French Revolution Dbq Analysis

There were numerous causes to justify The French Revolution. There existed problems inside France’s government, society, and economy. Most of these problems were ultimately experienced by the third estate, or the middle class. The third estate was then educated on a better way to live by the results of the Enlightenment philosophers and their philosophies. Certain conditions also led to the revolution, on top of its causes. Living conditions and representation in government are two examples. It is undeniable that the people of the third estate were correct in their campaign for change. 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
Because of their heightened taxation and lack of government representation, the middle class for the most part was uneducated. That is why when the middle class began to learn how to read, they became aware of enlightenment thinkers and philosophies. They began to question, to think, causing revelations that would alter their history forever. In The French Revolution, historian Albert Mathiez states that, “The revolution came from them – the middle class. . . . They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Doc.