French Revolution

The French Revolution began in the late eighteenth century as a result of the unfair estates, or class system. The clergy and nobility had complete authority over peasants and merchants, and were exempt from taxes. Peasants and merchants struggled and had to pay high taxes. They got tired of this lifestyle, and so they started a revolution of their own.

The starting point of the revolution was when the peasants and merchants asked the government for representation. This was an impossible demand, because if the government allowed everyone to have representation, then the government would no longer be an absolute monarchy. It would then become a democracy, and so the government denied this request. As a result the peasants and merchants decided to form ‘The National Assembly,’ because they were unhappy with the government’s response. The National Assembly was created to pass laws, and reforms for the French.

To prevent the peasants and merchants from meeting and rebeling, the government unsuccessfully tried locking the revolutionaries out of their meeting place. Instead of stopping the revolutionaries, the revolutionaries went down the street and held their meeting at the tennis courts. There, they pledged to stay until they created their new constitution. The revolutionaries became more united because of they all wanted to see a change in the government, and they were more united because they had drafted their own constitution they would all follow.

The 3rd estate formed the National Assembly, and passed the Rights of Man. These rights included, the right to liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression, equal justice, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. In addition, they took control of the Catholic church. At...

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...tarted to question and fear their own safety. They then executed Maximilien Robespierre. This led to the moderates regaining their power, because they were in the middle of the two opposing sides, and would stop the fighting as much as they could. The revolution ended after this. After the revolution, the French created a new plan of government by creating a two house legislature and an executive branch. This gave more of the power in the hands of the middle class.

Overall, the French revolution was caused by the 3rd estate asking for representation in government, and fighting for this. They went through many steps to start this revolution. It finally ended with the result of a two house legislature and an executive branch. This revolution shows how much power the peasants really had. To conclude, each step of the French Revolution was a result of the previous step.