How Did Rousseau Influence The French Revolution

657 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Jean-jacques rousseau's influence

The Influence of Man Introduction: Influence and inspiration are powerful forces. They can empower and motivate people to accomplish extraordinary works, good or bad. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was born in 1778, was a very inspirational and respectable man. His political philosophy, which heavily influenced the Enlightenment Period, inspired three very important men in the development of the French Revolution; Jean-Paul Marat, Georges Jacques Danton, and Maximilien Robespierre. Each of these men, taking Rousseau’s works to heart, believed in having a Republic system based on law and civic order. But the way of accomplishing such a goal was different in each individual mind, which resulted in a disjointed effort, disagreements, and murder. However, …show more content…

The first position he had in the Revolution was as president of the district that played a major part in the Storming of the Bastille, the Cordeliers club. He was also the first president of the Committee of Public Safety, which controlled and supervised the military, judicial, and legislative efforts. The Committee of Public Safety, led by Danton, promoted and established The Reign of Terror, which was a major phase in the French Revolution. However, the role he played in the advancement in the French Revolution was overlooked because he was accused of venality and leniency towards the Revolution’s enemies. On the 5 of April, 1794, Danton was guillotined by the advocates of revolutionary terror, cutting down him and his influence on the Revolution. Third Topic: Maximilien Frencios Marie Isidore de Robespirre was born May of 1758 and is considered by many the most authoritative developer and influential figure of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. The positions he had helped him immensely in his efforts to establish a French Republic. He was a French lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Estates General, the Constituent Assembly, and the Jacobin Club. Since he believed that the plebeians should have the same rights as the Nobles, he went to the extremes to accomplish his “noble cause.” and that the Nobles should be exucted Robespierre. A little about personality. Birth date, death date, cause of death. What position did he have? What did he do? How did that affect the

Show More
Related

  • Terror in the French Revolution

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this essay I shall try to find whether the Terror was inherent from the French revolutions outset or was it the product of exceptional circumstances. The French revolution is the dividing line between the Ancien Regime and the modern world. After France the hierarchy that societies of the time had been founded on began to change and they began to sweep away the intricate political structures of absolute monarchy, but however to achieve this was the Terror absolutely necessary? And was it planned/ or was it just the extraordinary circumstances, which the French had lead themselves into once they had deposed of Louis the sixteenth. Whatever way it is looked at, the political ideology of the rest of the world was going to change after the French revolution. The conflicting ideology's of the French revolution from socialism to nationalism would now be mainstream words and spearhead many political parties in years to come. The French revolution had been in high hopes that a peaceful transition could be made from absolutist to parliamentary monarchy, but what went wrong? Surely the terror could not have been in their minds at this time? Surely it was not inherent from the start.

    Read More

  • Life of Maxamillian Robespierre

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    The early life of Maximilien François Marie Isidore Robespierre gives insight into the man at the center of the French revolution. Robespierre’s birth was just as controversial as his death due to the fact he was born out of wedlock on Born on 6 May 1758. The eldest of four children his mother died when he was six years of age and his father, an established lawyer, subsequently left. Robespierre continued to reside in Arras under the care of his maternal grandfather. He taught himself to read, and do to his astounding intellect was recommended by the local bishop for a full scholarship to Lycée Louis-le-Grande. His academic conduct was so exemplary that the seventeen year old Robespierre was chosen to give a welcoming speech to King Louis XVI. This is a curious fact as Robespierre would later in life speak in favor of executing the same King. His education was completed ...

    Read More

  • The Events and Impact of the Seven Years War

    1517 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cobban, Alfred . "Historians and the Causes of the French Revolution." Aspects of the French Revolution. New York: George Braziller, 1968.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Robespierre

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    Maximilien Robespierre became obsessed with this passion to create equality within France and to abolish the segregation that he began to be worshiped by others and seen as a beacon of hope. They both hoped that the Tribunal would bring peace to France. It would crush the Royalists and quiet mob by reassuring that the enemies of the revolution would be punished.” (DiConsiglio).

