Preview

Evaluate The Importance Of Revolutionary Ideas Play In The Development Of The French Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1018 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Evaluate The Importance Of Revolutionary Ideas Play In The Development Of The French Revolution
Essay:
Evaluate the importance of revolutionary ideas in the development of the French revolution.

The development of revolutionary ideas was very important to the French revolution because it shaped and encouraged the overthrow of the ancient regime. The main revolutionary ideas that inspired the movement were the enlightenment, social, political and finical crisis. The enlightenment was driven by new ways of thinking and the bourgeoisies’ motivation to change society. The social crisis was caused by the unfair class system, which then lead to the dependence on the third estate to pay taxes which caused the finical crisis. The political system was confusing and inefficient which lead to the rebel of the third estate and the hatred of the king. It could be argued that without these new ways of thinking the revolution and French society wouldn’t be the as we know it today.
The enlightenment played a major role in the revolution because it pushed the government over the edge with the new ways of
…show more content…
The king started to lose his power over the people. He exiled three judges and forbade parliament to start new sessions, however the parliament still bombarded the king with remonstrance. “The bankruptcy of the monarchy…had collapsed in every sense, leaving an enormous vacuum of power” (William Doyle) with royal problems becoming popular, the king had no choice but to call the estates general. The estates general meeting were seen as bias towards the first two estates, but still no solution in the problems. This was the final straw for the third estate who gathered on a nearby tennis court after being locked out of the estate meeting pledging they are the ones that have to the changes no matter how far they go. The political revolution ideas resulting in a major turning point for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The main push given towards a new perspective of government and society was by another product of the Enlightenment, the American Revolution. Enlightenment thinking was already affecting France when the American Revolution broke out, but as historian Lord Acton suggested the state of French society was consistently awful and it was only by exposure to the American’s success at revolt that the French Revolution took off. In summary, the French Revolution was only a reality because the American Revolution inspired radicals and proved that the people had the ability to change their…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Revolutionaries had it clear in their minds that change in government was of utmost importance to revolution. According to an excerpt from Diderot’s Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Occupations,” The first state that man acquires by nature and that is esteemed the most precious of all his possible possessions is his state of liberty.” (Doc. 6) Clearly France’s Monarchy, or even upper classmen, would not agree with this statement. This argument could have been used by the third estate to fight for their representation in government, or even their percentage of property owned in the country. The event in which the third estate was literally locked out of the Estates General meeting that led to the Tennis Court Oath also was a huge cause for the…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution was from 1789 to late 1790s. The revolution was caused by cultural, financial, political and economic factors. The Enlightenment brought France new ideas; the bad financial crisis led Louis XVI implemented new taxation policies and reduced privileges, which increased the conflict in the society; for political, Louis XVI faced the resistance to royal reforms from privilege classes; economic market especially for the grain market was in disorder. All of these factors mixed to cause the appearance of French Revolution. It can be divided into four stages. As first stage was from 1788 to 1792, French elites articulated its grievances against the king. They refused taxation and attacked despotism supported Enlightenment-inspired program. In 1792, these tensions exploded into war and the beginning of the republic. The second was from 1792 to 1794, acute crisis, consolidation and repression happened in that period. The Terror did save the republic, but it exhausted itself and collapsed in 1794. Third stage was from 1794 to 1799, the government drifted and the state fell prey to a military leader Napoleon Bonaparte. Some historians also include the forth stage into the revolution, which was from 1799 to 1815. Napoleon’s rule was punctuated by astonishing victories and catastrophes and constitutes the end of the revolution. French Revolution is very important for changing the whole world’s social structure and culture. It accelerated the development of republics and democracies in Europe and other parts of the World by changing old traditions and expanding the arena of human rights. I choose Industrial Revolution and French Revolution for this question because both of them are significant milestones in the history in a earlier period comparing to other revolutions. And one is relating to the revolution of science and technology while the other is relating to the revolution of society and…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution Dbq

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Before a revolution over the Absolutist State happened, it had to be conceivable. The Age of the Enlightenment saw cultural and intellectual forces emphasize reason, logic, analysis and individualism, changing the perspective of traditional medieval society. It fostered the critique of society and institutions, especially of despotism and the Church, laying the foundations for a new order. The French Revolution is a movement that is very widely studied amongst historians. It therefore has many interpretations as to its causes and effects. A classic interpretation, predominant in the work of Marxist historians, view the French Revolution in terms of a class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the landowning nobility, leading to the transition…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French and American revolutions are both very significant in the world’s history. The American Revolution happened first, around the last half of the 18th century where the Thirteen Colonies became the United States of America, and gained independence from the British Empire. The French revolution on the other hand, was from 1789 until the turn of the century 1799. For the French people this was a period of political and social turmoil. The idea of Enlightenment stuck a large population of the French people and led to many changes in society. These two individual revolutions have many comparisons and although they are not identical they become intertwined with separate philosophies on politics and economic expansion.…

    • 872 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution were two of the greatest movements in history. It allowed people to change their beliefs and seek knowledge. Before the 15th century, Europe was controlled by Church teachings and only lived by only morals. Scholars and philosophers were able to alter and challenge individuals views on how everything works. They discovered different ways on how to govern people and inspired revolution. These simple ideas which began in the Scientific Revolution would lead to the Enlightenment and later change the course of…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution - 1

