Uyen Phan 01/31/12 1st period FRENCH REVOLUTION DBQ

French Revolution 1789 is one of the most important events of World History. There are many changes occurred in France. French Revolution created many changes throughout Europe. In order to understand the importance of French Revolution, one should examine the how it started, some causes of the event and the effects and of the French Revolution. The French Revolution started by the people of Paris in July 14, 1789. According to document 5, people of Paris released the prisoners in the Bastille. This event occurred because rumors spread that the government threw the people who spoke out to them to the Bastille. The peasants were mad and they decided to take a step further. This event is called the Storming of the Bastille. The Storming of Bastille started the French Revolution even though people of Paris didnt find any prisoners in this prison. As a result, the Great Fear started. The peasants in the outskirt of Paris heard about the Storming of Bastille and they decided to attack the manors that lived close by them. A lot of events happened and followed the Storming of Bastille lead to the success of French Revolution. There were many reasons why the peasants overthrow the French government at that time but the major reason was King Louis XVI. French government was absolute monarchy at that time and the king ruled by the divine right, which people believed that the king was chosen by God and he has absolute power. There were a lot of powers in the hand of Louis so he did whatever he thought is right without the advice of anyone. Nobody could stop Louis. That led to the overuse of Louis power. As an example, He made and enforced the laws He levied taxes and spent the peoples money as he saw fit (Friedman & Foner, A Genetic Approach to Modern European History). That made the people unhappy. King Louis used money to pay for his marvelous parties and to live in a luxury life while the peasants worked hard and paid heavy taxes. King Louis XVI also used his power to arrest anyone without trial by using the lettres de cachet. Next, the government taxed the peasants heavily. According to the Jackson J. Spielvogel, Word History, there were three estates in the Pre-Revolutionary France. First Estate was the clergy. They took .5% of the population, owned 10% of the land and didnt pay any taxes. The second estate was the nobles and loyalty. There were 1.5% of them and they owned 25% of land. Just like the 1st estate, the nobility paid hardly taxes. As a result, all of the taxes came from the 3 rd estate, the peasants. 98% of the population had to pay tax for the 1 st and 2nd estate. The peasants owned 20% of the land and they paid a lot of taxes to the government, churches and nobles. They had to work hard and pay a lot of money on taxes. Even though the 3 rd estate worked hard but they had low pay and poor housing condition. People thought that the government wasn't fair but they couldnt do anything because they only have one vote for the

Uyen Phan 01/31/12 1st period

entire state. The other two estates were little but they had some powers in the government. They wanted the peasants to benefit them so the two estates would join together and dominate the voting in the government. People stated being mad and were unhappy about their life so they would over throw the government. Also, there was a vast gap between rich and poor. According to the picture in document 4, the picture represents the three estates of France at that time period. There were two people in the back of the peasant. The two people were the clergy from the first estate and the second one represents the noble. The peasant in the picture is carrying the two men showed us that the peasant is doing his hard work to support the first and second estate. The noble and clergy didnt do anything. They were just sitting there, doing nothing and receiving taxes from the peasants. They spent money on huge parties with people from the same level and lived in lavishness. The peasant was the one who did all the work and had to pay money to the other two estates but they didnt receive anything. They just did their work and pay taxes. They had a hard life even though they work hard for the money. As a consequence, the French Revolution took place and the peasants were success in changing the government. The enlightenment ideas traveled throughout France at that time so people believed that they have nature rights and they could overthrow the government that they feel unhappy with. The National Assembly signed the The Declaration of the Right of Man and the Citizen. The Declaration of the Right of Man and the Citizen was the way that helped the National Assembly to redefine the relationship with the people. For example, The Law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to take part, personally or through their representatives, it is making. All citizens being equal in it eyes, shall be equally eligible to all high offices, public positions and the employments, according to their ability, and without other distinction that their virtues and talents (The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the citizen). This article showed that the government changed. The document said that all the people have the same right and the law would express how the people vote it would be. Base on article eleven of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, people would have the express their opinion and have a right to speak, write and publish freely. In conclusion, the French Revolution was successful and it didnt only affect the France, It also caused many changes throughout Europe. The French Revolution changed the government from absolute monarchy to limited monarchy. The French Revolution was influenced by the American Revolution and the enlightenment idea back in that time period. It released the peasants from heavy taxes and the opportunity to have a better life.