    Read More

  • Rousseau Influence On American Government

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    The authors of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the United States Constitution pulled from many different sources during the infancy of these invaluable documents. They used pieces such as Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, Rousseau’s Of The Social Contract, and Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws as inspiration for America’s fundamental government. Each of these influential political philosophers were instrumental in making our government what it is today. Hobbes brought the ideas of natural equality, a strong, powerful government, and the principle that governments must be able to protect the people to American political philosophy. Locke added that

    Read More

  • French Revolution Dbq

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Simon Bolivar

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history there have been several leaders who used their cunning and sly intelligence to trick the general population into following them and their beliefs. Eventually, these leaders had so much support, they could no longer be called leaders, but absolute and dictatorial rulers. However, during the period of Enlightenment and of the French Revolution, non-maleficent ideas, created by Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and other Enlightenment Philosophes, were spread throughout the European population. They stated the opposition to absolute monarchies as well as a new focus on people’s innate rights and freedoms. Many leaders after this period of Enlightenment preached their ideas, while others simply used them to gain power.

    Read More

  • How Did The French Revolution Influence Political Change

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the course of the French Revolution the citizens of France have influenced political change often through violent means, as well as many rulers showed the strongest and weakest points that have provoked the changes. The ideas from the French Revolution had an effect on the political situation of the country as the monarchy was abolished. This then led to a shift of focus from social classes to social equality. Finally with the fall of the old government, the people of the nation were given more rights, as well as power. The French Revolution stirred the politics of France in the right direction through positive change.

    Read More

  • John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Enlightenment was an astonishing time of transformation in Europe. During this time in the eighteenth century there was a progressive movement that was labeled by its criticism of the normal religious, social, and political perceptions. A number of significant thinkers, with new philosophies, had inspired creativeness and change. These thinkers had many different thoughts and views on people and the way they act, and views on the government. Two well-known and most influential thinkers of this time were the English political philosopher John Locke and the French political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These two men had laid down some of the intellectual grounds of the modern day government and both had different opinions on what the government’s role in a society.

    Read More

  • The Abolition of the Feudal System in France

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    New York: Barnes & Noble, 1969. Print. The. Kreis, Steven. A. A. "Lecture 12: The French Revolution - Moderate Stage, 1789-1792.

    Read More

  • Was Napoleon Bonaparte the Saviour or the Destroyer of the Ideals of the French Revolution?

    1926 Words  | 4 Pages

    With all the glory and the splendour that some countries may have experienced, never has history seen how only only one man, Napoleon, brought up his country, France, from its most tormented status, to the very pinnacle of its height in just a few years time. He was a military hero who won splendid land-based battles, which allowed him to dominate most of the European continent. He was a man with ambition, great self-control and calculation, a great strategist, a genius; whatever it was, he was simply the best. But, even though how great this person was, something about how he governed France still floats among people's minds. Did he abuse his power? Did Napoleon defeat the purpose of the ideals of the French Revolution? After all of his success in his military campaigns, did he gratify the people's needs regarding their ideals on the French Revolution? This is one of the many controversies that we have to deal with when studying Napoleon and the French Revolution. In this essay, I will discuss my opinion on whether or not was he a destroyer of the ideals of the French Revolution.

    Read More

  • Cause of the French Revolution

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    The essential cause of the French revolution was the collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending its privileges”. This statement is very accurate, to some extent. Although the collision between the two groups was probably the main cause of the revolution, there were two other things that also contributed to the insanity during the French revolution – the debt that France was in as well as the famine. Therefore, it was the juxtaposing of the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy as well as the debt and famine France was in that influenced the French Revolution.

    Read More

  • The Reign of Terror: Was it Justified?

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the Reign of Terror in France grew and invoked fear the internal threats became more radical and deadly. The French Revolution began in 1789 as an attempt to create a new and fair government. (Doc A) As year four of freedom lurched the thirst for power in Maximilien Robespierre stirred and the hunger for more blood provoked him urging him to create the Reign of Terror. 1793, the first year of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre grasped on to his new power and as the revolution spun out of control the Jacobins Club established a new way to “fight enemies” by constructing a Committee of Public Safety and a Tribunal Court. (Doc A) This new government was working swell it contained counterrevolutionaries in the Vendée Region, and it smothered and ferreted the internal threats. (Docs A, C, G) The counterrevolutionaries adopted a name that meant trouble – the rabble. (Doc D) In a letter written by a city official of the Town of Niort a...

    Read More

  • A Brief Summary of the Nicaraguan Revolution

    1926 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nardo, Don. A. The French Revolution. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. Print.

    Read More

  • How Does Rousseau Influence Frankenstein

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    "I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the like of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other."

    Read More

More about How Did Rousseau Influence The French Revolution

Open Document