French Revolution Essay

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Causes of the French Revolution

Written by: Michelle Yang
Edited by: Emily Day

While Louis XVI held power before the French Revolution, his grasp on the French people rapidly weakened with news of the American Revolution. Although France had been known as the country of “absolute monarchy,” when the Americans succeeded in breaking away from the British crown, the French society brought up their own revolution. France’s luxurious spending on top of its war debt enraged the overtaxed citizens, bringing in unspoken complaints and disagreement especially in the late 18th century. The rulers of the country, mainly Marie Antoinette, spent extravagant sums of money on luxuries that devastatingly impaired the country’s economy. Along with Marie Antoinette’s voracious spending was the war debt from the Seven Years War with Britain and the American Revolution. The debt that France was left with stuck with them for the remainder of the 18th century, putting an economic restraint on the country and its citizens. The French social structure had been divided into three “estates.” The first estate was made up of the clergies, who held the most power within the three estates. The second was made up of the nobles, who were the ones that held the power to be in government official positions. The nobles did not pay taxes, unlike the third estate, who held the heaviest burden when it came to taxing. The third estate was called the “bourgeoisie,” or the middle-class. They were made up of the laborers, workers, and peasants. They made up most

French Revolution

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French Revolution

Enslaved people had resisted the trade since it began. However French revolution introduced ideas of liberty and equality and abolishes slavery during the revolution shows support to the revolt slaves. It is possible that France wants the slaves to rebel the slave masters and become the pro France state is the rebel success. One of the examples is Toussaint l'Ouverture who fought against British and Spanish army for freedom in Saint-Domingue and took control over the island. Cost to maintain slave…

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French Revolution: Similarities Between The French And American Revolution

Another similarity between the French and American Revolution is the influence of the Enlightenment thinker, Voltaire. His idea about everyone having the freedom of speech and freedom of religion was used in the French and American Constitution. In the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, everyone was guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In the U.S. constitution, the first amendment guarantees the unalienable rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of…

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French Revolution Dbq

The French Revolution was built on some of the principles of the Americans, although both were very different and very similar to each other. First, both these wars led to documents being formed. However, one was called the Declaration of Independence, and the other was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. They were both formed at different times, American in 1776 and French in 1789. Second, both wars were based on John Locke's idea of natural rights. The American Revolution was also…

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Essay on French Revolution

Cause of the French Revolution. By A.Forte. Introduction The monarchy was the cause that contributed the most to the starting of the French Revolution. The King did not enforce his power so France fell into debt and poverty. France went bankrupt in 1789 at the fault of the Monarchy. However there were two other components that contributed to the French Revolution, firstly, the economy was so bad that buying a loaf of bread took up 75% of the money that was earned by the people of France…

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French revolution Essay

(and therefore how bankrupt the country actually was) government was so chaotic that 'budget' was a term unknown to French officials, and Louis' government ended up in a deficit spiral (where the interest on loan repayments is greater than tax revenue) which in turn led to even high taxes. Economic mismanagement meant that people went hungry- and as Lefebvre famously argues, the revolution began with the hungry peasants of the north. added to this economic mismanagement was Louis' image problem. Whilst…

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DBQ: The French Revolution

The French revolution overthrew the country’s ancient monarchy, proclaimed Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and fought off a hostile Europe. It ushered in a new age, but at a terrible price in blood and human suffering. The French social pyramid was riddled with contradictions both within and between its constituent parts. Today we believe everybody is treated equally in a system of law. This was not the case in France before the revolution. The French people belonged to one of three classes or estates…

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Causes Of The French Revolution

Alex Zhang Mr. DeBruin Honors World History 9 P0 14 January 2015 DBQ: Causes of the French Revolution Why do people get unhappy about the government and rebel? In the case of the French Revolution of 1789, there were several reasons why the French citizens weren’t happy about the government. Three of the main reasons consist of unfair taxation, unfair land distribution, and prices of bread. France during that time period had 3 estates. The first estate consisted of the clergy. The second one consisted…

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DBQ Project Before the French Revolution began, previous wars of religion led to the revolution. Between 1562 to 1598, the wars consisted of The War of the Three Henry’s, the Thirty Years’ war, the War of Spanish Successions, and others. Soon after these wars, France was facing financial difficulties and extravagant spending by the monarchy, which led to high taxes and economic hardships for the rest of the people (Third Estate). Fast forward to late-mid 18th century France, the First and second…

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French Revolution Essay

September 28, 2014 French Revolution DBQ In the late 1700s, France was considered the most advanced country in Europe. The country had a booming trade industry, and was an amazing cultural center. This, however, was just a façade. In reality, France was filled with financial issues and rising social tensions. These issues would eventually boil over and result in a period of turmoil throughout the nation. This time was known as the French Revolution. The three main causes for the revolution were social…

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