French Revolution Dbq

The Profound Impact of the French Revolution Riddled with blood, violence, and terror, the French Revolution was a horrific event marked by the thousands of lives lost. Its end goal seemed increasingly out of reach with each passing day of destruction, death, and uncertainty. But a phoenix can only rise from its ashes, bringing a new beginning of hope and better things to come. The revolution may have been costly, but its faults cannot overshadow its profound impact. The French Revolution, through reforming the monarchical social institutions, establishing a government for the people’s will, and causing a global shift in revolutionary ideas, ushered in a new era of civil liberty and freedom, reshaping societies worldwide. The French Revolution

France broadened its “opportunities to those who, for reasons of social status or religion, had been traditionally excluded” (Document 9). After years of labor, taxes, and discontent, the French people finally exercised their liberty. The country had eliminated old and outdated systems and prejudices to form a much improved social climate for the French people. France had entered a new era, one that was free of old feudal systems and valued education, freedom, and acceptance. The neglect of the French people was no longer, and their leaders finally recognized them. After overthrowing the out-of-touch monarchy, the French Revolution brought a representative government with the ideas of liberty and the general will at its core. Ignored, mistreated, and exploited, the French people finally reached their breaking point. Following the monarchy’s abolition, they sought to establish a new political system. Their new government would value liberty, equality, and the general will. In September 1792, France was declared a Republic, and the new French Republic was founded upon the ideas of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the

This emphasis on the people’s freedom unified the country's people and government, but its impacts did not stop there. The effects of the French Revolution reached far beyond the country itself, spreading the ideas of freedom, civil principles, and social change to the world. Europe and the surrounding countries were viewers of the revolution. Despite witnessing the blood and violence, they admired what the French Revolution achieved. Many revolutionaries saw what the French had done and took inspiration as they developed their own ideas of freedom and liberty. Additionally, the French Revolution gave rise to Napoleon, a French emperor and military leader whose international reforms significantly impacted most of Europe. Napoleon’s eradication of feudal rights and his civil code, which provided for equality of men and civil rights, advanced throughout Europe. After this French influence spread, “the reactionary forces of Europe combined were not strong enough to restore things as they had been before the outbreak of the French Revolution” (Document 8). The revolution’s influence was