How Did The Enlightenment Influence The French Revolution

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The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries also known as "Age of Reason". It was born out of the ideas of the scientific revolution were many people began to look at things through logic and reason than faith, making it a turning point in history. The Enlightenment started in France and produced many ideals that we still use today. The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution and changed the way people saw the government, however, not the view of women during this period. The French Revolution took place during 1789-1799. It was an extensive social and political upheaval in France that had origins with the monarchy and inequality of the social classes. France was ruled by an absolute monarch, which had 3 of classes, or estates, of people. The 1st was the clergy, or people, of the church; the clergy had 300 representatives in the Estates-General. The 2nd was nobility, which also had 300 representatives. The 3rd was the …show more content…

Before the Enlightenment, women were inferior to men and only needed to be educated on how to be a good wife and mother. During this time very few women spoke out against the lack of rights and educational opportunities however, their voices were not heard. "Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison."-Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary Wollstonecraft was a well-known figure that spoke out against women's place in society. She grew up in the shadow of her elder brother; from a young age, she did not understand why men and women were not equal. She published books on suggesting that women should to be educated like men and suggested woman ought not to be hopeless in the embellishments of a household. After the Enlightenment, women's place in society did not change at all. They were still underneath men in every aspect you can think

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