Intellectual?

Intellectuality in the French Revolution

Edmund Burke is claimed to be one of the first people to come to a conclusion that philosophers of the Enlightenment can actually be the cause of the French Revolution. To his surprise, his argument was taken up and also put emphasis on by a group historians. This group also included Tocqueville and Lord Acton. It is said that the breakdown of the past regime was actually the side effects of other factors that were in play. These factors included economic issues, social unrest, conflicts between groups and certain individuals. However, as the Revolution began to unfold everything that was thought said and or advocated was explained by theorists.

 The theorists involved didn’t all share the same ideas, which just goes to show that the Revolution was not shared by just one single group. Unlike the American and English Revolutions, the French passed through phases. These phases in themselves were actually mini Revolutions. As the Revolutionist policies changed to adopt another one, the different philosophers followed suit. So basically as different ideas were accepted, depending on thoughts of the philosophers they were also accepted.

  The majority of the intellectuals were killed because they went against the revolution. These intellects began to question the ideals of the enlightenment. They were suspicious due to the bad results from the previous test of the ideals. They started to think of a more sensible government system, people began to take notice of this and novels and newspapers were written with strong opinions on the subject. They ended up coming up with a new constitution from this.

"Edmund Burke Biography." - Edmund Burke Childhood, Life and Timeline. Web. 22 May 2015.

Work cited: "The French Revolution: Ideas and Ideologies." The French Revolution: Ideas and Ideologies. Web. 20 May 2015.

Author: Matthew Caldera 

Economic?

    The most important economic problem during the French Revolution was the extremely high tax rate on necessary items. The cost of flour being the straw that broke the camel's back, as it began many of the revolts against the aristocracy of France. The population of France counted to 30 million people in 1789, with only 15,000 people who actually benefited from the high tax rate. Many of the taxes were sent for King Louis XVI's personal court in Versailles, because of this his people often thought lowly of him.

Harold Marcuse. history.ucsb.com. April 29, 2006. Web. May 21, 2015

       Many of the French peasantry were forced to rent their lands from Lords and pay large amounts of taxes in order to grow crops on their land. Even with their tax money, during this time there were several seasonal crop failures. This had a severely negative impact on the population of France because were now struggling with paying high taxes, and were no longer able to produce their own food. 

        King Louis XVI was also a highly known supporter of the American Revolution and sent several supplies and resources overseas. He also created a large naval army to defeat Britain's, helping the Americans win their independence form Great Britain. However, this act eventually left France in a deep economic struggle, and caused the French Monarchy's budget to be extremely low. With Louis XVI's spending now cut, he proposed a a law to make the third estate pay higher taxes. The nobility declined this law, and cleverly persuaded some of the third estate to join their side and denounce the power of the King. 

"French Revolution causes: An Economic Crisis".  Bastille-day.com. July 1, 2012. Web. May 21, 2015.

By: Amity Porto

What does Society have to do with it?

 Society was one of the major factors in the French revolution. At the time of the revolution there were three separate classes all with two sub-divisions, as stated previously in a separate post. The unfair treatment of certain social classes set the bases for the start of the revolution.

          The lower of the two sub-divisions in each estate were singled out, stripped of rights and given extra burdens to carry. For example, the people of the Third estate were tasked with the burden of giving half their income to the king in the form of taxes. Unlike in Britain where everyone of every class paid taxes, in France only the lower classes were forced to pay up. The Common people who could barely afford to keep what little land they owned had the heaviest tax weight of them all, while the rich nobles and clergy were exempt. This system was highly flawed and affected the economy greatly. During the late 1700s, King Louis XVI finally realized that he needed outside help in order to try and restore their economy. He brought in a number of financial advisers and they all came to the same conclusion. The advisers felt that the only way to solve this economic crisis was to start taxing the higher classes. Unhappy with this conclusion the King kicked each and every one of them out.

           The King however, finally came to the realization that something really needed to be done. He appointed a new controller general of finance and together they figured the only way to salvage Frances failed economy was to begin taxing the nobility. The nobility of course refused and forced the lower classes into making the National Assembly, a group formed by the third estate in order to create a new constitution. They achieved their goal with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, though this act of peace was short lived. Tensions were at an all-time high and the National Assembly split. After a long struggle between them, a man by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte arose. Bonaparte was known in the military world for doing great things. He brought a group of people together and orchestrated a coup against the Directory in 1799, stepping up and naming himself the new leader of France. Napoleon then ended the Revolution and France entered a 15 year period of military rule.

              Society at the time of the French Revolution was at a state of disarray. Social statuses took a precedence over the success of France as a whole. We face a similar issue today with the economy. The people of higher classes such as the clergy or in modern terms the rich people, paid the least amount to the government even though they had the most to give. The same was true for the lower classes as well, they were forced to pay higher taxes though they had way less to give. That system in the long run made people rebellious and ultimately ended up being a main contributor to the French Revolution.

 "The French Revolution." The French Revolution. Web. 22 May 2015.  

Work cited:
-"French Revolution." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 19 May 2015.
-  SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 18 May 2015.

