The French Revolution

The initial impulse of the French revolution was destructive. For those who lived through all, or even part, of these vast upheavals, the shock was overwhelming. Maximilien Robespierre was a proud disciple of the enlightenment and declared that no political writer had foreseen this revolution. Robespierre (1758-1794) was one of the leaders of the Committee of Public Safety, the effective governing body of France during the most radical phase of the revolution. The leaders of this revolution attempted, perhaps more than any other revolutionary leaders before or since, to totally transform human society in every way. (Supreme Being) Although Robespierre began with patriotic intent he still was the face of the Reign of Terror and was viewed as being a radical person.

After the death of King Lois and Marie Antoinette, there was a 10-month period of violence and rage; this was labeled the “Reign of Terror”. The French people became so lost in their rage that they forgot what they were fighting for. The Revolution became more about revenge than an improved resolution to the monarchy. We would see later that this eventually led them back into a monarchy with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as he conquered France and its surroundings.

There were many causes and different events that lead up to the French Revolution in July 14, 1789. Therefore, having economic conflict being the main cause of the French Revolution there was financial difficulties, debts, and also poor harvest. These all had a huge impact because it led to most people not doing much of their work which caused hunger throughout the French Revolution.

The French revolution started in 1787 and ended in late 1799 with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. This was also known as the Revolution of 1789, the reason it is called that instead of the Revolution of 1787 is because the climax was 1787. Some of the reasons for the French revolution are; international, political conflict, the Enlightenment, social antagonisms among two rising groups: the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, the weak ruler: Louis XVI played a big part in it and economic hardship. The revolution seemed necessary for the idea of the enlightenment era. The main people who the French were trying to meet the ideas were Montesquieu, Voltaire, or Rousseau.

The French and American Revolutions were pivotal in setting up new societies. Economic, social, and political tensions leading up to the revolutions caused citizens to want change in the way their government worked and functioned within society. Those who wanted the most change within the government were called the radicals; those who wanted the least amount of change were called the conservatives (Baradat 19; 24). The amount of change in their government was a part of the political spectrum which grouped events and people into five groups according to how much change they wanted. Both of the changes resulting from the two revolutions can be classified within this political spectrum as well. While the changes in government resulting from

The American Revolution, along with many revolutions occurring throughout Central America, were all directly inspired by the French Revolution of the late 1700’s. Evidence of this can be seen simply by looking back at world history. History shows that many philosophies of the American Revolution were actually ideas that either closely parallel or are directly taken from the writing of various French scholars, such as Voltaire and The Baron De Montesquieu. The very essence of American politics, Democracy, is in actuality, a French concept as well. Democracy was originally created following the French Revolution to replace the Monarchy.

For my book review, I have read and evaluated Sylvia Neely’s history book entitled A Concise History of the French Revolution published in 2007 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Neely’s purpose is to gives an overview of the French revolution with the most important events, the most prominent people and the essential terms. We can see that the author proved her thesis by explaining the background causes of the revolution such as the ancient regime with Louis XVI. Also she described all important events in chronological orders which made it easier for the reader to understand. Neely’s book is at the same time an history book, but also an kind of encyclopedia because she included all essentials terms which were use during that time period, such as “dérogeance”, which means the loss of nobility.

The Enlightenment was a period of great thinkers trying to solve the world’s mistakes with logic. Their ideas eventually affected later Revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were very inspiring around the world.

The reign of the terror set the stage for Napoleon’s rule. Maximilien Robespierre led radicals in their attempt to turn France into a “Republic of Virtue” and completely eradicate monarchy and the Catholic Church (Lyons, 1994). Anyone who opposed or was suspected of opposing the revolution faced the wrath, referred to as the guillotine and which was granted on orders from the “Committee of Public Safety.” During the “Reign of Terror” that lasted between 1973 and 1974, there were thousands of people who lost their lives until the terror ended with the execution of its perpetrator, Robespierre. After that, moderate and conservative leaders took control of power in France and formed a

America and France are two of the most famous countries on earth. They are first-world nations sitting at the forefront of this century. In order to achieve this, both had to endure periods of revolution and social restructuring. The American and French revolutions took place within forty years of each other, giving rise to these changes. A major catalyst for both revolutions lay in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. People of all social classes were beginning to protest the weight of absolute monarchy. From these two country’s revolutions came three documents that attested to these ideas. America’s Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen cried that all of Mankind was equal. No man should rule with unconditional authority. These two revolutions had much in common, including the eventual outcome of the revolutions. The differences between the two lay in geography, social changes, and the actions the revolutionists committed.

In this Reacting to the Past game, I learned valuable information about the French Revolution. I feel that it was a highly educational experience and I would certainly play it again if given the opportunity. While the contextual information of the game did follow fairly closely to the history of France during the Revolution, some of the actions we took as characters in the National Assembly were mildly off from what actually occurred in real life. As an indeterminate character, I was able to play a bit of all sides, from the conservative side, to the Feuillant, and even a bit of the Jacobin. This position was what allowed me to research and see the issues of the French Revolution from a number of different views.

During the eighteenth century there was one central political cause for the French Revolution. King Louis XVI was a weak ruler who endured a lavish lifestyle. He disregarded the people’s needs, leaving much of the French population in discontent. Prior to the revolution the form of government was Absolute monarchy led by Louis XVI. The problem with absolute monarchy was that people were denied basic rights, and a say in government because the divine right theory was abused. The King ruled by the divine right of theory which

Prior to 1798, the French Government was lackadaisical and had a leader that often ignored his responsibilities as king, thus leaving an oppressed and poor populace that had to fend for themselves. Born in 1754, King Louis himself was a horrible leader that lacked the skill in properly making decisions. He came into power in

Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout world history. With the amount of revolutions in history, there are those that get lost and those that are the most remembered or well known. One of the well known revolutions is the French Revolution which occurred in the years 1789 to 1799. Before the French Revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, this meaning that one ruler had the supreme authority and that said authority was not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs, a definition given by wikipedia.com and the feudal system, which was a system that said a peasant or worker would receive a piece of land in return for serving under a king, a definition given by vocabulary.com. Those who opposed the, then

As a result of the radical French Revolution, many new changes ensued such as the establishing of a republic, the collapse of the Ancien Régime, and the weakening of the Coalition. After the royal family was found trying to escape to Austria in Varennes, they were seen as traitors to France and put on trial. At Louis’ execution, “The executioners seized him, the knife struck him, his head fell at fifteen minutes after ten. The executioners seized it by the hair, and showed it to the multitude, whose cries of ‘Long live the Republic!’ resounded to the very bosom of the Convention...” The execution of the king and queen allowed for the monarchy in France to be abolished. This resulted in the commoners developing France into a republic that was more civil and democratic. Furthermore, the executions permitted members of the Third Estate to abolish the social structures of the Ancien Régime. In order to overturn the system of the Ancien Régime, “The National Assembly hereby completely abolishes the feudal system. It decrees that, among the existing rights and dues, both feudal and censuel, all those originating in or representing real or personal serfdom shall be abolished without indemnification.” Abolishing feudalism allowed for the Third Estate to no longer be under the control of the upper-class nobles, and prevented peasants from being bought and sold with the land. This gave the nobles less power over the Third Estate and gave its members more freedom in the workplace. The