The Rights Of The First Estate During The French Revolution

Good Essays

Open Document

Open Document

View Writing Issues

541 Words

Grammar

Grammar

Plagiarism

Plagiarism

Writing

Writing

Score

Score

The Rights Of The First Estate During The French Revolution

The French Revolution (1788-1799) was known as the biggest event in world history because it changed the people’s perspective of France. The people in France wanted political and social rights that they felt were not being given. The news of Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques , Rousseau, and Voltaire were spreading like wildfire, and the society of France were hearing about the Natural Rights of life,liberty,and property. People started to realize they didn't have any of these things because of their King Louis XVI. The citizens of France starting revolting because of the unfair treatment of the third estate, unfair taxing system, and debt owed by France. Before the French Revolution, France had something …show more content…
The third estate was the most mistreated group out of everyone. They had no rights to anything even though they were half the population of France. People in the third estate paid all of the taxes that were owed to the government while the first and second estate paid nothing at all because they were higher than everyone. A quote from Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution says “The Third Estate is the People and the People is the foundation of the State; it is in fact the State itself; the other estates are merely political categories while by the immutable (unchangeable) laws of nature the People is everything. Everything should be subordinated (inferior) to it...It is in the People that all national power resides and for the People that all states exist.” This is saying that the third estate were the people of France and the power is in the hand of the people.The first and second estates were just there for political and social categories. However, things in third estate was still horrible and people were still being mistreated. Children and families were lacking the things they needed to survive

Continue Reading

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

Satisfactory Essays
To What Extent Did Catherine The Great Change Russia
- 668 Words
- 3 Pages
To What Extent Did Catherine The Great Change Russia

Before the revolution, the bourgeoisie, or the wealthier and working part of the middle class, belonged to the Third Estate. The Third Estate, out of the Estates, had the almost no rights and the largest tax burden. However, after the new National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and drafted a new constitution for France, the nobility was eliminated and the bourgeoisie gained a massive amount of political power.…
- 668 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays

Read More
Good Essays
The Third Estate Abbe Sieyes Summary
- 680 Words
- 3 Pages
The Third Estate Abbe Sieyes Summary

The Third Estate had many complaints and demands from the King. The third estate was considered to be the minority of France which included peasants, bourgeoisie, and urban laborers. The complaints of wanting fairer taxes, not owning their own land, landlords having too much power, and other things were brought up in assemblies of Estates General. These list of grievances, or cahiers de doleances, were drawn up in a list but there was no follow up by the king and also led to conflict between the estates from not wanting to lose any power or money.…
- 680 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
How Successful Was The Third Estate In France In 1789
- 931 Words
- 4 Pages
How Successful Was The Third Estate In France In 1789

The first and second estates had the system set up so that they had all the power. They gave the third estate the right to vote, but since each of the three estates had equal voting power, they were always out voted two to one. The clergy and the nobility only made up about three percent of the population in France at the time but they still had all the voting power. A radical clergyman by the name of Abbé Emmanuel Sieyés wrote in favor of change. He argued that the third estate was everything but they were treated like nothing.…
- 931 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
French Revolution Dbq Analysis
- 1063 Words
- 5 Pages
French Revolution Dbq Analysis

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

Read More
Good Essays
Storming Of The Basaille Analysis
- 556 Words
- 3 Pages
Storming Of The Basaille Analysis

As seen in each of the three sources, there is a clearly defined hierarchy that favors the first and second estates. Each source expresses the Third Estates distress with the Old Regime and immediate desire for change. The first source is a demonstration of the Third Estates urgent need for change and the actions they took to see it happen. The second source focuses on the compatibilities of the Third Estate to become its own nation. The last source is an expression of the success in demolishing the hierarchy and starting a new change for France. In each source the Third Estate is the highlight and their desire for change is what united the people with…
- 556 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
How Did The French Revolution Change
- 546 Words
- 3 Pages
How Did The French Revolution Change

After the Assembly had been created, the lower class did not have representation. Although the lower class made up most of the population, the upper classes still won the vote because they were well represented. The lower class wanted equal representation. Soon after, the lower class called themselves the National Assembly. That’s when a lot of the radical revolting began. There were extremely dangerous and life threatening attacks against the upper classes. The lower classes started looking at enlightenment ideas especially ones that dealt with “ equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government,” (history.com). After France went to war with Austria, the king was arrested by a group of extremists. He and his wife, the infamous Marie Antoinette, were eventually beheaded for treason. The French Revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte led the military which was extremely powerful at that time. The revolution happened because the lower class wanted to get rid of aristocracy and have equal rights instead. They also wanted to get rid of Christianity so the church would have less…
- 546 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
The Radical Revolution: The Impacts Of The French Revolution
- 141 Words
- 1 Page
The Radical Revolution: The Impacts Of The French Revolution

