French Revolution Dbq

Section I: Identification and Evaluation of Sources To what extent did the French Revolution originate as a result of the works of philosophers Baron de Montesquieu and Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès? The years 1763 to 1789 will investigated, as 1763 marks the formal conclusion of the Seven Years and the Treaty of Paris signing, while citizens stormed Bastille and marked the revolution’s official beginning in 1789. Chartier’s The Culture Origins of the French Revolution discusses philosophers in the revolution. An agrégé d’histoire with a Master’s degree from Sorbonne, Chartier is renowned for his contributions to the field of cultural history and is a university lecturer. However, Chartier is better known for his work in cultural history than the

Doyle proposes that the bourgeoise did not oppose the aristocracy, contrary to the Marxist school of thought, but aspired to obtain nobility through purchasing the title, as “ennoblement was the ultimate recognition of social success that all bourgeoise dreamed of” (37). By the end of the eighteenth century, boundaries between the nobility and bourgeoisie were virtually obsolete (Schalk 212). Sans-culottes were key participants in the Reign of Terror but irrelevant prior to 1970. In contrast, peasants made up 80% of the French population and were the revolution’s backbone due to the grievances they suffered (Doyle 28). The ancien régime was a plutocracy. The First and Second Estates were a small proportion of the most privileged individuals and were exempted from the taille while the Third Estate paid the full tax. The vingtième, gabelle and traite exempted nobles and clergy, also fluctuating based on geographical location. These taxes maintained aristocratic lifestyles in Versailles and furthered the peasants’ resentment towards

Following Calonne’s resignation, the Estates-General convened on May 4 1789 to discuss reforms; given the equal proportions of the First and Second Estates to the Third, there was disagreement and Louis XVI dismissed the Third Estate. On June 17 1789, Sieyès and the comte de Mirabeau led the Third Estate deeming themselves the National Assembly. They later took the Tennis Court Oath on June 20 1789, vowing to not separate until the Third Estate achieved greater representation, fulfilling Sieyès’ visions for the