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Causes and effects of the revolution
Causes and effects of the revolution
Causes and effects of the revolution
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As a time of new ideas and human reasoning in the Enlightenment seemed to be coming to an end, it only lead to individuals developing larger, more enforced (persistent?) demands for the rights of man and equality from the philosophes—hence resulting in the French Revolution. Through incidents like the storming of the Bastille in July of 1787 to an audience’s rage on a group of actors who were against depicting Charles IX badly in a play, the French Revolution was starting to show its roots of reform on both the expression of freedom and liberty. However, as more and more people fought for the rights of man, the question on how much freedom should be allowed arose as a serious concern, along with how to go about fighting for it. In this time period, the Enlightenment’s ideologies were shining on the undermined patriotism and nationalism of the country, bringing out the desire of an equal and free nation among all (revolutionaries) in France, based on the ideas of natural rights.
While France appeared to be a well-developed nation in the European continent (through…), the state of France itself in the 19th century was still on its way.
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In this document specifically, they stated briefly what they felt as a whole were the problems of the Old Regime, followed by the promises and expectations they planned to set forth to eliminate these issues and regain society. In agreement to De Tocqueville, the declaration proposed “…ignorance, neglect, or contempt of human rights, are the sole causes of public misfortunes and corruptions of Government…” recognizing the end to the ways of the Old Regime and solving the issues by granting “new” (and natural) privileges to who they counted as the general
In one corner we have a nation, fed up with the corruption and constant bullying of their big brother nation, seeking the approval of the world for a revolution. In the other corner we have a nation, bent on gaining the equality among all individuals in their state, coming together to lay down the law to their king. Both America and France had a thirst for a new equal nation and government in which power was given to the people and not to a tyrannical figure. Individuals from both of these countries sat down and wrote up a letter of declaration in demand of the freedom that they so rightfully deserved. Both of them won that freedom, as the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen flourished with success in the late 18th century. ‘How did these two important documents come about’ is the question we should be asking ourselves. What separated these two monumental letters from each other? What gave each of them their fire, their spark to gain their rights to liberty? America’s Declaration of Independence focused more on America gaining sole ownership of their nation, abolishing their connections with the British and their tyrant King George, and setting up their own government based on Natural law and equality among all men. France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen confronted the king on his neglect to the equal rights of man, laid down the basic principles of how the nation should be run, and proclaimed that the nation should be and is going to be run by the people for the people. With those key differences stated as well as several other small values, such as taxation, oppression, and security, my concern is how both methods worked so efficiently given their varianc...
The French Revolution was a tumultuous period, with France exhibiting a more fractured social structure than the United States. In response, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proposed that “ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities, and of the corruption of governments” (National Assembly). This language indicates that the document, like its counterpart in the United States, sought to state the rights of men explicitly, so no doubt existed as to the nature of these rights. As France was the center of the Enlightenment, so the Enlightenment ideals of individuality and deism are clearly expressed in the language of the document. The National Assembly stated its case “in
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.
If the right of property is limited, society helps the citizens, and society provides subsistence for the citizens the world will be a better place. These ideas include both equality and liberty- equality in that the right of property should be limited, and liberty in the society helping the citizens and making sure that no one is left behind. In his speech in 1794, Robespierre said that they should want to achieve liberty, equality and justice, and that bad passions should be extinguished and replaced by good passions. Also, if this was set with laws, the nation will only have virtue and terror will be non-existent. These ideas also fall under the categories of both liberty and equality. This demonstrates that in between the five years of 1789-1794, the ideas of the revolutionists changed from liberty being the most important, to equality having principal, and finally to both sharing a key role in the French
Within the Historical sphere, there is no unanimity regarding the impact of the French revolution on the status quo of western Europe. The argument lies that the revolution was insurgent and promoted ideas contrary to conventional belief, thus leaving an enduring impact stemming from nationalism and liberalism, on France and western Europe. In contrast, many individuals affirm the position that the changes yielded from the revolution was reversed by reactionary responses consequently discrediting the revolution's significance to Europe. As a result, I will be evaluating both arguments and will arrive at a measured conclusion, whether the French Revolution (1789) threatened the status quo (state of affairs) in Western Europe and if so how.
