic human and civil rights, and countless French citizens across class backgrounds...
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...There are five causes, four stages and two relevant effects for the French Revolution, the causes are: Absolute Monarchism, Social Inequality, Economic Injustice,Enlightenment and Others Revolutions. The stages are: Tennis Court Oath, The Great Fear, The Reign of Terror and The Moderation, and the relevant effects was: The Spread of the Idea of a Democratic Government, and Nationalism.Napoleon also help to the stages. The French Revolution started at 1789 and ended in 1799. The first cause was Absolute Monarchism. The Absolute Monarch created by king Louis was, when the king and the queen have all power and everyone else, also called as stage three do not has any power, the people do not have any choice, for what the king going to do to the country. The second cause was the Social Inequality, this was how they were separate in order of importance, like first estate, second estate and third estate. The first estate was the clergy, the second estate was nobility and the third estate was everyone else, in the third estate there was Bourgeoisie, that are peoples that work, like the middle class, the small business people, artisans and others jobs. The third cause was Economic Inequality (Economic Injustice), that was because the first and second estate do not pay any tax and the third estate, that was...
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...The French Revolution, an uprising against the monarch in 1789, was caused by a series of events and matters throughout the 1700s. The third estate was extremely unhappy with the way they were being treated; many were left with little food and a low income yet had to pay extremely high taxes. The second and third estates had special privileges like not having to pay taxes and getting rewarded with a share of the peasant’s harvest. In addition, the Nobles lived in the Palace of Versailles with the king and got payed. Whilst the second and first estates were being rewarded for the little actions they had done, the third estate was being punished for working very hard and trying to provide for themselves. Since the third estate was 98 percent...
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...Revolutions such as the American Revolution and the French Revolution are often referred to as major turning points in history. These revolutions have left lasting impacts on countless nations and regions worldwide. Revolutions represent major changes in a society, government systems and the economic lives of the people impacted. The French Revolution, which began in 1789 and lasted until 1814, set into a motion a course of revolutions that impacted not only the people of France but other groups around the world seeking independence and changes in their government. There were many causes of the French Revolution. One cause of the French Revolution was that King Louis the XVI could imprison anybody for however long he felt, and did not have...
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...Causes of the French revolution The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France contributed to the discontent felt by many French people-especially those of the third estate. The ideas of the Enlightenment brought new views to government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the French Revolution. The political dissatisfaction of France was one of the causes of the Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, France was ruled by an absolute government. The king had all the political powers. Anyone who criticized the government could be arrested and put in prison without trial. Louis XVI was king at the time of the French Revolution. He was more interested in hunting than governing France. He and his Austrian queen, Marie Antoinette, lived an extravagant life at the Palace of Versailles. They did not really care about the state of their country. The people of the 3rd estate felt a sense of betrayal when the king supported the block voting over the head voting. The first two estates worked together to outvote the large third estate to keep them from becoming a threat to the power. An Englishmen, states that the monarchy being overthrown wasn't the spark of the Revolution. He recognizes the American Independence as the spark of the French Revolution. The French government was inefficient, unjust and corrupt. There were numerous government departments, different laws in different parts of the country and...
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...The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France contributed to the discontent felt by many French people-especially those of the third estate. The ideas of the intellectuals of the Enlightenment brought new views to government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the coming of the French Revolution. The Philosophes planted the seeds for the French Revolution. Their goals were to expose and destroy the inequalities of the ancient regime (old order). The political discontent of France was one of the causes of the Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, France was ruled by an absolute government. The king had all the political powers. Anyone who criticized the government could be arrested and put in prison without trial. Louis XVI was king at the time of the French Revolution. He was more interested in hunting than governing France. He and his Austrian queen, Marie Antoinette, lived an extravagant life at the Palace of Versailles. They did not really care about the state of their country. The excerpt from the cahiers mentioned in document 3 shows that the votes in the assembly were not taken by head. The people of the 3rd estate felt a sense of betrayal when the king supported the block voting over the head voting. The first two estates worked together to outvote the large third estate to keep them from becoming a threat to the power. Lord Acton, an Englishmen, states that the monarchy being overthrown...
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...Document #3 “What is the Third Estate?” Ana Fajardo Acosta York College History 100 The Sole Body of The Nation “He is a peasant, he is a doctor and him over there, he is a merchant, they are all part of The Third Estate, and I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either," he said after he looked at my confused face. Before the revolution, French society was divided into three estates or orders. The Third Estate was by far the largest of these, “containing around 27 million people or 98 percent of the nation” (Llewellyn & Thompson 2016). The Third Estate included every French citizen who did not possess a noble title and this one was marked by its diversity because of the many different classes and levels such as, wealth, professions, and even ideas. It ranged from beggars and struggling peasants to the nation's wealthiest merchants and capitalists. Well, you start asking yourself what was the difference between stages? Easy, the privileges. Privileges like not paying taxes and let's be serious, nowadays people would do anything to not pay taxes, can you imagine back there, where the economy was not as abundant and advanced as it is today?. Historians continue to debate the nature of the bitter political division of the French Revolution, they believe that one of the reasons the French Revolution started was because of the dissatisfaction of members of the Third Estate, who wanted an equal distribution of wealth and power. The First Estate was the clergy, who were...
