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The causes and course of the french revolution
Causes And Background Of The French Revolution
The causes and course of the french revolution
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In June 20, 1789 the members of National Assembly in France signed The Tennis Court Oath. The National Assembly consisted of representatives of France’s lower class - the Third Estate. In the Oath, 576 members of the Assembly swore that they would not separate until a written constitution had been established for France. This constitution would reject the doctrine of the ‘divine right’ of the King and the ideals of an absolute monarchy, stating that the power of the people resided not in the king, but in the people of the nation. As a result of this declaration, the revolutionaries gained power, political presence and the vision of a France worth fighting for.
In Source A, ‘Burden of the Third Estate’, the young boy representing the Third Estate is kneeling under the weight of the French Monarchy’s reign and power, a detail evident from the object being adorned with a crown and embellished with the fleur-de-lis, a symbol that signifies the French monarchy. With with no aid provided by the seemingly ignorant bishop and knight, representing the First and Second Estate respectively, the boy suffers
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It was their wish that despotism, something so despised by revolutionaries, would die at the hands of the Revolution, and instead be replaced by liberty. It was their belief that liberty would be victorious and ‘take the day’. Hearing that the Bastille had fallen, Louis XVI asked the duke de La Rochefoucauld: “So, is there a rebellion?” To which the duke retorted: “No, Sire, a revolution!” The happenings on that July 14 are so historically significant that, in 1880, it was made the national holiday for France. The victory provided revolutionaries with the momentum and hope necessary to further the revolution they had just cemented and any authority Louis XVI had previously possessed had
The French and Indian War (1754-63) altered the political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies. It changed the political relationship between England and its colonists because the English forced taxes on the colonies, due to their economical struggles, and impose regulations on colonial life. Ideologically, the war brought up feelings of anger from the colonies toward Britain
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
Colonists, during the time of the revolt, had struggled for ten years under parliamentary authority. Feeling, “Desolation, oppression, poverty, and servitude,” (C) colonists inferred that they were beneath consideration of Parliament and subjected to unjust control. Due to this oppression the people were unable to conduct business freely and felt as though they were, “Subjecting themselves and their posterity forever to Egyptian Taskmasters” (C). Practically slaves to the British Parliament, their slave masters, ordered the colonists to pay this and do that, with no consideration whatsoever to the benefit of the colonies. Everything executed by Parliament was done to strengthen the homeland, even at the colony’s expense.
1. Why and how did the French Revolution take a radical turn entailing terror at home and war with European powers?
“A leading cause of social stress in France during the Revolution was its large population… 90 percent of the peasants lived at or below the subsistence level, earning only enough to feed their families… Many impoverished peasants blamed the tensions between the rich and poor on the country’s vast social differences” (Exploring the Revolution, 2001). To understand the difference between the importance of the Tennis Court Oath and the storming of the Bastille for the course of the Revolution, the proceedings beforehand prior to these events must be understood. Unrest was building between the rich and poor in the late 17th century and something needed to be done to help the poor peasants in the countryside. The importance key events: The Tennis
First of all, the French Revolution is one of the reasons the Eiffel Tower was built. In 1789 the French Revolution started for many reasons. Those reasons are rising taxes, wanted a new ruler, food shortages, impoverished peasants, ravenous royals and violence. The revolution started as a dispute over tax reforms soon evolved to a movement for political reforms. Also what got the revolution started was the peasants were tired of the high taxes that was only put on them and also the high food prices. During the war they had guillotines that they first used it on one if the leaders of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre. He was sent to the guillotine by his rivals when he was in charge he had condemned many to the same fate. There were also lies, corruption, and angry town
France, and the various conditions posed on the Third Estate were the foundations for the
Peasants would destroy the homes of nobility and feudal records that “obligated them to service”. To calm the increasing violence the National Constituent Assembly “passed more than two thousand laws” ending the Old Regime. One of their most standing actions was the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man “on August 27, 1789 which encased ideas partly taken from the English Bill of Rights. Louis was against the legislation passed by the Assembly which in turn “added to the continued food shortage in Paris, and brought mobs out into the streets” once again. Upon reaching Versailles the mob marched into the meeting of the assembly and demanded that they be given bread. They insisted that the royal family accompany them back to Paris and the king gave in. Seeing no other option Louis gave his approval to the decree of the assembly. However this did not solve the bankruptcy the country was facing. The Assembly decided that they would confiscate the land owned by the Roman Catholic Church and use in to pay off the debt of the government. The assembly then passed a bill called the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1790 which allowed the people to choose clergy through election, placed the church under state rule, and required the clergy to “take an oath of loyalty to the
