1789 French Revolution: Major Social Groups and Their Desired Goals

2/25/2014

French Revolution Question #3:
Identify the major social groups in France on the eve of the 1789 Revolution. Assess the extent to which their aspirations were achieved in the period from the meeting of the Estates-General (May 1789) to the declaration of the republic. (September 1792).

During the time of the French Revolution there were three major social groups. The first estate consisted of the clergy, the second estate consisted of the nobility, and the third estate consisted of the bourgeoisie, the sans-culottes or the working class, and the peasants. Each of these estates had a goal to acquire, for the most part, only that of the third estate fulfilled. Initially the French Revolution’s obligation was to bring about change in France, the first estate, or the clergy had no aspiration to change anything in France. Their main goal was to maintain the status quo. In the years leading up to the Revolution, the clergy held up good place in France. They owned 10% of the land in France, all of which they paid no tax on. The only tax the clergy paid was a small gift tax to the government; therefore it makes sense that they weren’t in favor of the drastic change that occurs throughout their country. The Revolution didn’t work out well for the 1st estate. From the time the Estates General convened up till the Declaration of the Republic, the status of the clergy declined steadily. The aspiration of keeping their place in society was diminished. With the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1790, any power or status of the 1st Estate disappeared. Each clergy member was obligated to take an oath to the French Revolutionary government or the National Assembly. A myriad amount of members took the oath however many others fled the country. This oath diminished any influence the Catholic Church had on France. In addition, all Church’s monastic lands were abolished, leaving them with no possessions. Without power and land, the 1st estate was practically useless in society and clearly the goal of maintaining the status quo went unsatisfied.

Additionally, the 2nd estate such as the nobility had many goals too. They wanted to keep things close to the way they were and to maintain their power. However, the nobles were looking to gain power in any way possible. They hoped to seize power from the monarchy while subduing the 3rd estate. They weren’t looking to decrease on society but they still want to stay substantially above the third estate. Prior to the Revolution, the aristocracy had an enormous amount of power. They were exempt from tax, they imposed dues on the peasants, they had power, position, money, and they maintained their status, power, and superiority through legal order. They were still greedier in attempt to gain more political power; they forced the king to call the Estates General. Ironically, their decision backfired on them causing their power to diminish. After the calling of the Estates General, the National Assembly took power in France. Not only did the nobility’s power diminish, they also lost many of their privileges they sought to keep. When the Constitution was formed, many of their special rights were put to an end. Taxes were now exerted to the noble, feudal dues were abolished, an end was put to free labor imposed on peasants (corvee labor), and the nobility was abolished as a legal order. In addition, with the declaration of the rights of man, a greater equality was established and the birthright of the nobles was ended. Clearly, in contrast to the clergy, many of the nobles also had to flee the country. Fleeing the country and becoming an immigrant (émigrés) was the only solution for some nobles. Similarly to the first estate, the goals of the nobility were evidently not achieved and their status and power declined ominously.

The period from the gathering of the Estates General in 1789 to the Declaration of the Republic in 1792 saw a myriad number of goals acquired for these three major social groups. The 1st and 2nd estate not only didn’t have their goals achieved, their status ultimately declined and many members were forced to leave the country. The 3rd estate on the other hand, had most of their goals fulfilled, while the sans-culottes ended up disappointed. Their disappointed would then bring up the revolution, regardless of the fact that the most significant developed came about in France during the French Revolution during this short period of time.