Essay On The French Revolution

The French Revolution Essay example
The French Revolution
The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe
it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major
significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution
also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first,
Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both
had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's
human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only
France but for most...show more content...
He also began one of the bloodiest periods in French history, the Reign of Terror. During the Reign
of Terror, more than 30,000 people were executed, mainly for opposing Robespierre's views. Late
in 1794, Robespierre was put to death and a new leader was looked for; this of course turned out
to be Napoleon. With many conquered lands under his belt by 1798, Napoleon had a huge
following and planned a coup d'etat. On November 18, 1799, Napoleon became the First Consul
of France, or in his mind the dictator. Napoleon then crowned himself Emperor in 1804 and
conquered many countries including Austria, Prussia, and Russia in 1805,06, and 07 respectively.
Such a strong ruler is bound to fall eventually, this happened in 1815 with his death. Even with the
many improvements to the country of France in the late 1700's and early 1800's, some still believe
that the French Revolution was not worth it's human costs. Detailed below are two opposing
viewpoints on the topic. Peter Krapotkin, a revolutionary Russian prince, argues that the French
Revolution paved the way for expansion and democratic growth. Krapotkin's first argument is that
the French monarchy before the Revolution deprived the lower class citizens of food and
necessities. There was a shortage of food at the time, and the prices were too high for the lower
class to afford. The monarchy also taxed the lower class, which made it even harder for them to
afford the food that they needed. During the
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The French Revolution Essay
The French Revolution Why was there a French Revolution? This is a question of continual
interests not only to professors and philosophers, but to everybody who takes an interests in the
history of the world. Genuinely, therefore, it is also a subject of much contention. The statement
citing the fundamental cause of the French Revolution as the collision between a powerful rising
Bourgeoisie and an ingrained aristocracy, defending its privileges it had for centuries, has great
relevance in reiterating the great conflict of 1789. However, it was the financial debt of the
government, and the financial crisis it caused, which was at root of the actual course to revolution.
Many factors played a role in the economic...show more content...
They had the right to ascendancy on public occasions, the right to exercise seigniorial rights over
most of the lands they did not own, the right to wear a sword in public, and, most importantly, the
exemption from taxes. The third estate could have been broken down into two categories. One was
a new middle class that emerged during the Louis XVI era, called the Bourgeoisie. The rest of the
estate were poor peasants and artisans that –3– made up about ninety–six percent of France's entire
population. The Bourgeoisise were highly educated bankers and investors, or other business elites.
They made their money in refining and processing plants, finance and insurance, and other
advanced industries. A good share of the nation's debt was due to the uneven taxation of the estates.
The nobles were exempt from the main direct tax, or taille, as were the clergy. That meant most of
the burden lay on the third estate, who also possessed the least amount of wealth. The Bourgeois
were wealthy and were able to afford such taxation, but nonetheless, their aim was civil equality and
to destroy the tax privileges of the nobility and clergy. The peasants, too, were laden with extensive
amounts of taxation that was nearly impossible for them to pay. Burrowing France deeper into debt
and economic crisis was the persistent drought followed by massive storms, ravaging the

Essay on The French Revolution
Creating a new Society
14 July 1789 to 9 Thermidor II,(27 July 1794) (snapshot Napoleonic France 1804)
According to Joseph Weber, foster brother of Queen Antoinette, there were three primary causes of
the French revolution 'the disorder of the finances, the state of mind, and the war in America.' The
'disorder in the finances' acknowledged that the bankruptcy of the monarchy opened the doors to
defiance of the King's authority. The greatest single cause of the revolution was the economic crisis,
which forced the King to recall the redundant Estates General which had not been called since 1614,
which opened the debate for people to make complaints with the current system through the cahiers
of the three Estates. The 'state of mind'...show more content...
In the Ancien Regime authority had been deriven from g–d and the king.
** The Declaration primarily appealed to bourgeois (and nobility) spread to proletariat via
propaganda
(see Townson pg.43)
POWER STRUCTURE – NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY (June 1789– 30 September
1792)
– deputies based the writing of the constitution on the Declaration of Rights of man
– deputies saw the reluctance of the King to accept the changes that were taking place
– and decided that he should have a suspensive veto
– *at this point no one considered abolishing the monarch completely and setting up a republic
– it was decided that Legislative power reside in the National Assembly
– over the next year went about reorganising French govt., laws, finances, and economy
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
– deputies wanted to make sure power was decentralised, passing from the central govt. in Paris to
local authorities
– making it more difficult for King to recover the power he had before
– wanted the elected representatives to be responsible to those who elected them
– already the principles of the Declaration of Rights were being undermined, as citizens were
divided into 'active' and 'passive' citizens.
– Only active citizens who paid the equivalent of three days' labour in taxes, voted for the
municipal officials, those who did not earn that amount from wages were not allowed to vote and
known as 'passive'
–