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...Writing Assignment The French Revolution in 1789 came as a surprise to many people during that time. For a country with such absolute Monarchy and was advanced in every single way comparing to other European countries, revolution is something that no one would expect. However, some Primary Sources clearly shows evidence of the need for revolution among the commoners in France. Some factors that had caused the idea of rebellion include a king that’s completely incompetent, the bankruptcy in the country and hope of liberty after seeing the success of American Revolution. In the end it is the eager for freedom and anger towards high taxes in the third estate that finally led France into the great revolution. In Arthur Young’s travel diaries, he stressed a few key circumstances that led to the outbreak of French Revolution. In his opinion, the French Revolution was not so much a surprise and the seeds of revolution had been spread and deeply ingrained in the French long ago. First, he pointed out the long unsolved financial problem that had been bothering the nation. However, the king in throne does not have the knowledge to solve such crisis nor do the court that immersed themselves in pleasure. On top of the financial crisis, the commoners wanted for some immediate change but do not know what to look up to and hope for. I think what Young is trying telling us is that the root to the revolution is the mass bankruptcy in the country. The king could have solved this primary crisis...
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...the French Revolution The French Revolution of 1789 was major turning point in European history because it redefined the image of nation in a way never seen before as the people gained political control over their own nation. Therefore the aspects of this revolution have been debated as the beginning concept of “modern history.” This concept is derived from how the French Revolution demonstrated the will of the citizens as a political entity that could dictate governmental change by showing how the people, not the monarchy, could reform a nation. Through the establishment of a new government by the people, new institutions and policies were developed that the world we live as modern; such innovations included a system of power based on wealth and status instead of birth, and a new state bureaucracy. The ideas that drove the revolution came from the innovative thinkers of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment, and inspired the people of France to question those who reigned over them. While the events of the French Revolution transformed France, the reign of Napoleon turned the revolution into a European event by sparking revolution in countries that had not already. Napoleon’s conquests helped spread the mind set created in the French Revolution around Europe. The French Revolution marked the beginning of “modern history,” because the revolutionary ideas that it created sparked the creation of citizen-governed nations across Europe. One of the aspects of the French Revolution...
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...In this essay, I will be tracing the development of the French Revolution and its impact by examining the following four phases (all of which led to the development of the other), Constitutional Monarchy/The National Assembly (1789-1791), The Reign of Terror (1792-1794), The Directory (1795-1799), and The Age of Napoleon (1799-1815). In this essay I argue that the French Revolution was caused by the worsening condition of the French monarchy, economic depression, and New Ideas of the Enlightenment Movement and the French Revolution resulted in radical social, economic, and political change throughout France. A Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen acts as Head of State. The ability to make and pass...
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...To what extent was the French Revolution of 1789 a bourgeois revolution? The French Revolution was a revolutionary movement which signified the end of the ancien régime and the increase of the ‘bourgeois’ class. However, it is still a long debated topic of interest when it comes to the idea if the French revolution was a bourgeois revolution or did other events come into play. Throughout 1787 and 1789 ‘one step led to another through a series of moves and counter-moves that later proved to have been an escalation’ of problems already highlighted earlier on in the history of France. To begin with, we analysis the idea presented in the original question of to what extent was the French revolution of 1789 a bourgeois revolution. When it comes to the events that led to the French Revolution ‘the origins must therefore be sought not merely in the general conditions of Europe, but in the specific situation of France’. This was due to the ongoing conflict between the ‘vested interests of the old régime and the new rising social forces’ which were much more prominent in France. These new rising social forces are more than likely the bourgeois class so this clearly highlights the fact that the French revolution was indeed to with if not caused by the bourgeois. It has also be stated that the French revolution was purely down to an uprising which instated the ideology and literally actions which allowed the ‘middle class to assume power by overthrowing the political and social order...
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...The French Revolution was a period of time in France when the people overthrew the monarchy and took control of the government. It began on July 14, 1789. Before the French Revolution, the people of France were divided into social groups called "Estates." The First Estate included the clergy (church leaders), the Second Estate included the nobles, and the Third Estate included the commoners. Most of the people were members of the Third Estate. The Third Estate paid most of the taxes, while the nobility lived lives of luxury and got all the high-ranking jobs. Extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his predecessor had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. In 1789, the French government was in a major financial crisis. The...
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...The Estates General in 1789 The summoning of the estates general was one of the largest and most impactful events in the history of the french revolution. The summoning of the estates general, in fact is the event that sparked the flame that would soon become the revolution that would change the nation. In this essay I will discuss this event, in terms of why this summoning was called, what happened during the summoning, and how it turned out for everyone involved. How this event played out is vital to understanding the history of france, as well as the history of europe as a whole. Why was the estates general summoned? The estates general was summoned for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons were more impactful than others. First...
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