The Estate Class System: The French Revolution

Great Essays
The French Revolution was a period in history that lasted from 1789 until 1799. The Revolution was inspired by literistic and radical ideals. This time of history helped to change the course of modern history, replacing monarchies with democracies and republics globally. French citizens uprooted the monarchy with their rebellion, creating a new historical event. The French Revolution began because of social inequality, a financial crisis, and it was resolved when Napoleon became part of the consul.
France was having a financial crisis during the French Revolution and the period of time leading up to the Revolution. Years of war and aiding the American Revolution impacted the economy negatively resulting in the need to stabilize the economy.
…show more content…
The Estate Class system consisted of the Clergy, Nobility, and peasants. Both the clergy and the nobility were the privileged class while the rest of the civilians were unprivileged. Since France was divided into social classes it resulted in unfair treatment to those who were in the lower class. According to the article “French Revolution: An Overview”, it is stated, “The French had good reasons for wanting equality…The nobles and clergy were the privileged orders. They were exempt from such direct taxes as the taille, or land tax. Most taxes were paid by the Third Estate-a class that included peasants…Even among these groups taxes were not equal.” Despite being the lowest class that did not have the most money, the Third Estate had to pay taxes that were rising in that time of French history. Those in the Third Estate could not speak out against the unfair treatment directed towards them because of their social ranking meaning the act of having to pay high taxes will keep going. The article also states, “In addition, the collection of some taxes was made by contractors or tax farmers, and the tax gatherers collected whatever they could.” Not only were they supposed to be the only class paying taxes, but they had no choice in giving the tax collectors what they wanted. There was no limit to what they were asked for, adding to the unfair treatment directed to the lower class in France. Even …show more content…
It resulted in the end of the monarchy and the beginning of an era where equality is the norm. A rebellion against the monarchy was building up throughout the years and the pent up frustration was finally released when the higher class took advantage of the Third Estate. This period of time seemed to have no end, but it was soon resolved when Napoleon took it upon himself to change the social etiquette in France. At the end of the Revolution France was a united nation that seemed to have found their peace and equality that they were aiming to gain with their

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Bankruptcy was a repeating problem for the French government. This bankruptcy began when France went to the 7 years war. As rivals against Britain, Louis did not hesitate to go to war with Britain. The only problem with this was that the…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the start, everything was going great. People were happy but then it started to go downhill, It just ended off in chaos. Great things were happening in the minds of the French, The country was finally becoming nationalistic. The country finally was starting to take control of their own lives and things were starting to change. They wanted to become a democratic state. With that things started to get bad. The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 immediately became a symbol of French nationalism. It showed that people were really starting to take citizenship of them selfs and not relying on the King. The French Revolution took 25 years of blood and hurt that is almost always forgotten about. The people realized that they could become a united front. Another huge event that happened was the Reign of Terror, this only lasted for a short period of time. But was estimated that there were over 200,000 arrests of the people and 17 000 executions via guillotine. Louis XVI was accused for treason. He was then later executed. All of these events made France very unstable. Some people would argue and say - The French Revolution was positive because Napoleon made France come together, this brought the nation unity and a lot of pride. But there is a more outweighing factor; he was a dictator that killed 1-million French and 3-million war deaths. The French Revolution was not…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • 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. The events during the revolution gradually became more and more radical; starting with non-radical things such as the calling of the Estate-General and formation of the National Assembly, then progressing…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution was a revolution in France that overthrew the monarchy from 1789 to 1799 and is generally indicated as the end of the Enlightenment. The French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals and helped shape the nation. The Enlightenment was a time period during the 18th century that stressed thought and reason, as well as the power of individuals to have a say in how their country was run. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and many others wanted to make drastic changes in government, religion, economics, and more. Their teachings inspired citizens to take a stand on unfair government ways which gave them the transformation they wanted to see in society. Although a lot of modifications were made in France during the French Revolution, there was also some that went against it. The French Revolution confirmed and contradicted the main political ideas of the enlightenment due to changes in democracy, taking Louis XVI out of the government, and the views of Robespierre and Napoleon.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution, which started in 1789 and ended in 1799, brought many political and social changes to France. The French Revolution began because the 3rd Estate, which was comprised of peasants and bourgeoisie, was frustrated by the large amount of taxes and also that their voice was not being heard in government. In the beginning of the Revolution, many changes were made based on enlightenment ideals. However, toward the end of the Revolution in 1794, these enlightenment ideals were twisted by Robespierre. Although an effort was made to use enlightenment ideas, it was eventually unsuccessful when the Revolution turned more radical.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    From 1789-1799 the French Revolution took place, when France’s government system of a monarchy was challenged and overthrown. France had many economic problems and was unstable due to the many disagreements amongst social classes and the King. Through an absolute monarch, there was much corruption and crisis, and change was needed. The National Assembly took action, (group members from the Bourgeoisie) and used Enlightenment ideas towards the ideal government, a constitutional monarchy. They moved the government from Versailles to Paris, where the people were. The French Revolution was a political revolution that brought democracy to France, bread to the poor, and new social order through the tennis court oath and the storming of the Bastille.…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    French Revolution Dbq