Author: Samantha Izquierdo

       

Political - Part 2

        There were many political problems that played a part in sparking the French Revolution, including the King and Queen's overspending. Because of the aristocracy's lavish expenses, the tax rate for the 3rd estate increased tremendously causing a strain in the lives of French Citizens. Many of them took out their rage on the Queen, Marie Antoinette. The outrage was mostly focused on her because she was of high authority and publicly defended the privileges of the aristocracy. She often referred to as "Madame Veto" or even depicted in cartoons as an "Austrian whore".

       Once the taxes reached certain level protests started to occur. The most infamous happening in October of 1779, where women protesting the high cost of bread and other goods, entered Versailles, captured the entire royal family and imprisoned them. However the royal family was soon returned to Paris and Louis XVI returned to the throne, and in August of 1792 the French government declared war on Austria, as a way to test the King and Queens loyalty to France. When the war didn't turn out as planned on France's side, French citizens blamed it on the Queen. It was then that another mob broke into the castle, overthrew the monarchy and locked the royals in the tower. Thousands of royalist were massacred by French revolutionaries. Later on King Louis XVI  was put on trial for treason, and executed. Marie Antoinette soon had the same fate and was executed by the guillotine when she was 37 years old.

History.com Staff. "Marie-Antoinette". 2009. History.com. Web. May 20, 2015. 

Prachi Mital. "What Were the Political Causes of the French Revolution?" preserveartices.com. 2012. Web. May 20, 2015

By: Amity Porto

Religion?

             The Catholic Church was a pivotal factor in the French Revolution. Before the French Revolution, the Catholic Church was very influentially. The vast majority of the population of France were Catholic, making it the official religion of the country. Those who weren't apart of the majority were mainly Jews and Protestants. This minority did not have equal citizenship under the law. In addition to owning about six percent of the land in France, the Church paid no taxes and collected a national tithe. The Church also had substantial political power being that they were at the top of the three estates.    
         Tensions started to arise between Revolutionaries and the Catholic Church from the perceived inequality of wealth throughout the three estates. In just a short few months, the Church gave up it's tithe and Church property was taken from them and declared property of the state. There monasteries and property were also seized and sold as a result. The Church was eventually re-established when Napoleon came to power in 1799. However, much of what the revolutionary government put in place remained in place and although a lot of the population remains Catholic it is no longer the official state religion.
           Religion played a major role in the French Revolution. Most of the imbalance that the revolutionaries were fighting to balance came from the people of the Catholic Church.
     

 "Religious Changes During the French Revolution." People. Web. 15 May 2015.

http://www.belgiancastles.be/terelst/terelst2.jpg

Author: Matthew Caldera  

Social?

           Society as a whole played a huge part in the French Revolution. During the eighteenth century, the social conditions in France were far from desirable. The French society was divided into three social classes which were the Clergy, the Nobles and the Common People. There were two sub-divisions of the Clergy, the Higher and the Lower. The Higher Clergy were the people who ran the churches, monasteries and educational institutes of France. These Higher Clergy lived extravagant and tax free lives and in doing so, exploiting the Common People. This caused the Common People to develop a strong hatred toward the Higher Clergy.
              Now, the Lower Clergy on the other hand were the polar opposite. They would serve the people in every sense of the term and didn't gain any wealth. In the French Society the nobility were regarded as the second state and like the Higher Clergy didn't pay any taxes to the King. The nobility were also sub-divided into two groups-the Court nobles and the provincial nobles. The Court nobles were very similar to the Higher Clergy in the sense of wealth and lack of care for the people. The provincial nobles of course were similar to the Lower Clergy, they cared for the people and didn't share the same privileges as the Court nobles.
               The third and final class were known as the Common people. This class would be forced to pay taxes and work in horrid conditions. Per usual this class had two separate sub-divisions one being the poor, such as the farmers and sweepers and the other being the Bourgeoisie. The Bourgeoisie formed the top most group of the third estate made up of the doctors, lawyers, teachers, businessmen, writers and philosophers. They had all the wealth and social status of the upper classes but the French Monarch, influenced by the nobles and clergies, ranked them as the third estate. This decision would prove to be a bad one when the idea of a revolution arose. The Common people became rebellious and the lower sub-divisions joined their hands in seek of a change. Although the Bourgeoisie had social status and wealth they were stripped of many rights that the upper classes had, causing them to team up with the other lower classes and fight for their rights. The chart below is a simplified way of looking at the French society during the time of the revolution.

Credible Sources:  "Causes of French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes." History Discussion Discuss Anything About History. Web. 14 May 2015.
Picture: "French Revolution." Pinterest. Web. 18 May 2015.

Author: Samantha Izquierdo

Political?

One of the main causes of the French Revolution was the participation in the Ancien Regime which divided the French Society between three estates.

1. First Estate: The First estate was the clergy, who included priests and religious figures, who ran both the Catholic Church and some of the country. The clergy also had the power to levy a 10% tax known as tithe.
2. Second Estate: The second estate were the nobles of France which included members of the royal family (excluding the king). The members of this estate were exempt from paying taxes, and also collected taxes from the third estate. This estate was only 1% of the population of France.
3. Third Estate: The third estate consisted of everyone else in the kingdom, ranging from peasant farmers to wealthy business class. This estate was 96% of the population in France, however no one in this estate had the rights and privileges that the other two estates did. 

This discrimination to the third estate is believed by historians to be one of the main causes of the French Revolution.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk UCL Museums & Collections. "Three Estates Information Sheet". Web. Mar. 13, 2015. 

Author: Amity Porto