The Causes of the French Revolution
THE CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
France was always a city of mystery so therefore it was known by many different names. Paris was known as the city of love and city of lights. Palace of Versailles was known to be the greatest architectural work of France. France was known as the first European country to overthrow the monarchy. It was the stepping stone to democracy. By standing against the king, the people of France showed that the power of the people was greater than the monarchy. But how did they become a democracy? Where did they find the courage for standing up against the king? The French people had many reasons from where they got the courage to stand against the king. The most important of these reasons are unfair taxing, social inequality between the three estates and the Declaration of American Independence.
The first cause of the French Revolution was the high taxes that the 3rd estate was required to pay. “Price of bread had risen among the people’s ability to pay” (Doc. 1). This meant that any money for the bread, they couldn’t buy bread for their starving families. “The tallies and the feudal dues are crushing us” (Doc. 1). Taxation of the lands and homes of the people of the 3rd estate took away most of their money because they had to pay for the extravagant spending of the nobles and clergy. Jealousy was also an important factor to make people rise up against the king. Since they hated the extravagant lifestyle the king was living out of their money they rose up together against the king. “A crowd of angry women stormed the palace and forced Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their family to return to Paris with them” (Pg 513). Since they didn’t have enough to eat and farming was impossible without water and seeds which cost money, they revolted against the injustice of the monarchy to become a democracy.
The second reason why the French Revolution occurred is because of the discrimination of the 3rd estate. The first and second estates which
France was always a city of mystery so therefore it was known by many different names. Paris was known as the city of love and city of lights. Palace of Versailles was known to be the greatest architectural work of France. France was known as the first European country to overthrow the monarchy. It was the stepping stone to democracy. By standing against the king, the people of France showed that the power of the people was greater than the monarchy. But how did they become a democracy? Where did they find the courage for standing up against the king? The French people had many reasons from where they got the courage to stand against the king. The most important of these reasons are unfair taxing, social inequality between the three estates and the Declaration of American Independence.
The first cause of the French Revolution was the high taxes that the 3rd estate was required to pay. “Price of bread had risen among the people’s ability to pay” (Doc. 1). This meant that any money for the bread, they couldn’t buy bread for their starving families. “The tallies and the feudal dues are crushing us” (Doc. 1). Taxation of the lands and homes of the people of the 3rd estate took away most of their money because they had to pay for the extravagant spending of the nobles and clergy. Jealousy was also an important factor to make people rise up against the king. Since they hated the extravagant lifestyle the king was living out of their money they rose up together against the king. “A crowd of angry women stormed the palace and forced Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their family to return to Paris with them” (Pg 513). Since they didn’t have enough to eat and farming was impossible without water and seeds which cost money, they revolted against the injustice of the monarchy to become a democracy.
The second reason why the French Revolution occurred is because of the discrimination of the 3rd estate. The first and second estates which