What Caused The French Revolution Dbq Essay

Many different things caused the French Revolution of 1789-1799, ranging from social injustices to an economic crisis. In France during this time, the middle class and peasantry were combined into a single estate, causing many people in the middle class to become angry about their lack of rights. The French state was deeply in debt because of King Louis XVI’s extravagant spending, and it relied on the peasants to pay all of the taxes. This led to the frustration of peasants at the unjust taxes, many of whom could not afford to pay their dues. Finally, the Enlightenment, a time where many new ideas about human rights surfaced, had a great impact on the French people and their idea of government. Although there were countless reasons as to why

Although the middle class had more wealth, property, and education, they were given the same social and political rights as the peasants. In document four, The French Revolution by Albert Mathiez, the author showed that the working class were more sensitive to their lack of rights that prevented them from acquiring political power. They were unhappy about their inability to gain power in the government because the ideas of the Enlightenment were implanted into their minds. The document also stated that only the middle class started the Revolution because the peasants were incapable of doing the most basic things like reading or writing, let alone starting a revolution. This excerpt proves that the working class, who were given no opportunities to choose or be a part of their government, were a cause of the French Revolution because of their desire for political power. Furthering this point, document nine, Abbé Siéyès “What is the Third Estate?” (1789), stated that the Third Estate, although comprised of almost all of France by population, was nothing when it came to political order. Siéyès believed that the Third Estate would have been completely capable of running the country if it were not constrained by the privileged order of society. Although the document referred to the entire Third Estate, political power would be given to the middle class citizens if the country were run by this

The Enlightenment gave way to new ideas about the natural born rights of citizens and equality, and fueled the concept of liberalism. In document four, The French Revolution by Albert Mathiez, the author stated that the Revolution was accomplished in men’s minds before it actually came to fruition. The ideas that helped the men accomplish this were the ideas of the Enlightenment, proving that this time period helped cause the French Revolution. Another main concept of the Enlightenment was the concept of immutable laws of nature, and in document six, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, these laws are used as evidence to support the idea that the Third Estate is everything. The belief that the Third Estate was a crucial part of the French society was what fueled the Revolution, furthering the idea that the Enlightenment helped lead to the French Revolution. Lastly, in an excerpt from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the influence the Enlightenment had on the French Revolution was shown by the Enlightenment ideas put into the declaration (Doc 8). The ideas that all men should be equal, the duty of a government was to protect the rights of the people, and free communication are all examples of Enlightenment ways of thinking. The declaration, an embodiment of the beliefs of the French Revolution, showed that many of the ideas in the Enlightenment and the