French Revolution Research Paper

When people think about a revolution they think of positive things, right? Well that is wrong. A revolution is an overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. The French Revolution began in 1789 because the people wanted a new government system. France had a class system during this time which consisted of the first estate, second estate, and the third estate. The first estate was the catholic church, they made up .5% of the population in France. They were given 10% of the land and they did not allow marriage because they wanted to maintain the land. They were tax exempt, which means they did not have to pay taxes. The second estate were the nobles, which made up 1.5% of France. A person who is a noble has received that …show more content…
People were hungry and angry. When King Louis the 14th built The Palace of Versailles the people saw this as a waste. The palace was the most expensive city palace in the world. The palace was built twelve miles outside of France so that the King still had control. This sent the country into worst debt then they were already in. It also took power away from the nobles because it separated the king from the people. This will cause the people of France to revolt against their leaders. On July 14th, 1789 a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille prison. The storming was the beginning of the french revolution. The royal family was arrested and the king and queen were beheaded in 1793. The reign of terror followed this act, and thousands of people were put to death. This period of time from September 5th, 1793 to July 28th, 1794 was the most violent phase of the French Revolution. Nearly 50,000 people were executed during this short period of time between summers. The Reign of Terror and many contributing factors such as the Guillotine, Maximilien Robespierre, and the violence in the streets of Paris, lead to the loss of many lives and a nation still …show more content…
“Led by two of the most important leaders of the revolution - George-Jacques Danton and Maximilien Robespierre- the Jacobins searched out and punished anyone suspected of opposing the revolution” (Sookram 47.) Maximilien Robespierre was born in Arras, France, in 1758. He studied law through a scholarship and in 1789 was elected to be a representative of the Arras commoners in the Estates General. After the Third Estate, which represented commoners and the lower clergy, declared itself the National Assembly, Robespierre became a well known member of the Revolutionary body. He took a radical, democratic stance and was known as “the Incorruptible” for his dedication to civic morality. In April 1790, he presided over the Jacobins, a powerful political club that promoted the ideas of the French Revolution. For the time that his colleagues were on a mission or preoccupied with some other assignment Robespierre strove to prevent division among the revolutionaries by relying on the Jacobin societies and the vigilance committees. Robespierre was a radical and a democrat, defending the principle that the rights of man should extend to all men. This was including the poor, and the slaves in the colonies. Robespierre himself had long warned of the dangers of provoking counter-revolution. He had tried to oppose the war, because he thought it would divide France and rally support for

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