Abbe Sieyes: The Era Of The French Revolution

The Era of the French Revolution (1750-1815) distinctively transformed the political, economic, and social context of France, which not only yielded a sharp divide in opinion over the revolution but set a stage for fundamental political ideals. The end of the revolution produced the radical results of abolishing monarchy and nobility, confiscating the Catholic Church’s property and landholding, and introduced democracy and civil rights to the French and European societies. Issues mainly arose with the royal government’s inability to reform or address France’s everlasting problem of a dysfunctional political system, financial operations, and status hierarchy. The financial crisis in France consequently led the King Louis XIV to summon the Estates General, France’s represented body, which raised questions over the constitution of the Estates. In response, Abbe Sieyes confronted the question at hand with his widely printed and famous pamphlet, What is the Third Estate, which set revolutionary ideas and reason upon France’s common people. The Estates General, called upon by looming bankruptcy and preventive measure for financial collapse, had last convened in 1614 and constituted as a vague historical moment. Traditionally, the Estate General divided into three chambers, in sequential
Sieyes pamphlet provided a voice for the justification of revolutionary action as the newly formed National Assembly evoked the Tennis Court Oath. The defiant act was a call for a reformed, new constitution that excluded the nobility and clergy from participating in politics. Consequently, Sieyes revolutionary thought of reasoning influenced and lead the National Assembly to seize democratic power, essentially marking the start of the French