ipl-logo

French Revolution Dbq Essay

1427 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of American revolution

During the Eighteenth Century, France had an absolute monarchy with Louis XVI as king and Marie Antoinette as queen. In that time period, French society was based upon a system of Estates where the clergy made up the First Estate; the nobility comprised the Second Estate, and everyone else including professionals, peasants, and the bourgeoisie made up the Third Estate. The Third Estate was immensely unhappy with the old regime, the Estates General, and Louis XVI’s leadership. France was also in the midst of a fiscal crisis due to the American Revolution, Louis XVI’s lavish lifestyle, the Seven Years War, and the tax exemption of the First and Second Estate. Following the surge of new ideas and impactful philosophers from the Enlightenment, …show more content…

Due to their education, the working class understood how vastly dissimilar their standard of life was to the nobility and the clergy. The bourgeoisie were educated and had the means to obtain literature from around the world. They, thus, knew what the standard of life should be, how the upper estates were living, and what their life was actually like. This caused an immense amount of resentment (Document 4). The American Revolution also greatly influenced the French rebels. In 1783, only six years before the French Revolution broke out, the Americans successfully rebelled against the English king. This proved that a revolution could actually happen and that rebelling against Louis XVI could have positive effects. The success of the American Revolution inspired them (Document 5). During the Enlightenment, major philosophers like John Locke emerged and questioned the role or power of the government. Born after the English Civil War, John Locke discussed how people had natural rights like life, liberty, and property, which needed to be protected by the government. If this was not being done, he proclaimed that the people had the right to rebel. Other philosophers also convinced the French people about the corruption and misdeeds of the French monarchy. For example, Baron de Montesquieu frequently spoke that there should be a separation of power in

Show More
Related
390 Words | 2 Pages

The French Revolution started July 14, 1789 in France and endured till Nov 9, 1799. The French Revolution lead to the abolishment of a monarchy and turned it into a republic. The fundamental causes of the French Revolution were social imbalance, political injustice, and economic instability. Socially, France had an unequal distribution upon the 3 estates. Politically, the monarchy was over thrown and turned into a republic.

Read More
375 Words | 2 Pages

Locke’s ideas have given Frenchmen the courage to fight against the strict government. During the reign of Louis XIV, nobles’ power was strictly limited. By making the nobles live in Versailles, Louis could easily watch over his nobles. Later, Louis XVI took over the throne. He raised taxes then spent the money in whatever way he pleased (Doc 5).

Read More
1146 Words | 5 Pages

The militaristic inclination of France during the late 18th and early 19th century was the culmination of the idealism of the newly adopted French political system, and the abrupt character of French people's motivation to implement these ideals. As discontent with the despotic system of government in France increased in magnitude and scale, the will to fight in order to achieve equality became gained momentum. Factors such as the rapid spread of enlightenment ideals, the socio-economic inequity of the three estate system, and leaders’ utilization of French citizens’ new sense of justice to incite warfare, all come together to create an militaristic, imperial French nation. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, enacted July of 1789, provided the foundation

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

The high taxes, high prices on goods, and unequal distribution of wealth in France were reasons why the French Revolution started. There were three estates in France; the first estate was the clergy, the second estate were the nobles, and the third estate was made up of of three groups; average French workers, Bourgeoisie, and peasants. The French Revolution led to many wars; Louis XVI was a very weak leader, and he was executed. Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor, and the revolution came to an end. The main causes of the French Revolution were the difficult life of the peasants; the issues between the three estates; and the unfairness of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

In 1770 France was built of 3 estates. The first two estate were the privileged estates. They had access to high officials. The first estate was formed by the Roman Catholic Church. They owned 10 percent of the land in France.

Read More
512 Words | 3 Pages

The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.

