1. Delaney Caballero<br />Mr. Smith<br />AP World History<br />9 December 2010<br />Causes of the French Revolution<br />The French Revolution was one of the most influential events in history. The government was torn down and rebuilt many times over and throughout it all, some of the most important documents in history were written. The major contributing factors that caused the French Revolution were intellectual growths, political and social, and economic problems. The immediate cause of the Revolution was the country’s financial crisis. <br />The French Revolution was caused intellectually because the growing middle class was well read in the Enlightenment ideas of the philosophes and they were aware of the positive result of the American Revolution. After learning about Montesquieu’s idea of a separation of powers and Rousseau’s idea that the government should reflect the general will of the people, the bourgeoisie had many thoughts of a new structure of government. The stories of the American Revolution provided physical proof that a successful revolution could be achieved. <br />The political and social causes of the French Revolution are related to the structure of the Old Regime and the bourgeoisie’s dissatisfaction with their place in France’s social pyramid. The bourgeoisie were at the top of the pyramid in the Third Estate in the Old Regime. The bourgeoisie wanted to be given their share of political and social power. The group beneath the bourgeoisie, the Sans Cullotte, wanted to change the entire structure of the Old Regime. Not helping the monarchy’s situation, Louis XVI was an indecisive and depressed king that felt very inadequate and projected it through his rulings. <br />The extreme amount of debt that the country was in was a major economic cause of the French Revolution. The French were in so much debt because they took part in a great number of wars such as the War of Devolution with King Louis XIV from 1667-1668 and the Seven Years War with King Louis XV from 1756–63. The aid they provided in the American Revolution drained the treasury that much more. The French were also continuing to pay for the many costs of Versailles. <br />The immediate cause of the French Revolution was due to the fact that the economy was crumbling and the government was in a state of crisis. Periodic droughts caused bad crop harvests, sending the cost of food prices so high that peasants and poor city dwellers were in a state of hunger. The treasury was bankrupt and the government did not react well to this. The government set even higher taxes that the people could not pay and the nobility blocked reforms. <br />The French Revolution is a very important event in the history of Europe. There were many things that caused the French Revolution. The influence of the Enlightenment, a dated social pyramid, , governmental debt, and a failing economy were the major contributing factors. The revolution was immediately caused by France’s failing economy.<br />