Preview

What Caused The French Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
562 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Caused The French Revolution
Throughout history there have been many revolutions, such as the French Revolution, that were caused by people rebelling against their governments. The French Revolution commenced after the Enlightenment became popular. The Enlightenment was a period in time where new ideas were spread and people started thinking differently about the world that they lived in. Enlightenment thinkers, like John Locke and Voltaire, begin inspiring the citizens of France to rebel against their government if they felt like their rights were being limited or they did not feel protected. People should be able to express their opinions without persecution, and that the human rights of life, liberty, and property need to be protected at all costs. The two reasons for the French Revolution were the rebellion of the third estate and France’s horrible leaders. The French Revolution was caused because the third estate rebelled against their government. The third estate consisted of the bourgeoisie, traders, laborers, apprentices, servants, and poor peasants which made up about 97 percent of the population. The third estate rebelled against their government because they were not receiving fair rights. They had no say in their …show more content…
Although Napoleon Bonaparte did great things such as; granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, made an efficient government, made education a top priority, started a new banking system, revolutionized the art of war and rebuilt France he was a horrible leader. Napoleon was a horrible leader because he had a bad ego and executed many people just because they disapproved of his leadership skills. He was exceedingly egocentric by crowning himself king, forsaking his army when they were losing battles, and appointing high positions to his relatives. Napoleon was an idiot for appointing his son the King of Rome when he wasn’t even a year

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I believe several factors, such as Feudalism, unfair taxes, years of oppression, inequality in the French society, the bad harvest of the summer of 1788 and the increasing economic crises contributed and lit the fuse of the French revolution. The calling of the Estates-General in May 1789 was aimed to solve the economic crises, however mistreatment of the lower classes for centuries led to them wanting change. This event led to the Tennis Court Oath, in which the lower classes, who were represented by the third Estate declared themselves a National Constituent Assembly. This could be seen as the start of the French revolution, as it is the first time that Louis is not in full control and gives away part of his power to the population. Furthermore the increasing economic hardship led to anti-government feelings among the population and a rise in popularity towards the popular movement.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were numerous causes to justify The French Revolution. There existed problems inside France’s government, society, and economy. Most of these problems were ultimately experienced by the third estate, or the middle class. The third estate was then educated on a better way to live by the results of the Enlightenment philosophers and their philosophies. Certain conditions also led to the revolution, on top of its causes. Living conditions and representation in government are two examples. It is undeniable that the people of the third estate were correct in their campaign for change.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    DBQ French Revolution

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The French Revolution began in 1789 due to the inequality of French society. The French society was divided into three estates. The first two consisted of clergy and nobility respectively. The third was made up of merchants, businessmen, lawyers, and peasants. They had the least rights and privileges compared with the other estates. The third estate had to pay all the taxes imposed by the king, King Louis XVI, whereas the other estates were excused from it. This made life harder for the peasants, but also sparked the French revolution when the Third Estate began to demand more rights.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The French Revolution was caused by the fiscal irresponsibility if the monarch (The Silver Bear Cafe) The Clergy and the nobles did not have to pay taxes. This hurt the finances tremendously. France was still hurting from the seven year war. Due to the bad weather, the fields were in poor condition for the harvest. The Government was broke and people were starving.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French Revolution started in 1789 and concluded in 1799; the war lasted ten years for numerous reasons caused by the hierarchy. There were social, political and economical causes that Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI made irrational and poor decisions that lead to the French Revolution. Majority of the reason all associate with having power. Power is the ability to direct or influence others; however, the person behind the power is who determines if it will affect the situation negatively or positively. The French hierarchy had a vast amount of negative, selfish power within their kingdom. The three main causes of French Revolution were Marie and Louis greediness and carelessness of the hierarchy, they were too young to rule, and France…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    There were many reasons that the French Revolution started. One reason is the political was not the way people wanted it. The political government was beginning to weaken because of King Louis XVI and Queen Antoinette.…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout time, people have overthrown governments for a variety of social, political, and economic reasons. When basic needs aren't met and natural rights aren't protected, people start to question the government's morals and ideals. in the 18th century, the citizens of France were inspired by the Enlightenment ideas of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau, as well as the success of the American Revolution. As a reaction to their unfair treatment, the people of the Third Estate rebelled against the government, and eventually, after many deaths and changes of power, the people finally received their much-deserved rights. There were many well-justified causes of the French Revolution, and although many horrible effects presented themselves, the resulting…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Napoleon Bonaparte was a very successful leader. He was very intelligent, wise, powerful, and good with military tactics, good with ideas for all of France, and was a little power-hungry. He made some mistakes, but they didn't end up in the newspapers, and he was remembered all throughout history.…