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The French Revolution was a historic event triggered by a chain of events in France that lasted for ten years. The primary significance of it being the abolishment of absolute monarchy after the lower class fought for their rights and demanded a change in the unfair social structures that have left them in poverty and made their lives more difficult than the first two estates.…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution was divided into three social classes the clergy (first estate), the nobles (second estate) and the peasants (third estate). The upper class (the clergy and the nobles) raised the tax prices on the third estate but they didn’t have to pay taxes. They also raised the price of bread which made most of the peasants starve and they would fight over the loaves of bread. But later the third estate creates something known as the National Assembly and they created the Declaration of the Rights of Man which changed many things. There were many things that caused the French Revolution but the main reasons are the inequalities between the social classes, The Enlightenment, and the American example.…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The French Revolution was an upheaval in France against the monarchy from 1789 to 1799. The outcome of this revolution was that France was established as a republic. The revolution of 1789 had many long-term causes. Three causes of the French Revolution were social, political, and economic troubles.…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq French Revolution

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The financial crisis in France was caused by years of ongoing deficit spending, which was when the government spent more than they were taking in. To worsen this crisis, the government kept taking money and at the same time there was a bad harvest that sent food prices soaring (chapter 6, section 1 page 213). This brought hunger to the Third Estate. The price of bread rose above the people’s ability to pay and this causes great misery (Document 1). The financial crisis could have been solved by increasing the taxes and reducing what is spent, but the nobles and clergy fought back with great effort against any type of reform that would cause their exclusion from taxes to go…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    French Revolution Dbq

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There were many causes and effects during the French Revolution. One cause was “Louis XVI had full control of everything.” and “He levied taxes and spent the people’s money as he saw fit.” ( document 1). This led to “The third estate throwing Louis XVI off of power” King Louis had control of everything and every one because he was an absolute ruler and absolute rulers had divine rights (power comes from god).Nobody wanted to question god so they left…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This occurred in France from 1789-1799. Some of the causes of this revolution were social, economic, financial, and cultural. France was heavily in debt. They were in debt because France had fought against Prussia and Britain in the Seven Years War. They had also served as allies with the colonies against Britain in the American Revolutionary War. The country became poor due to the fact that they had borrowed a lot of money which they invested in the wars. Before the time leading up to the French revolution, France was headed by the Catholic church as well as by nobles.Many people disliked the absolute rule that monarchs and nobles had. The three Estates of france were not divided fairly. The First and Second Estates were made up of the clergy and of nobles while the Third Estate was majority of the population. The Third Estate was made up of the lower class and they still were the only Estate which had to pay tithes or taxes. Enlightenment ideas heavily influenced people’s desire for more power and for liberty. The French were inspired by the American Revolution and saw that a new nation (United States of America), was headed by the Catholic church and alao by nobles. The French Revolution ended in 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte took power thus ending the monarchy. This revolution was just because it gradually fixed the fact the the lower class and people with lower social status were being heavily taken advantage…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The French revolution started in 1789 and lasted until the 1790s, during this time the French citizens completely overthrew their old government and set up a new one that was designed to be fairer to the majority of the populous ("French Revolution). In the years leading up to the revolution France was almost bankrupt due to their involvement in the American…

    • 2394 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Everyone would’ve gotten exactly what they worked for and nobody would have gotten extra benefits. The root causes of the French Revolution were the structural inequality and unfair rights at the time which leads to the Third Estate to believe that the first and Second Estates were enjoying life at the expense of their own well being (The French Revolution, 1-2) . The National Assembly and Enlightenment ideas lead to the Falling of the Bastille and in return the French Revolution. This is important for us because not only does it show us how to overcome certain situations but it also helps us understand the importance of equality and how we shouldn’t categorize each other into certain groups based on pay income, wealth, race, religion and marital status. We can learn from the consequences that the French society had to face as well as improve our economy. This can help us overcome the race based issues in America and teach us how race is so irrelevant and it’s all about the person inside. This relates with the recent terrorist attacks in France and Nairobi by Muslim people, this should teach us not to judge a whole race by a couple of reckless people using religion as an…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The French Revolution occurred under King Louis XVI, who was eventually executed. French society was dealing with high taxes and bad harvests which led them to dislike the government. They disliked the government because they were jealous of the privileges enjoyed by the…

    • 1579 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays