The Influence Of Voltaire Over The French And American Revolution

159 Words1 Pages
The influence of the Enlightenment thinkers John Locke and Voltaire over the French and American Revolution is a similarity between these two Revolutions. In France, the old regime was the political and social system of France. This system was formed by three estates, the first estate which was the Roman Catholic Church, the second estate which was the noble people, and the third estate which was the rest of the population. The third estate were outraged by the inequality and lack of privileges, while the other two estates lived in a life of luxury and with special privileges. The third estate had identified themselves with the ideas of John Locke, especially his idea that everyone was born with unalienable rights. These rights are life, liberty,