    • 149 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1789, France broke out into a revolution. The citizens of France rebelled against the absolute monarch and the system they deemed unfair. The people were starving while Queen Marie Antoinette spent fortunes on fake boats to put in her hair. The Revolution was centered on hatred for the king, Louis XVII, and the prospects of a governmental system that promoted liberty and equality. The unfair representation of the third estate, the spread of enlightenment ideas, and the high price and scarcity of bread caused the French Revolution, with the high price and scarcity of bread being the most significant because it caused the people to develop severe anger due to starvation, and they never would have had such a large amount of anger if they weren’t hungry.…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The political discontent seen in France was one of the causes of the Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, France was ruled by an absolute government. The king had all the political powers. Anyone who criticized the government could be arrested and put in prison without trial. Louis XVI was king at the time of the French Revolution. He was more interested in hunting than governing France. He and his queen lived an extravagant life at the Palace of Versailles. They did not really care about the state of their country. The third was largely ignored when it came to political elections. The first two estates worked together to outvote the large third estate to keep them from becoming a threat to the power. American Independence sparks this French Revolution. The American Revolution also originated from political discontent. However, the America 's discontent stemmed largely from misrepresentation and not over taxation. The Stamp Act was merely a way for the colonist 's to pay for their own defense. Colonists simply felt that they had no voice in Parliament, which was no different from the rest of Britain 's colonies.…

    • 976 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Political, economic, and social conditions have led to changes to a nation and its people, which are called a revolution. A revolution is an overthrow and replacement of a government of the political system. The French Revolution happened was caused by the king, who did give his people equal rights. The revolution have many causes, events, and…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The start of the French Revolution was directly in French society. Society was constantly dominated by nobles, or a social group that was primarily made up of: aristocrats, officeholders, professionals, merchants and businessmen. The French society was broken up into three social classes, or better known as “Estates.”. The First Estate was comprised of all the clergy; the Second Estate was comprised of the nobility, and the Third Estate was comprised of everyone else, including wealthy lawyers, businessmen, urban laborers and poor peasants. The Third Estate was by far the largest social class. All of these classes had one thing in common, and that was a want for an economy that would serve their interests. The nobility depended on a constant infusion of talent and economic power form the wealthy social groups represented in the Third Estate. Less prosperous lawyers were jealous of the privileged position very few had in their profession. Over the course of the century the price of offices rose, making it more difficult to buy one’s way into nobility, and creating tensions between middling members of the Third Estate and the very rich in trade and commerce who were the only group able to afford to climb the social ladder. Several fault lines ran through the elite and the middle classes which led to resentment of the government and a need for change.…

    • 564 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution Causes

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The French Revolution evolved to be a very important time in history because it forever changed the face of France. The revolution was caused by several conditions which greatly impacted the change of France. The causes that contributed to the French Revolution were the political, social, and economic conditions of the years leading up to 1789. Those factors not only induced many events during the revolution but also the ideas from the Enlightenment era sparked the minds of many French civilians. It is clear that the French Revolution was inevitable due to the many circumstances lingering at that time.…

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There were many things that led up to the French Revolution. One of the main things was the tension that arose among the French people regarding Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had begun to spend more and more of the French peoples’ money every day and it just flat out pissed off the French citizens. So eventually they started the French Revolution and decapitated Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Although in the end, the French Revolution turned out to be quite a failure. Three failures of the French Revolution were that France was still under the rule of one man, the liberty that was promised to the people of France was never given to them, and there was widespread dissatisfaction throughout…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the Revolution, the first and second estate paid zero taxes while the third estate paid all of them. Economic injustice became a cause of the French Revolution because people were clamoring for bread and the monarchy was spending all the money with wars, etc. People then started to…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays