During the late 1700’s, France was in desperate need of change. Being ruled as a monarchy led the French society to suffer with debt problems and live in poverty. With all the problems piling up, France finally made a step toward revolution, known as the French Revolution. The main goal of this rebellion was to overthrow the constitutional monarch system, which was form of government where the monarch, a king or queen is the head of the state but the Parliament has the power to pass legislation. (“French Revolution.” britannica.com) The French Revolution could possibly be caused by an ineffective ruler, which led to economic hardships and political conflicts. These events may have instigated societal upheavals leading France to embrace a militant …show more content…
This period at which Robespierre ruled soon became known as the Reign of Terror because people classified as the “enemies” were tried and executed by the guillotine. Approximately 40,000 were beheaded during the Reign of Terror. (Beck 226-227) “The first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people by means of reason and the enemies of the people by terror. If the basis of popular government in time of peace is virtue, the basis of popular government in the time of revolution is both virtue and terror: virtue without terror is murderous, terror without which virtue is powerless,” )Maximilien Robespierre, “On the Morals and Political Principles of Domestic Policy 1794”) Robespierre’s believes that people should be ruled by reason, while enemies of the people should be ruled through terror. During the peaceful times of France, the government should use reason to govern, but during the revolution, reason and terror should be used. Only using terror is murderous, and only using virtue is powerless, but together a successful government is formed. Though, he did not state who exactly the “people” and the “enemies” were, considering the position as the leader of the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre protected the revolution from the enemies. This reveals that the enemies were the people that disagreed with the revolution and they should be punished with terror. Robespierre’s creation of terror was executing as many “enemies” as he can. Terror was not only being felt by the enemies. As the people watch the deaths of their enemies, they feared for their own safety. In 1794, the National Convention went against Robespierre and arrest him. The Reign of Terror ends as Robespierre was guillotined (Beck
In 1789, the French people began to stand up to their current monarchical government in order to obtain rights and laws that they felt they deserved. The Reign of Terror followed after the Revolution and seemed to stand for the complete opposite of what the people had previously stood up for. The Reign of Terror began in 1793 and ended in 1794 due to the decapitation of Maximilien Robespierre. The Reign of Terror can be explained as a time period in France when many counter revolutionaries were killed because of their traditional beliefs. Counter revolutionaries believed in preserving the ways of the monarchy, but since the majority of people thought otherwise, these opposing beliefs led to death. The French government did not have good reason to conduct such drastic measures against those who challenged the Revolution.
Liberty, equality, and freedom are all essential parts to avoiding anarchy and maintaining tranquility even through the most treacherous of times. The Reign of Terror is well known as the eighteen month long French Revolution (1793-1794). In this period of time, a chief executive Maximilien Robespierre and a new French government executed gigantic numbers of people they thought to be enemies of the revolution; inside and outside of the country. The question is; were these acts of the new French government justified? Not only are the acts that occurred in the Reign of Terror not justified, they were barbaric and inhumane.
The French Revolution is arguably the bloodiest period in French history, with men such as Maximilien Robespierre leading the country into a situation of state sponsored terror. Originally being quite a liberal thinker inspired by the works of Rousseau, Robespierre quickly gained a reputation for being a radical throughout the course of the Revolution, especially during the Terror. Early on terror was justified as a means to root out foreign and domestic enemies of the Revolution, however; once the foreign threat had been taken care of it became increasingly difficult for Robespierre to rationalize his use of terror to bring about a supposed Republic of Virtue. In his speech, the “Justification of the use of Terror” which he presented to the National Convention, he attempted to defend the actions of the Terror one last time. Unfortunately it appeared that Robespierre was going to become the very type of tyrant that he had strived to abolish along with the French Monarchy at the beginning of the Revolution. As demonstrated in the speech, Robespierre had become obsessed with ridding France of her enemies, however; his fixation with the Terror, even when it had become unnecessary, eventually caused the rest of the radicals to envision a France without him – and it cost him his life.
The French Revolution started during 1789, it allowed for the people to have a better government that actually protected the natural rights of the people. This toke a nearly a decade of rioting and violence for the Third Estate to have their way and get the rights they deserved. From all the causes like the famine of wheat, long debts because of wars, the heavy taxes, and their rights not being protected, some causes stood out more than the others. It is noted that these reasons had to play a major role in order for the French Revolution to occur. The three most important causes of the French revolution are the ideas that came from the Enlightenment, the Old Regime not being an efficient class system, and the heavy taxation.