Read More
817 Words | 4 Pages

With the help of France, the Americans finally won their independence from Great Britain. In a picture, it shows the American Revolution when “France sent an estimated 12,000 soldiers and 32,000 sailors to the American war effort” (Document 4). By participating in the American Revolution, France was impacted by Enlightenment ideas because it illustrated how the men in America had much better rights and were treated fairly. In addition, the Revolution was possibly started by just 1 signed piece of paper. While discussing what caused the Revolution, Sir John Dalberg-Acton believed that “the spark that changed the thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of American Independence…”

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

How revolutionary was the French Revolution? Did the Revolution simply replace the old ruling elite with a new bourgeois one? What were the major effects on different groups of people, including nobles, priests, peasants, urban workers, slaves, and women? This essay will address the French Revolution and the degree to which it can be aptly described as “revolutionary.” How revolutionary was the French Revolution? Was the storming of the Bastille, the destruction of feudalism, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of a fundamental and radical and revolutionary nature, or, alternatively, simply a series of historical events that results in the supplanting of one authoritarian regime for another and at great cost in

Read More
186 Words | 1 Pages

However, despite the law, these rights were not granted to all human beings, as the Declaration preserved the institution of slavery and women were not granted equal rights. In 1789, the French Revolution broke out, lasted 10 years, and ended with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. The French revolution was heavily influenced by present Enlightenment ideas, specifically, the concepts of sovereignty and absolute rights, as well as the population’s powerful resentment of royal absolutism, the system of noble privilege and the unfair and unequal system of taxation. Although the French revolution failed to achieve all of its goals, it brought along the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789). The declaration was heavily

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

After already obtaining an uneven distribution of wealth in the nation among the three estates, the debt from the American Revolution took a toll on France’s financial stability, practically bankrupting them. Struggling from the large gap between the wealthy and the poor, it was suggested by Sieyes that the third estate, commoners (97%), were the people who made up the nation of France and that they needed to take a stand, which they did. The third estate followed Rosseau, who’s ideas were developed from Locke, on his ideas of “general will” of the nation, and that they should form a national assembly of their own since they were the nation (SMW 76). The French Revolution unfolded into three phases of constitutional monarchy, radical republicanism, and military consolidation, resulting in the issue of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, among other accomplishments. Also following the American Revolution, and the Declaration of Independence, the French used Locke’s ideas in his Second Treatise of Government as a guideline to their new constitution.

Read More
286 Words | 2 Pages

The French Revolution in 1789 was one of the most brutal and significant events in world history. The French Revolution of 1789 had many different causes. The Enlightenment and the political leaders led France to financial problems, causing the French Revolution. The people wanted change and decided to rebel against their government. Nobles enjoyed privileges like not having to pay taxes, having all the power and freedom politically, and could out vote the commoners.

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the American Government. Firstly, The Enlightenment was a philosophical evolution that emphasized the aged ideas of the Greeks and Romans. In addition, the major philosophers of this time period were Voltaire, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Rousseau, Adam Smith and Isaac Newton. Their ideals include having an absolute monarch as a government (T.H), the separation of powers (Mont.), the government should not interfere with a free market economy (A.S), the freedom of speech (Volt.), the government could be overruled (J.L), and the government should rule according to the will of the people. Nevertheless, these ideals are important because they shaped the government that we have today.

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

During the French Revolution, people fought and killed for the things they believed in, specifically rights. It was started for many things, including resentment of royal absolutism, rise of enlightenment ideals, unmanageable national debt, and the unfair treatment of the Third Estate. The French Revolution produced written works such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which served as a model of man’s inalienable right to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. Everyone during the Revolution agreed on and wanted one thing: rights. However, not everyone wanted people to have this privilege, and cared more for themselves.

Read More
1743 Words | 7 Pages

French Revolution Summary There were 4 main problems which led to the French Revolution. First, money was big problem before the Revolution because France was going bankrupt due to a huge national debt. Secondly, there were three bad harvests, the 3rd estate wasn’t able to pay taxes, and there wasn’t enough food for everyone. The 3rd estate was literally starving to death.

Read More
1445 Words | 6 Pages

Katherine Rolfe Trinityhouse High School Little Falls Grade 12 ORT History Research Proposal Mentor: Mr Smith How was France primed for a revolution during Louis XVI’s reign in 1789? 3 November 2017 Research Hypothesis Due to the poverty rate at this time, the King Louis XVI’s inexperience with leading, the ideas of the Renaissance and food shortages, France was primed for a revolution in 1789 Motivation I studied the French Revolution in grade 10. It was one of my favourite sections that I 've studied but I was always curious about why it occurred at that specific moment in time when France had never known anything other than a monarchy. The revolution was so impactful because although it did not demolish dictatorship in France completely, with Napoleon rising to power in later years, it drastically changed the way French people lived and dramatically influenced the world .

Read More

More about French Revolution Dbq Essay

Related Topics

Open Document