    • 634 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There were many issues that led up to the French Revolution. For example, the unfair tax burden. According to Document two, the Third Estate paid all of the government taxes. There were three estates. The 1st estate was all of the clergy; they had wealth because they collected taxes from the 3rd estate and they also owned land. They had power, food, liberty, and freedom. The 2nd estate was the rich titled nobility. They derived their wealth from land ownership, and they collected some taxes. They also had power, food, and freedom. The 3rd estate was separated into three different classes. The Bourgeoisie was the highest of the third estate; they had cash wealth since they were made up of the merchants, bankers, and artisans. The Bourgeoisie paid very high taxes, and had very little power, they had a food supply, but they had no power. The peasant farmers, and the city workers had no wealth, power, or liberty, and they had to pay taxes. The 1st and 2nd estate only took up about 3% of the population. The Bourgeoisie thought that the taxes were unfair to the entire 3rd estate. Document three explained how a peasant had 7 children, and couldn’t support her family, but she still had to pay taxes. This shows how unfair the tax burden was.…

    • 634 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq: the Enlightenment

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Enlightenment known by many as the Age of Reason was a turning point in history. Man people believe that without the Enlightenment, many of the laws, and rules would exist. For example the United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were greatly influenced by the Enlightenment. For example, John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker highly influenced the Declaration of Independence by stating that the natural rights of people include life, liberty and property except the founding fathers changed it by stating life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American Revolution itself has been called the embodiment of Enlightenment ideas. If the founding fathers were not influenced by some of these ideas, maybe the United Sates would not be a democracy; it could have been an absolute monarchy, aristocracy, etc. Some of our human rights would not exist if it were for the Enlightenment. Philosophers such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, Locke, and others lead to many great changes. These ideas were used by some to challenge absolute monarchies. An absolute monarchy is a government ruled by one ruler. These ideas also impacted both government and society.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    With the Enlightenment came revolution. In the 17th and 18th century, one would end up questioning nature, society, philosophy and government. Within the curiosity of reason would eventually come freedom. Freedom of speech, religion, and other different liberties would all in hope be granted by a revolution. Throughout the Enlightenment, some people believed and argued that the people themselves could control government.…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century inspired revolutionary ideas in France in the 1790s. During the French Revolution time, the rulers of the revolution, the bourgeois, promoted liberal, enlightened ideas like equality before the law and religious freedom. With the idea of natural rights for a couple years, feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges began to stand up for women's right. However it was felt that the bourgeois were not capable enough to survive in a free society. Throughout the revolution liberalism and nationalism were growing and the people were becoming known as highest citizens in politics. The ideas and objectives of the people during the French Revolution changed throughout its Declaration of the Rights of Women, National Convention and the National Assembly.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution. The third estate, or the poorest social group, held very little rights socially or politically. But some of them, such as doctors and lawyers, were educated and could read the new ideas of government from philosophers. For example, philosophers like John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. “The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact... The middle class...was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from then-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document 4) The Third Estate studied these ideas; They had used ideas like Equality, Liberty, and Democracy. The Third Estate inspired The French Revolution. (ROI) These men spoke of democratic governments, with certain freedoms and natural rights. Eventually, the people of the third estate began to question their government in France, and by the standards of these philosophers, demanded change. The cahiers reflect the ideas of the Enlightenment such as democracy and equality. “That the king forced to reform the…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Enlightenment

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Thus a public can only attain enlightenment slowly. Perhaps a revolution can overthrow autocratic despotism and profiteering or power-grabbing oppression, but it can never truly reform a manner of thinking; instead, new prejudices, just like the old ones they replace, will serve as a leash for the great unthinking mass” (36). Kant prophesied that enlightenment will cause waves in bourgeoisie class, and it was possible through revolutions and changes that the world went over. As an illustration, a great example of the transformation could be shown from the changes of political view in France. That is, when revolution was sparked by the fierce passions of Frenchmen and issued statement of rights, demanding equality and freedom, among others. King Louis XVI was viewed as villain through the eyes of the revolutionary, where he governed France through monarchy. His rich in the palace of Versailles were seen as tyranny, and his credibility worsened as the people of French starved from scarcity. “the kernel gradually reacts on a people’s mentality, and it finally even influences the principles of government, which finds that it can profit by treating men, who are now more than machines, in accord with their dignity” (42). As Kant’s prediction, the First French Republic was formed and aimed for a better government and the desire for equality. They…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Ias.edu,. 'Revolutionary Ideas: An Intellectual History Of The French Revolution | Institute For Advanced Study'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 June 2015.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French revolution overthrew the country’s Liberty, ancient monarchy, equality and fraternity, and fought off a hostile Europe. There were lots of causes of the French Revolution. The French Revolution had long and short-term factors, which emerged from the social, political, and comic conflicts and conditions of the ancient regime. The long-standing injustice of the bourgeoisie, the breakdown and suffering of a government, aggregation of rising wishes with wealthy bourgeoisie and peasants, and creations of ideas among wide sections of the people are all factors that played apart as well as more. The effects of the French Revolution were not just happening in France but were widespread and happening worldwide. In European history, these events are marked as some of the most important events. The revolution was being caused by social, economic, and political discontent of the French people because they had a king who was poor and wanted a democratic government, society was divided into three estates, and his tax system was unfair.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution Essay

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The world has seen many revolutions in history. One of the biggest revolutions was the French Revolution because it came with many consequences and influences. Nothing else like this had ever happened this powerful to change the political status quo. Many people surprisingly don’t know how the French Revolution started but through this paper we will be learning more about it. Starting in 1789 through 1794 the people of France dethroned and arrested their king Louis XVI, took apart his monarchy, and executed him, his wife, and thousands of nobles. The French people then set up a new system of government on concepts of popular rule, personal liberty, and equal justice for all to replace their old leaders. This was a new start for France and would hopefully put them in the position they wanted to be in as a country.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays