French Revolution Essay

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Brief Description of French Revolution
The French Revolution is a key event in the history of Europe. It began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s. The main focus of the revolting French was to get rid of the monarchy that was tearing France apart.
The French Revolution followed the American Revolution and was somewhat inspired by the American Revolution. Ideas from the Enlightenment era also sparked inspiration in the French. These ideas along with the upper class destroying France, sparked the revolution.
Target Audience
The primary audience of this paper consists of Dr. Ernest Enchelmeyer and members of the Department of English at Arkansas Tech University. The secondary audience consists of students interested in European History.
Main Causes of the Revolution
There are a handful of causes of the French Revolution and they are for the most part caused by the monarchy’s failures. One big cause of the French Revolution was the French involvement in the American Revolution. France’s involvement in the American Revolution pushed the France economy to near bankruptcy. Mistreatment of the peasants by the elites by things such as obscenely high taxes really upset them. The big catalyst that really pushed the lower class over the edge was the crop failure of 1788 which caused starvation and made the economy suffer even more than it already was.
Estates of France
Three estates governed France. The First estate consisted of the catholic clergy and was a very small part of the population. The second estate represented the nobles and it too was represented by a very small part of the population. The third estate was made up of common citizens who were 98% percent of the population. The first and second estates could veto anything that...

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...rectory basically allowed him to do this without hesitation as he was a proven leader, show by his many victories at war. The rise of Napoleon marked the end of the French Revolution and Napoleon would lead the French to heights it would never reach again.
Conclusion
The French Revolution made an impact all over Europe during the late 1780s and the 1790s. It is easily one of the most important events in European history. It also reflects on the imperfections of human kind. For example, Robespierre started out as a figure of good but slowly became more and more corrupted as he gained more power. This event as a whole shows how fear can cause complete chaos, as shown by the Reign of Terror. The French Revolution was a dark time for France, but in the end it was necessary and brought forth Napoleon who ended up bringing France to the top of the world through conquest.

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