Robert Reynolds Harbour
Ms. Briscoe
World History
December 6, 2015
The French Revolution took place during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution was inspired by the Americans who fought against Britain’s rule and overcame that government (document 5). Similar to the American Revolution, the French Revolution had similar reasons to revolt against their government. It may be hard to determine the main reasons for the Revolution, but the spark can be narrowed down to three main reasons. The first main reason is the negligence of the king to the civilians and the second is the under-representation of the Third Estate and over taxation, lack of food and the economic hardships. Before the French Revolution took place the people were oppressed by their king, Louis XVI. The irresponsible king did not call upon parliament for advice, instead ignoring Parliament for many years. This rule of no regulation by Louis XVI made the people see how unfair the circumstances were and put their laws and government into perspective for the way they were living. Because of the neglectfulness of the king, the people were left without another power to keep the balance over their neglectful King. Without Parliament’s influence on the King, the third estate was accessed unfair
…show more content…
The lowest class or the third estate was compiled of the peasants and poor workers. Theses over taxed workers were the largest estate and because of this their vote was always the most difficult to construct (document 2). Not only the largest estate but also the only class to be taxed (document 1). The Third Estate had a difficult time assembling a consensus among their representatives, making them the least represented class in France. With no power politically the third class was unable to change their way of living and the only way to change the system was to split off and later start to
There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a
The French Revolution was a time of period where social and political was a disruption in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. This time of period affected Social Structure of France prior to the French Revolution. The factors that caused this revolution was due to having a bad government system, weak superiority, and inequality of the classes of people in France during the war. In this research, I will define and explain how Social Structure contributed to the French Revolution Resentment of royal authoritarianism. The three estates that social structure consists of are first estate which are the clergies, second estate known as the Nobleman, and third estate which are the Bourgeoisie, peasants, and workers. The Revolution did not omit sharp distinctions among the social groups, neither did it alter the distribution of wealth. This caused them to divide into these three groups called as estates.
During the 1700s, France’s government was run by a three system estate system. The First Estate was made up by the powerful clergy members, while the Second Estate was made with nobles. Peasants and working men made the Third Estate, also the largest estate. In this large estate there was a little class named the Bourgeoisie was a part of the Third Estate. Though the Bourgeoisie was highly educated and always had stable professions, they were not set aside from the peasants. The Third Estate was treated very poorly during the 1700s. Life was not suitable for the working class. The mistreatment and inequality led to the French Revolution. Inequality during this time period meant that things were not the same throughout each class. Unequal power between the estates, abuse of the Third Estate, and the taxes and price raises were the three reasons that outweighed the many political, social, and economic factors that led to the French Revolution.
The 3 main causes if the French revolution are social classes , Enlightenment Ideas, and a financial crisis in France. Social classes and Enlightenment Ideas caused the French Revolution because it was the 1st and 2nd estate controlling everything. They owned all the land and put it on the 3rd estate like taxes. Enlightenment Ideas helped cause the French Revolution because the 3rd estate got ideas from England and America revolting against their leaders in government and making a new government. These 3 causes gave the people of France ideas to have basic human rights.
The third estate’s citizens had the lowest income in France, yet they were the ones who were supporting the government. The burden of the countries taxes was nearly impossible for the third estate to carry. One peasant woman said that the taxes were “crushing” her and her fellow third estate members. (Document 2).The first and second estate made up the wealthiest portion of France, yet they paid next to nothing in taxes. This obviously and rightfully angered members of the third estate. Why should the only people who can afford to pay taxes be exempt from them? This kind of inequality resulted in violence from the third estate. As a form of rebellion, peasants attacked tax collectors whom they owed money. They also burned land registers and court records. This example, along with the formation of the National Assembly show that the first actions of the revolution were a result of not giving the third estate the voice that it’s members felt it
The French Revolution took place during 1789 and 1799 in France. King Louis XIV needed money and passed an unfair tax. There were three Estates; the first; the clergy, the second; the nobles and the third; everyone else. The king did not seek any advice when putting the tax in place which caused a lot of unrest in the third estate. This was one incident that lead up to the French Revolution. The French Revolution was unsuccessful because it did not achieve freedom for the French people and it was bloody.
The Third Estate, treated unfairly in society, became angered and wanted simple equalities that the other Estates had. In
The establishment of the National Assembly that integrated different classes of people into one government signifies the growing public voice in political arena as citizens urged an end to hunger and unfair taxation system. Ever since King XVI summoned the Estates General to tackle the problems of food shortage and economic crisis, the Third Estate, who represented every French except the clergies and the nobles, has been constantly demanding for more voting rights to make people’s hardship known to the king and the other two estates. They thus assembled lists of grievances from citizens throughout France which called for a limit to
In France, the social classes consisted of three estates: First, Second, and Third. The First Estate consisted of the clergy (religious officials), who were considered the highest on the social ladder. They only consisted of .5% of the population yet were the most powerful (Doc. 2). The Second Estate were 1.5% of the population and consisted of nobles who held the top jobs of government, army, and courts (Doc. 2). Finally, The Third Estate were 98% of the population and consisted of the bourgeoisie, or the middle class, and peasants (Doc. 2). When the Estates
What? – The lower classes, which was the Third Estate, revolted against the king and queen, which were an absolute monarchy.
France under the rule of Louis XVI was an absolute monarchy. The country had remained wealthy, but was beginning to crumble under its many financial issues. Both Louis XVI and his predecessor Louis XV had not adopted a financial system that would benefit all the classes of the ancien régime as well as the nation. This in turn, resulted in an uproar among the estates. Moreover, the social classes were divided into three sections, the First Estate, which was the clergy, the Second Estate, which was the nobility, and the Third Estate, which were the bourgeoisie, the peasantry, and, town residents. Due to the fact that the ancien régime had stayed stagnant in changing their financial predicament many issues began to develop, such as the disagreement between the estates and the profound hate towards the king. All these events resulted in the rise of the Third Estate and the end of the Old Regime. This paper will focus on the issues that helped elevate the Third Estate and how they brought about a new form of government.
Each Revolution has its own reasons for starting, but at the same time the reasons are close, if not the same, as the other Revolution. There are many different causes for the French Revolution, a few of them are: debt, the inequality between classes, not enough food for lower classes, high taxes, the ideas of
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.
There were various reasons why the French revolution broke out in 1789 including King Louis’s poor judgement, the structure of the Ancien Regime and the Enlightenment. However, the most important reason was the financial problems of the crown as it put the otherwise “absolute” government in a compromising position in which they appeared weak and ultimately, the 3rd estate used this to their advantage.
The French Revolution caused two relevant effects in France. The first effect was the spread of ideas and democracy. This was when a government represented the third estate’s voices. After this, people could express their ideas and opinions with any problem. The second effect was the growth of nationalism, when cities and people would fight for their country putting their thoughts as if France was more important than their cities and even more important than their own lives. This reunited the estates which made