The Three Major Causes Of The French Revolution

In the game of Jenga players take turns taking out pieces from a tower, in an attempt to successfully take pieces out without knocking the tower over. The French Revolution was like a game of Jenga; as more pieces got taken out, their tower or structure, fell apart. The French Revolution is one of the most studied revolutions in history. This revolution helped France break away from Feudalism. It lasted about ten years from about 1789-1799. The Three major causes of the the French Revolution were the spread of enlightenment ideas, an insufficient government, and the mistreatment of the lower estates.

Firstly, one of the most influential causes of the French Revolution were enlightenment ideas. For example in Lectures on the French Revolution by Sir John Dalberg-Acton it says, “The ideas of the [Enlightenment philosophers] were not directly responsible for the outbreak…[but] the spark that changed thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of American independence… The American example caused the Revolution

For example in the book Friedman & Foner, A Genetic Approach to Modern European History, it states, “The King, Louis XVI, was absolute. He ruled by the divine right theory which held that he had received his power to govern from God and was therefore responsible to God alone. He appointed all civil officials and military officers. He made and enforced the laws. He could declare war and make peace. He levied taxes and spent the people’s money as he saw fit,” (Document 1). Louis XVI was an absolute monarch meaning he could do anything he desired since he had all the power. He created the laws he wanted and enforced other laws as well, no matter how unjust they were. He could also do whatever he wanted with their money; so he would spend money on extravagant things putting France further in debt, and then in an attempt to fix it he would put a larger tax on the