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble the common people were heavily taxed leaving many of them in poverty. In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy
Louis hired two renowned French economists to try and balance the budget, but they both told him the same thing: he needs to tax the nobles. Louis was a pushover, so when he brought the idea up to the nobles, and they told him no, he conceded. After pressure from the Parlement of Paris, Louis called in the French equivalent to Parliament, the Estates General after over 100+ years of adjournment to force the nobles to pay up. Within two weeks, Louis disbands the Estates General for the more democratic National Assembly, headed by sympathetic clergyman Sieyes. This is the group that is behind the famous Tennis Court Oath, that some of the nobles will work effortlessly, until a constitution that encompasses equality for all the French citizens is drafted (Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution). However, there were bread riots spreading throughout France, so fearing a riot in Paris, Louis called in the army for safety. The common revolutionary in France faced the army and feared a counter revolution. They go to the local jail to arm themselves. When the citizens go to the Bastille, they were able to communicate with the governor of the jail, but when the anxious guards fired a shot, all hell broke loose. The rebels stormed the jail and broke down the building stone by stone. They released seven prisoners and only got a few guns. The governor of the Bastille, De Launay, was
On August 26, 1789, the assembly issued the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” Through judicial matters, this document was written in order to secure due process and to create self-government among the French citizens. This document offered to the world and especially to the French citizens a summary of the morals and values of the Revolution, while in turn justifying the destruction of a government; especially in this case the French government, based upon autocracy of the ruler and advantage. The formation of a new government based upon the indisputable rights of the individuals of France through liberty and political uniformity.
The French Revolution is the Most Influential On a July morning 228 years ago, at around 1:30 pm, a group of “unimportant” people stormed the Bastille; this would become symbolic of the revolution and the concept of citizenship. For purposes of this essay, let the french revolution be defined as an attack against the monarch and the societal and political upheaval across France teeming from 1789 to 1799. Even today we live in socially explosive times not unlike that of 1789 France, with a small portion of the wealthy holding a large majority of government offices. The storming of the Bastille was a turning point, not only for France, but for humanity.
With the revolution many of their resident could taste a kind of a liberal society, getting rid of the monarchy government: kind, queen, and their oppression. The third estate did achieve some liberty by breaking away from the other two estates Nobility and the Clergy and declared themselves independents; According to the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, “A stage marked by liberal reforms passed by the National Assembly, the parliamentary body created when the Third Estate (i.e., those who represented neither the nobility nor the clergy) declared itself, in June 1789, to be the National Assembly of France and invited the other estates to join it” (Hart, 3). The principal cause to the third estate break away was oppression was coming from the second estate was called Nobility, and its members those who did hold power in France. The second estate had all the money, resources and the great privileged of no paying any taxes, and instead the lower class paid highly taxes. Because the third estate declared independent, the monarch used the military’s force try to stop the resident from the revolution, which caused the public to rose outraged a forceful reduced the power of the
This paper will examine the role played by the French Revolution in shaping and developing both the modern state and modern political thought, with particular focus on how ideas about democracy impacted upon the Revolution, and its effect on subsequent democratic thought and practice. It will consider the causes of the French Revoltion such as the concentration of power in France since 16th century; rise of the bourgeoisie; peasant unrest in second-half of 18th century: agricultural shortages; and national debt and economic reforms. Furthermore, the long-term impact of the French Revolution will also be considered with regard to nationalism, republicanism, political radicalism, liberalism, law and administration. It will then conlcude by stating
The peasant women who bought the food really revolted against the high prices. The French Revolution’s riots started on July 12th, and on July 14th. storming of the Bastille (royal prison) that symbolized the depotism of the Bourbons) because of the provocative acts of Louis XXVI. Suspicions also grew. around Marie Antoinette that she was in constant communication with her brother.