The French Revolution was a time of sweeping social and political change in France that kept going from 1789 until 1799, and was mostly conveyed forward by Napoleon amid the later development of the French Empire. The Revolution toppled the government, set up a republic, experienced fierce times of political turmoil, lastly finished in an autocracy under Napoleon that quickly conveyed a large number of its standards to Western Europe and past. Motivated by liberal and radical thoughts, the Revolution significantly modified the course of cutting edge history, setting off the worldwide decrease of outright governments while supplanting them with republics and liberal democracies. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a rush of worldwide…
- 141 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
A Comparison Of The American And French Revolutions
- 990 Words
- 4 Pages
A Comparison Of The American And French Revolutions

There were 3 Estates: The first was filled with the Clergy members. The Second Estate contained the French Nobility. And the Third Estate included the rest of the people, representing 97% of the population in France. Each Estate represented 1 vote out 3 votes on political and legal matters.…
- 990 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
The French Revolution: Ancien Regine System
- 466 Words
- 2 Pages
The French Revolution: Ancien Regine System

The French revolution is often seen as a bloody and graceless mess. France, in the eighteen century, was a rich a populist country, but it has a substantial problem collecting taxes because of the way that society was structure. The citizens started to feel frustrated by the way the Monarchs were ruling the country, but everyone was afraid to raise their voice. This was the time when the people had enough and believe that they can change the politic system, the way that institutions operate and human nature through political action.…
- 466 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
French Revolution - 1
- 634 Words
- 2 Pages
French Revolution - 1

The French Revolution, which occurred around 1789 to 1814, which included Napoleon’s reign, is considered a major turning point in world history. This revolution led to major changes in France and other nations and regions of the world. For example, some changes were Napoleon changing peoples’ rights and the Latin American Revolution.…
- 634 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
The French Revolution: The Most Significant Events In World History
- 650 Words
- 3 Pages
The French Revolution: The Most Significant Events In World History

The French Revolution is considered to be one of the most significant events in world history. It drastically changed the face of France, which at the time of the Revolution was the most powerful country in Europe, as well as altered the society and government. The causes of the French revolution are attributed to several intertwining factors. Socioeconomic, political, and intellectual events before and during the revolution fueled it from the start.…
- 650 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
World history personal narrative
- 1236 Words
- 5 Pages
World history personal narrative

The estates general meeting was a huge opportunity for the poorest people of the third estate to be heard by the king. The double representation was seen as a huge victory and a hope for a change was growing. On the first days of the meeting, they brought cahiers, the King and his delegates announced the principles of the meeting and the Third Estate discovered that the double representation was in fact a sham. It was decided that the votes will be hold by orders, 1 vote for each estate and not by head. The double representation was a fallacy. Louis XVI and his advisors focused on a complete overhaul of the French tax system. They exposed their view while the only preoccupation of the Third Estate was to talk about their representation. The only solution to the financial crisis was to make all us people of France pay the taxes because of the deficit spending, no matter what estate they were from. At the time, only us the third estate was subject to the taxes. The Nobility was taking care of the lands and the Clergy was responsible of the people's education. Their argument was that their action was a huge benefit to society and should therefore be exempt from paying taxes. But obviously, the King's decision was heavily rejected by the Nobility. Louis XVI faced a huge resistance from his own group who wouldn't accept any loss of wealth or power. He was heavily criticized by the Nobility who pictured him as a stupid, nerdy man with a way of governing the country that was full of nonsense.…
- 1236 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Better Essays
American Revolution Essay
- 1219 Words
- 4 Pages
American Revolution Essay

However, unlike the American Revolution, the French weren't a colony, they couldn't just stop taking orders from the King. They had a massive armed revolt against him; peasants and the poor rose up against the aristocracy, the King and other aristocrats were executed by the "will of the people". The French revolution was supposed to be the beginning of a "liberalization" movement across Europe. However the Kings and Princes of France's neighbors helped to militarize the new state (even more), the ideas of liberty began to be secondary to the needs of security in the new embryonic state. From this point onwards there was massive upheaval in Europe, wars were fought on Ideological, rather than dynastic terms.…
- 1219 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays

Read More
Good Essays
How Did The French Revolution Changed The World
- 2250 Words
- 9 Pages
How Did The French Revolution Changed The World

The French Revolution changed the world. France indeed would not have been the way it is now if its revolutionary actions were not taken. To understand the revolution and why it came to be, we must examine the events leading to it, and the conditions of its people. Prerevolutionary France was under the leadership of Louis XVI (reigned 1643 to 1715) in a form of government known as an absolute monarchy. All power is given to the king.…
- 2250 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
French Revolution Poems
- 868 Words
- 4 Pages
French Revolution Poems

This French revolution was bloody and red, Make one mistake, and it’s off with your head. The country consists of three simple estates, Maybe some of you can relate. First is the clergy, who lived life as if it were easy, They weren’t exactly what you would call so friendly. Second came the nobility, who got the expensive things,…
- 868 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays

Read More