Historian J. Russell Major: My View Of The French Revolution

Decent Essays
The French Revolution is often described as the Revolution of France and has been considered a social and economic development during the mid to late 1700’s. Historian J. Russell Major supports theories that the leadership, educational, and social changes instituted by King Louis XIV and Jean-Baptiste Colbert were the instigating events for French Revolutionaries. The monarchy created by Louis XIV began an unrecoverable pattern of debt, inflation and devastation of the working class. The implementation of his policies worsened the fractioning of the class structure, destroyed individualism and ultimately left the people of France with no ideological security as to what a government should resemble. There was a firm foundation of what type of leadership should fall; however there was no consensus of what …show more content…
My family has followed the “Ham” ancestry diligently over the last 4 centuries and the stories of my great grandfather have always been consistent with my analysis. John Ham left Liverpool on the private contract ship the Warwick prior to 1620 and passed on to his family the quest for a better way of life. The idea of hard work, compensation, representation and the ideology of personal and religious freedom are consistently present in the diaries of Mary Ham and several children and grand children through the 1700’s. My great-grand father’s and grand father’s message to me was that our revolution occurred the day people boarded a vessel away from the Empire and to the New World. France’s revolution began the day Louis XIV philosophy that “I am the master; one must expect favors only from me and I am the only and absolute receiver of royal patronage”. America and France both had moments of wars present during the revolution but the ideologies behind the revolutions were vastly

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Revolutions are seen by many as an inevitable part of many societies. They allow both the people and societies to progress and advance. One of these revolutions was the French Revolution, which led to the downfall of monarchies in other parts of Europe. The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s. The revolution began with people wanting small reforms, such as changes to the system of taxation; leading to a complete change, transforming every aspect of French citizen’s lives, including for a short time, calendars and clocks.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The French Revolution had many causes for its occurrence including, but not limited to, their leader, unfair treatment of the estates, and poor living conditions of the lower class. This led the people to revolt and made life even more chaotic for the residents of France. Their government, an absolute monarchy, gave King Louis XVI the right to do whatever he wanted for the “well-being” of France. As explained in Document 1, “He ruled by the divine right theory which held that he had received his power to govern from God and was therefore responsible to God alone.” This means that the king had complete control over the power and finance of France and often used it to only benefit himself.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution was a political movement that spurred an incredible number of changes such as equality before the law, a stable economy, no unjust imprisonment and a government where the people have a say. After the revolution had succeeded, the new Directory held power in France. However, many French citizens felt like they were back at square one, with power abusing oligarchs, inequality, and an unstable economy. This changed, however, when Napoleon Bonaparte decided to take the reins from the Directory and, overall, save the revolution.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    French Involvement in The American Revolution In the year 1778, the defining moment of the American Revolution had come about. In 1778, the colonists were upset with Britain because they were not receiving their neutral rights and they felt the need to rebel against Britain to gain these rights and show them they would not stand for it. The only problem was that they colonists were going against Britain who at the time had the largest army so the colonists were heavily outnumbered.…

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Near the end of the 18th century, the Europe’s most ostentatious nation would soon face a revolution that would alter the course of history. France’s Third Estate was starting to grow tried of being politically inferior to the other two estates, but having an overwhelming larger population. There were new taxes imposed by their king after he and his Austrian queen bankrupted the nation, throwing them deep into debt. Bread, the main source of a Frenchman’s diet, was scarily found after seasons of bad harvests. New thinkers and ideals were emerging in France, causing new political leaders to raise up, wanting the monarchy abolished and a new republic system in place.…

    • 1529 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the French Revolution society was made up of three separate phases. The three that are brought up are the Moderate Phase, the Radical Phase, and the Thermidor Phase. The people of the French Revolution created the phases to change the form of government and society. The Moderate phase and Radical phase can be shown throughout the French Revolution. The Moderate Phase existed to form a new form of government known as a monarchy.…

