Free Essays on French Revolution

Analysis of the French Revolution "Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order." Discuss this statement with specific references to the French Revolution. The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class." (Durant, 12) After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a c rowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolutionoriginated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. Thethird estate, especially the pe... Free Essays on French Revolution Free Essays on French Revolution French Revolution France was an absolute monarchy. Louis XIV (1643 – 1715) was the envy of all other rulers in Europe. During his reign he had centralized the government and had encouraged trade and manufacture. His undoing was the long list of over ambitious wars that he had participated in. His successors Louis XV (1715 – 74) and Louis XVI (1774 – 93) also participated in lengthy and costly conflicts. France had suffered defeat in the Seven Years War against Britain (1756 – 63). Her army in Europe was crushed by the Prussians. The involvement in the American Revolution was for revenge against Britain after the Seven Years War. A fatal weakness in the French absolute monarchy system, was its inability to produce strong monarchs. Louise XVI was not strong.( http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/) The population was divided into three estates. The Third Estate was made up of the bourgeoisie, wage earners and the peasantry. They were the majority of the population. The Third Estate was also known as the estate of the commoners. The Second Estate was for the nobility. They numbered 400 000 with most of them being of minor rank. The First Estate comprised the clergy. The Upper Clergy were very wealthy and powerful and therefore they related to the First Estate. The Lower Clergy related more to the Lower Estates. The First Estate numbered around 100 000.The first two states enjoyed privileges over the Third Estate. Although they were the richest, they were exempt from taxes. They were also the only members in society who could hold positions of importance such as Officers in the army. This caused great discontent within the Third Estate.( fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook13.html) There was great need for taxation reform in France before the Revolution. The inefficiency of only taxing the lower estate showed in the Government’s budgets. The Government was experiencing large debts and eventually went Bankrupt. This wa... Free Essays on French Revolution The statement â€Å"The essential cause of the French Revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie, and an entrenched aristocracy defending is privileges,† is correct. The French Revolution occurred because the French middle class wanted change, and the nobles and king did not want the government to change. Before the revolution, the ruling powers in France were the king and nobles. The immediate cause of the revolution was a government in extreme debt. The amount of taxes collected was insufficient because certain groups were exempt from taxes, and the government was corrupt. A proposed solution was to increase tax revenue. This increase in taxes was targeted for the nobles. They rejected this tax increase and demanded that the king summon Parliament. He did. Each group represented had different expectations of the government. While the nobles wanted more power for their group, the bourgeoisie wanted to change the entire system. Because the bourgeoisie were in the minority in Parliament they met separately and called themselves the National Assembly. They agreed not to disband until a new, acceptable constitution was written. This oath by the National Assembly started the revolution. In July of 1789, violence spread throughout France, generally aimed at the nobility. The National Assembly then passed a resolution to end noble knights. The group also passed the â€Å"Declaration of Man and Citizen,† which stated the purpose of the revolution. The king then asked the nobility and the National Assembly to meet with him and help write a new constitution. The new constitution declared that the king’s power was limited to a â€Å"leadership† vote. The constitution created a one-house legislature which made the laws, and ruled France. Therefore, this became the end of feudalism, and made the groups all equal in power. Although France was peaceful again, many people were not happy wit... Free Essays on French Revolution Preface The reason for which I chose this topic to write my historical essay on is because throughout all of the topics that I studied in the course of Western Civilization, the one that stood out the most, caught my attention, and I enjoyed learning about was the French Revolution. Although the French Revolution was not beneficial to everyone, it had a huge impact on industries and commerce at that point and it paved the way for the beginning of the industrial revolution. Throughout the essay there will be various important points about the French Revolution and why or how they affected civilization. The French Revolution was a period of radical change, specifically in the areas of government, the church, the economy and individual rights. Not all social classes agreed on the decisions that were taking place at that point in time, some gained and some lost. In this essay, I will discuss the shift in government from absolutism to a constitutional Monarchy, the churches loss of power, and finally the newly acquired rights of different social classes along with their satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction. When the new constitution was in the process of being put into affect from 1789 to 1791, its main objective was the establishment of the Legislative Assembly, which would create an enormous impact on French society for the years to come. One of the most important changes in the French Revolution was the shift in government from absolutism to a constitutional Monarchy. Before this change was made, the king had â€Å"Absolute† power, and the people obeyed his every command. He enforced rules on matters he knew little about and favoured the higher social classes, in turn causing much suffering for the poor. This new shift in government limited much of the King’s power and gave every citizen a voice. This is the point in time when the declaration of the rights of man and the citizen was adopted. Along with many rights acquired, men now had th... Free Essays on French Revolution Analysis of the French Revolution "Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order." Discuss this statement with specific references to the French Revolution. The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class." (Durant, 12) After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a c rowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolutionoriginated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. Thethird estate, especially the pe...