Essay on The French Revolution
Before the French Revolution, France was ruled and governed by the king, his Grand Council of
ministers, and 13 courts called parliaments. King Louis XVI ruled by "divine right," believing that
he had been put on the throne by the grace of God. France then was one of the most powerful and
wealthiest countries, and had a strong army, and even stronger cultural influence. (Plain, 5) Louis
XVI and his wife Marie–Antoinette were shielded from the daily lives of the ordinary people in
France. When Louis XVI inherited the throne in 1774, he also inherited many problems left behind
by the previous king, King Louis XV. The country had been involved in the Seven Years War, also
known as the French and Indian War, and was left with many debts of the...show more content...
King Louis XVI wanted to increase trade with America, and wanted revenge against the British for
beating them in the Seven Year's war. After the American Revolution, many Parisians were
fascinated by Benjamin Franklin, the American Ambassador to France. Franklin told of the new
American Republic, where representatives obeyed the will of the people. Talk about similar change
spread through France.
Louis XVI tried to make reforms by ending the corvГ©e in many provinces, and outlawed the use
of torture to gain information. He also granted more rights to Protestants and Jews living in
France, and allowed more freedom of press. However, it was becoming harder and harder to
govern with a stubborn parliament. In order to pay off debts, Louis tried to impose a tax on all
landowners, not just the Third Estate. The parliament of Paris claimed that only a special assembly
could approve a tax, an assembly that hasn't been called in over 170 years, the Estates–General. (
French RevolutionВІ, 2) The Estates–General was an assembly where representatives of the three
Estates could discuss what to do. Through May and into June 1789, the representatives argued about
how many votes each Estate should have. The First and Second Estates bent the rules to their
advantage, saying that each Estate should have only one vote, ensuring that they would win any
conflict two to one. The Third Estate wanted a system of majority votes, since it would give it the
most say. On Jun 17, the Third Estate

The French Revolution was a period of time from 1789 to 1799 in France where there was political
instability. It officially began on the 14th of July, 1789, when the Bastille, which was a symbol of
the King's harsh policies, was stormed. The King, Louis XVI, the Queen, Marie–Antoinette and
about 40,000 people were all brutally murdered. But there was also a positive side, the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and Citizen was formally adopted on August 1789 and feudalism was
abolished. This essay will address the issues of the three estates system, food shortages and the
fiscal crisis. It will also be argued that the most significant cause of the French Revolution was the
social inequality that stemmed from the three estates system....show more content...
The majority were already struggling with the cost of living, and the addition of extra taxes caused it
to be near impossible for them to survive financially. This angered the third estate, and provided an
incentive for the revolution. Therefore, it is evident that the social inequality that derived from the
three estates system was the most significant cause of the French Revolution.
Secondly, the food shortages and prices were a highly influential cause of the French Revolution.
The third estate had to pay the gabelle, which was extremely expensive (Hetherton). Salt was an
essential commodity that was not only used for seasoning but to preserve meats and vegetables for
the cold season (Hills). When the peasantry could not afford the gabelle, they starved during the
winter. This was especially significant during the winters of 1769, 1776, 1780–1783 and 1788, when
there were heavy hailstorms and treacherously cold temperatures (Martin). This meant that there
were several crop failures that impacted foods such as corn and grain (Ashwell). As a result, the crop
failures caused prices of bread and vegetables to increase 9–fold and 6–fold respectively (Martin).
Furthermore, the glacial weather caused several supply routes to freeze and close down. For
example, the rivers Yonne and Oise were specifically used for supplying meat, so when they became
unavailable to merchants, the price of meat escalated 10–fold (Martin). This meant that only those
who could

The French Revolution
The French Revolution last from 1789 to 1799. This war had many causes that began the revolution.
Its causes ranged from the American Revolution, the economic crisis in France, social injustices to
the immediate causes like the fall of Bastille, the Convening of he Estate–General, and the Great
Fear. As a result of this revolution there many effects , immediate and long term. The immediate
effects were the declaration of rights of man, abolishing of olds reign, execution of king and queen,
the reign of terror, and war and forming of the citizen–army. The long term effects were the rise of
Napoleon, spread of revolutionary ideas, growth of nationalism, and the conservative reaction.
The contributing factors to...show more content...
In this way the privileged classes had combined to outvote the third estate, which included more than
90 percent of the population. Another cause was the fall of Bastille. The falling of the Bastille
marked a turning point–attempts at reform had become a full–scale revolution. One of the causes
was the economic problems of many common people had become worse, because poor weather
conditions had ruined the harvest. As a result, the price of bread, the most important food of the
poorer classes had increased. Violence grew in both the cities and the countryside during the
spring and summer. While hungry artisans revolted in urban areas, starved peasants searched the
provinces for food and work. These vagrants were rumored to be armed agents of landlords hired
to destroy crops and harass the common people. Many rural peasants began to panic, known as the
Great Fear. They attacked the homes of their landlords to protect local grain supplies and reducing
rents on their land. Also Lewis XVI gave in so reluctantly, for example, taking months to approve the
Declaration of Rights, which made hostility of the crown only increased.
The immediate effects of the French Revolution Was the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This was
one of the most constructive achievements of the French Revolution. The Rights of Man said that
there would be equality of all persons before the law; equitable taxation; protection against loss of
property through arbitrary

Essay On The French Revolution

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