King Louis XIV And The Commoners Of The French Revolution

The French revolution was the result of decades of social inequality, national financial troubles and radical ideas developing in Europe. For years, the lower 99% of French society was tormented by the inability to rise up from their status to become nobility or become wealthy. While the people seethed under the aristocracy, the French national debt soared from their financial support to the American Revolution. France needed to raise more taxes to sustain the economy and maintain order, but this required major changes. Three things needed to be done to prevent a revolution: all three estates had to be taxed and not just the commoners of the third estate; voting had to be done by population rather than by estate; the horrific leadership of King Louis XIV had to come to end. However, King Louis’ XIV avoidance of these issues and selfishness spurred the people of France to the point of no return, thus igniting the French Revolution.

The first two estates made up of nobles and clergy were constantly outvoting the Third, which was largely commoners. This was possible because the voting system was based on the number of representatives of Estates rather than of total population, otherwise known as the popular vote. The First and Second Estates were able to outvote the Third every time, which promoted decisions that favored the privileged class. The Third Estate was unable to advance their status in this system which created friction over many years. If the first two Estates had allowed the Third to have fair representation in decisions that affected their lives and quality of life, the commoners may have been satisfied with the process. Instead, the nobles and clergy resisted a more democratic