French Revolution

To revolve, means literally "to turn". Revolutions in history are turning points for whatever place or to which they apply. The French Revolution was a major turning point in world history. It had large political, social and economic affects on France and its people. The French Revolution not only affected France, but the world in many ways.

Many political events occurred to cause the French Revolution. The power of the King, Louis XVI, was absolute. Divine Right allowed him to receive this power from God and therefore only responsible to God himself. According to Document 1 by Friedman & Foner, King Louis XVI could imprison anyone without trial for any number of days by means of blank warrants. He used the peoples taxes to build his palace at Versailles and could control speech and press. The French peoples dissatisfaction of him was a major cause of the French Revolution. Based on Document 5,

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

, the National Assembly attempted to redefine the relationship between the citizens and the government. For example, one way they attempted this was saying that all men are born equal and free. People had free communication of ideas and opinions and had natural rights. These articles were based on Enlightenment ideas.

The economy of France during the French Revolution was far from good and affected the Third Estate, which were the common people, greatly.In Document 2, according to the chart, although only 2% of the population were First and Second Estate, 100% of government taxation were paid by the Third Estate of peasants and common folk. Also, the 98% of Third Estate were only allowed 65% land owner Based on Document 3 of Arthur Young's travels, poverty was so severe that French peasants lacked resources and had to face high taxes from the Nobles. This lowered the