from around 1780 to 1890, a remarkable change occurred in human affairs as slavery, widely practiced and little condemned since the beginning of civilization, lost its legitimacy and was largely ended. Enlightenment thinkers in eighteenth-century Europe had become increasingly critical of slavery as a violation of the natural rights of every person, and the public pronouncements of the American and French revolutions about liberty and equality focused attention on this obvious violation of those principles. To this secular anti slavery thinking was added and increasingly vociferous religious voice, expressed first by Quakers and the Protestant evangelicals in Britain and the United States. The actions of slaves themselves likewise hastened
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
The French Revolution Gradually after the American Revolution, France had its own Revolution in 1789. The French were very unhappy with their current status, jobs, and living conditions. They saw what the Americans did to achieve liberty, and how successful they were. Many of them had also read the writings of the philosophers and believed that change was necessary. Nevertheless, the main problems that led to the French Revolution were deep debt, competition between social classes, and the unlawful conduct of the king.
During the eighteenth century, France was one of the most richest and prosperous countries in Europe, but many of the peasants were not happy with the way France was being ruled. On July 14, 1789, peasants and soldiers stormed the Bastille and initiated the French Revolution. This essay will analyze the main causes of the French Revolution, specifically, the ineffectiveness of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the dissatisfaction of the Third Estate, and the Enlightenment. It will also be argued that the most significant factor that caused the French Revolution is the ineffective leadership of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
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.
Feudalist France was a rich, powerful, and respected nation for hundreds of years- until it appeared to collapse like house of cards in the breeze. The catalyst for this change could be attributed to several causes, but ultimately it was the actions of one group that furthered the revolution most. Maturity enabled the bourgeoisie to dispute their position in society, seeing their lack of political voice as an irrefutable issue. Furthermore, they put their goals of change into effect by shifting France’s sovereignty. In short, the bourgeoisie were most influential in furthering the French Revolution because of their drive for political participation.
In the eighteenth century, the movement known as the Enlightenment brought forward a necessary progress to the French governments. During this time period, France experienced reason that focused on equality of the human being, social contract that erased the individual will, and the growing middle class whose authority was established at a similar level of the monarch’s. Many philosophers believed in reasoning the equality of human beings and disregard just about everything that relates to inherited knowledge. A philosophe wanted to create a movement. The social contract based on general will encouraged the needs of the community and the not the wants of an individual.
Sparknotes editors. “Sparknote on The French Revolution (1789-1999)”. Sparknotes.com. Sparknotes LLC. 2005. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
After years of distrust in the government and hatred towards the nobility, the French people rose up and started a revolution (The French Revolution). The Declaration of the Rights of Man, made in 1789, put the ideas of the French Revolution onto paper. They stated that all men are born equal and that they have the right to liberty and property, and security (Rogers, 2011). After the removal of the monarchy and the beheading of Louis XVI, the French entered the Reign of Terror. Being that there was no peace and the demands of the Declaration were still unmet, the French people at a very vulnerable state. Comtesse de Remusat proposed the very plausible theory that the French people only allowed Napoleon to rise to power because of their weakness. The idea of a republic caused fear in the people and they needed some sort of leader to take control and help France (Rogers, 2011). The sole reason for a revolution was to bring equality to all and the French still had not found that
The French Revolution had many causes. According to the historian, French people revolted because they were, “intelligent, free, and prosperous to be critical of the existing conditions.” In other words, this historian is saying that the people of France knew what was going on in their country. I agree with this historian and this quote. There were conditions that existed in France the people were aware of. The ideas of the Enlightenment, social classes, and tax system contributed to the French Revolution. The French Revolution was based mostly on the Third Estate’s desire to obtain liberty and equality.