    • 1498 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Annotated Bibliography Secondary Sources Andress, David. The French Revolution and the People. London: Hambledon and London, 2004. Andress?s publication provides the perspective of the people and the revolution.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution of 1789 is an important event in history because it became a highly influential and well-known turning point in French History through the storming of Bastille and the execution of King Louis. Although the American Revolution was an important event in history, the French Revolution is even more important because France wouldn’t have been financially stable, if it hadn’t happened. France’s involvement in the American Revolution left itself on the brink of bankruptcy. With King Louis XVI in power, and some extravagant spending, France did go into bankruptcy. For the last few decades, the cereal harvests have not been going well, so the price of bread started to go up.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The first to be successful, the American Revolution lead the first significant revolution of the century. By declaring independence, America had demonstrated possibility of overthrowing the Ancient Regime. During the American Revolution, France sided itself with the United States, declared war against United Kingdom, and sent its soldiers and navy to fight Britain while providing money and material to arm the insurgents. Many soldiers returning from the United States, after triumphantly attaining a successful revolution for the sake of freedom against the injustice of a government, came back home to face and experience oppression and discrimination by their own government and king. The citizens of France could empathize with the emotions and difficulties that the American colonists experienced before the revolution, and shared the wish to escape the yolk of the king and against the unfair taxation by the monarchs.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The revolution that occurred in France during the eighteenth century became the harbinger for new ideas which originated with righteous proclamations and ended in a reign of terror. I think that it is best to say that the middle class did not win the French Revolution because it did not properly establish a persistent government that could protect the rights of the third estate and its extreme bloodshed could not be justified by the minimal success that the French middle class did obtain. It’s hard to consider that any revolution is a success when it does not achieve its permanent objectives alongside massive loss of life throughout the revolutionary process. Because of the financial crisis that had befallen France in 1789 due to their stiff competition with Britain to for supremacy and support for the American Revolution, many voices began to advocate for reforms in the economy and the national government. In light of…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The leadership of mid 18th century France has been described as a Monarchal King, reigning by the grace God, with absolute power over the people, economy, and politics of the Empire. The decades following the seven-year war and King Louis’ XVI quest to restore the glory of the French Empire through wars ultimately devastated the French economy. Many historians state the attempts of the King to further tax the people and subjugate the church were significant influences in the Revolution of the French. Thomas Carlyle believed that revolution and anarchy are the products of the Social Contract.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    (ts) The French Revolution resulted in many outcomes, but one of the most imperative causes, was the lasting change on social and political ideas in France itself. (CD) The drastic switch in constitutional upheavals and public beliefs in the movement left the country with a new set of views and opinions and a voice on the people. (CM)…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Causes of the French Revolution The French Revolution was a watershed event which occurred from 1789 to the the late 1790. The events in the years to precide the French Revolution influenced it greatly. In the years which led up to it, the country was inconsistent in many different ways. Politically, France did not have a just king and the absolute monarchy was a problem.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution from 1789 to 1799 was a period in European history in which the monarchy was overthrown and restriction was forced upon the Roman Catholic Church. There are many causes to the French Revolution, including the monarchy’s extreme debt problems, high taxes, reduced harvests, and much more. The Revolution was shaped by very distinct ideas, many of them were drawn heavily on the philosophies of the Enlightenment and the writings of the philosophes. The French Revolution greatly advanced the Enlightenment ideals of humanity through various events such as the rebellions against the French monarchy and the act of trying to separate power within the government. Although Maximillian Robespierre’s actions as a dictator did betray…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the year of 1774, a nineteen year old boy, Louis XVI also known as Louis Capet, became the ruler of France. During that time the country had many problems. The political structure during the time in France was composed with three separate estates. First the clergy, second the nobility and third every one else. 97 percent of the population that belonged to the third estate, had endured social inequality and exploitation under the hierarchy for generations.(The French Revolution)…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays