Economic French Revolution

During the era of constitutional monarchy, the government undertook a programme to reform France. This increased tension among various numbers of groups who condemned the policies. The economic climate played an important role in weakening the constitutional monarchy. However, the analysis of key events and actions will show that the economic climate was not the sole aspect in causing the downfall of the monarchy. Many other factors contribute to the downfall of the monarchy. The actions of Louis XVI, divisions within the revolutionary movement, and the role of the Sans Culottes and the political clubs also had a crucial part to play in the years leading to the monarchy’s collapse in 1792. Source 1, 2 and 3 offer a range of views supporting
“He was seen to be working with Marie Antoinette…” to arrange, “the massacre of all patriots”. This indicates that the King and his wife were working against the Revolution and did not support the constitutional monarchy. Source 2 implies how the King and Queen were seen as enemies to the Revolution and how they caused the public to gain the incentive to go against the monarchy. Historical evidence suggests that Marie Antoinette betrayed France in the soul aim to bring back absolute monarchy. Apparently, she sent details of French military plans to the Austrians. This claim is supported by Source 2, where Marie Antoinette “had discussed French military strategic nuggets of military information in letters to Axel von Fersen”; it showed the monarchy as traitors to the Revolution. This put Marie in a bad light with her family declaring war on France. The rising tension with Austria meant that the monarchy could no longer be rulers of France; the public backed the Revolution and saw anyone against it as enemies. This led to the monarchy to fail. Source 2 clearly suggests that the King was prominent in the counter revolution. Talks arose over the thought that a dead King would subdue all talk of anti-revolution. Consequently, the ferocious protestors believed that violence was the best way to achieve their aims. Therefore, it should be argued that the monarchy did not
It was the ‘demands for a republic returned and developed.’ This indicates that the economic climate was significant in the downfall of the monarchy since it enabled revolutionaries to see the economic protest as a chance to show their demands for a republic. This increased tension as well as accumulating strength to the drive for a republic. Source 1 agrees with this argument stating that “the political temperature in a rapidly polarising situation was raised by the deteriorating economic situation”. An important factor to discuss when concerned with the failure of the constitutional monarchy is the rise of the political clubs. Source 2, “those who had been republicans since Varennes” implies that the people became republicans because of the rising tension created by the flight to Varennes. It is fairly accurate to say that the Jacobins played an influential role in the rising tension amongst the public. Source 3 supports this claim, where the demand for a republic, “put forward by the Parisian sections and upheld by the Jacobins”, suggesting that the leading Jacobins, such as Robespierre played a crucial role in advancing the republic movement. This rise in popularity can be supported by the fact that after the flight to Varennes, radicals were angry at the Constituent Assembly, which ‘no longer represented the people’. The Cordeliers took the lead and