The declaration of the Terror was a direct result of the growing discontent and ravenous violence that had been occurring since 1789. Revolution could have occurred in an orderly member as it was obvious that Louis XVI was a weak leader but the French citizens set the tone early on with the Storming of the Bastille. This event shows that the French were inclined to achieve their desires through violence and not negotiations. The Bastille was attacked as a response to Louis’ addition of troops in Paris and the fear that they would be attacked. Munitions were transferred to the poorly guarded Bastille just a few days before the attack. A mob descended upon the Bastille on July 14 of 1789. The Governor of the prison Launay tried to reassure that
Cause of the French Revolution 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. Many people were making a case for a new concept of society, in which commoners, especially the educated middle classes (bourgeoisie), had.
As many leaders were trying to gain power, one man slowly took control. His name was Maximilien Robespierre. His reign of power was known as the Reign of Terror. We were terrified of Robespierre’s power. We were all in danger of being guillotined. As many as 40,000 people were beheaded all together, and 80% of them were peasants.
The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most other countries as well. On the other hand, Schama viewed the French Revolution as unproductive and excessively violent.
The French Revolution began after some of the great philosophers such as John Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau were establishing contracts and trying to create a way for people to have a government without a king or at least without a king being in control. The king during that time was King Louie XVI and his queen was a young woman by the name Marie Antoinette. The royal couple was not well liked due to the careless spending and lack of concern for the citizens beneath them. France was on the verge of becoming bankrupt and the crops did very poorly leaving people suffering, starving and fighting for food.
The French Revolution went on for ten years, beginning in 1789 and ending in 1799. Influencing life not only in Europe, but in other countries as well, the revolution began because of important factors. Some specific factors were abrupt but powerful, while others were continual. The causes were because of economic, political, and social aspects.
“Revolutions never go backwards.”-Wendell Phillips. It is true that revolutions never go backwards; an example of this would be the French Revolution. Before 1789, France was ruled by a monarchy. Before the France revolution, the monarch was King Louis XVI. His family had ruled France for many years, however King Louis XVI, was an ill-suited leader who lost his country to the National Assembly. During the French revolution, France went through countless reforms by switching back and forth from republics to dictatorships. France eventually thrived under the rule of Napoleon, who was a dictator chosen by the people. Because of the sacking of King Louis XVI and the monarchy, France had become a better nation. Therefore, the citizens for France were justified in overthrowing King Louis XVI because King Louis XVI was not a competent leader, he treated the third estate poorly and King Louis XVI let Marie Antoinette have an impact in political affairs.
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.
There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a result of the high debts held by the French Government, the King decided to start taxing the First and Second Estates. They objected causing the Third Estate to question why the first two estates were given choice in paying taxes when the Third Estate, who were so heavily taxed, paid all their taxes. These were the major causes leading up to and, in some cases, triggering, the French Revolution.
The Reign of Terror was a time during the French Revolution hundreds of thousands of people were executed by various means: guillotine, shot, and drowned. The Committee of Public Safety, lead by Maximilien de Robespierre, were in charge of these executions, and with the job of finding anti-revolutionaries forces. Many thought that what Robespierre was doing would just lead to a greater anti-revolution movement, which would in turn increase the number of executions. Others did not take action against the terror; for fear that they themselves might be executed. Those who were still loyal to the revolution saw the terror as a noble cause; they saw it as a way to rid France of anti-revolutionary forces. While the terror started as an advantage to the revolution ridding anti-revolution ideals from France it began to change in to a disadvantage; it was a disadvantage because, it showed just how radical the revolutionaries could be.
Causes of the French Revolution On July 14, 1789, several starving working people of Paris and sixty soldiers seized control of the Bastille, forever changing the course of French history. The seizing of the Bastille wasn’t caused by one event, but several underlying causes such as the Old Regime, the raising of taxes, the American revolution, and the idea and beliefs of the philosophers. The immediate causes of the revolution were the rising price of bread and the locking of the third estate out of its meeting hall. Finally, the spark was the ordering of the Swiss guards to Paris by Louis the XVI. The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime.