Equality And Abolishment Of Privilege In The French Revolution
The French Revolution forever altered the historical landscape of France, and it's people. The first estate, well acquainted with life being served via a silver platter, were abruptly equal to their surfs. With the destruction of privilege the working class were now the only class, pooled with the nobles, the clergy, the merchants, etc. Laying the groundwork for a more equal, and merit based system of governing France. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen has two central themes; equality and abolishment of privilege.
Prior to August of 1789 the French people were broken up into three distinct classes, or 'estates'. The first estate, clergymen, were the highest members of society, answering only to their Lord, the supreme being.
The second estate, nobility, was in power strictly based on their bloodline. And the third estate, everyone else, was comprised of anyone who supported the nation. A clergyman by the name of Emmanuel Joseph wrote an article entitled What is the Third Estate?, and in it he proclaims, "the Third Estate … is the whole." The nation of France is the Third Estate, a class of mistreated citizens who work purely to please those above them. This then is why the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen came to be. "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights." The first article of the declaration, and a central theme of all 17 articles. These articles are necessary to express the peoples' individual freedoms, to break the traditionalist class system, and allow French citizens to enjoy their liberty to the fullest. This is especially important because without individual liberties the nation as a whole could not grow. Prior to the declaration intellectuals born to the third estate would be squandered, and those unfit for higher education or military roles would be forced into them due to bloodline.
If one was of royal blood, or even minor royal blood, they were instantly granted access to the role of military officer. If one desired to be an intellectual, and study the greatest works in France, they had the world's knowledge at their fingertips. The first and second estates were the epitome of privilege prior to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Article one states, "social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good." Essentially dissolving the estate system, and destroying any notion of privilege. The people of the third estate were now free to do what their first estate counterparts had always done. France as a whole gained the right to, "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression." Ideals that were merely dreams for the third estate, but everyday realities for the first. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, in dissolving privilege, opened the world to the 96% of France that once made up their lowest rung.
France, as a whole, went through a drastic ideological shift during and following the French Revolution. People of the highest nobility were slumped into the same category as their surfs, and the nation as a whole succumbed to near hysteria. Through the mass terror, power struggles, and social class destruction the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen stuck. It provided the groundwork for a new equality, the destruction of privilege. No longer were the third estate lower tier citizens, now all were equal. No longer were the first and second estate privileged, now all were 'privileged'. France's political landscape forever changed following the French Revolution, blossoming into a nation. What was once held by the Ancien Regime now belonged to the people.
Prior to August of 1789 the French people were broken up into three distinct classes, or 'estates'. The first estate, clergymen, were the highest members of society, answering only to their Lord, the supreme being.
The second estate, nobility, was in power strictly based on their bloodline. And the third estate, everyone else, was comprised of anyone who supported the nation. A clergyman by the name of Emmanuel Joseph wrote an article entitled What is the Third Estate?, and in it he proclaims, "the Third Estate … is the whole." The nation of France is the Third Estate, a class of mistreated citizens who work purely to please those above them. This then is why the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen came to be. "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights." The first article of the declaration, and a central theme of all 17 articles. These articles are necessary to express the peoples' individual freedoms, to break the traditionalist class system, and allow French citizens to enjoy their liberty to the fullest. This is especially important because without individual liberties the nation as a whole could not grow. Prior to the declaration intellectuals born to the third estate would be squandered, and those unfit for higher education or military roles would be forced into them due to bloodline.
If one was of royal blood, or even minor royal blood, they were instantly granted access to the role of military officer. If one desired to be an intellectual, and study the greatest works in France, they had the world's knowledge at their fingertips. The first and second estates were the epitome of privilege prior to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Article one states, "social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good." Essentially dissolving the estate system, and destroying any notion of privilege. The people of the third estate were now free to do what their first estate counterparts had always done. France as a whole gained the right to, "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression." Ideals that were merely dreams for the third estate, but everyday realities for the first. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, in dissolving privilege, opened the world to the 96% of France that once made up their lowest rung.
France, as a whole, went through a drastic ideological shift during and following the French Revolution. People of the highest nobility were slumped into the same category as their surfs, and the nation as a whole succumbed to near hysteria. Through the mass terror, power struggles, and social class destruction the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen stuck. It provided the groundwork for a new equality, the destruction of privilege. No longer were the third estate lower tier citizens, now all were equal. No longer were the first and second estate privileged, now all were 'privileged'. France's political landscape forever changed following the French Revolution, blossoming into a nation. What was once held by the Ancien Regime now belonged to the people.