“The specific societal configurations of state, economic, and class forces make a great difference in structuring the type of revolution.” (Skocpol CP 28) In the French revolution it was a combination of state (political), economic, and class (the estates) forces that created a need for revolution. When the revolution began all three of these forces were involved in one of the first major events of the revolution, the calling of the Estates general. It was the calling of the Estates General that marked the true beginning of the French Revolution. This event was inevitable due to the failed economic reforms, the lack of power given to the bourgeois, and the enlightenment principles that were acquired during the 1700’s. One of the major reasons
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In 1783 a man named Calonne was called to head the peace time economic reform movements (Doyle 34). His plan had three parts, first was a uniform land tax with no exemptions (Doyle 3). Second was an elimination of many government regulations it terms of price control, forced labor and internal barriers to trade (Doyle 34). And finally he planned to open trade back up with England to help boost the economy (Doyle 34). These plans failed horribly and helped to lead to calls for the king to call the estates general to fix the economic problems. It was in part through the economic structure of France in the 1780’s that the estates general had to be called to fix the …show more content…
The intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment was developed out of scientific principles that were discovered in the 1600’s (Doyle 31). The principles that guided enlightenment thought were that of rational thought and common sense approaches to everything in life. It was this kind of thought that was critical to the guiding principles of the American Revolution (Lecture 9/17). Before the revolution many of the great enlightened thinkers of time lived in Paris, and had a great influence over the printed media of the time. It was through this influence that they educated the masses on enlightened thought and gave them ideas of controlling their own lives and living for the nation not the king (Lecture 9/17). The principles of enlightened thought helped to create an environment in which the estates general had to be
In 1783 a man named Calonne was called to head the peace time economic reform movements (Doyle 34). His plan had three parts, first was a uniform land tax with no exemptions (Doyle 3). Second was an elimination of many government regulations it terms of price control, forced labor and internal barriers to trade (Doyle 34). And finally he planned to open trade back up with England to help boost the economy (Doyle 34). These plans failed horribly and helped to lead to calls for the king to call the estates general to fix the economic problems. It was in part through the economic structure of France in the 1780’s that the estates general had to be called to fix the …show more content…
The intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment was developed out of scientific principles that were discovered in the 1600’s (Doyle 31). The principles that guided enlightenment thought were that of rational thought and common sense approaches to everything in life. It was this kind of thought that was critical to the guiding principles of the American Revolution (Lecture 9/17). Before the revolution many of the great enlightened thinkers of time lived in Paris, and had a great influence over the printed media of the time. It was through this influence that they educated the masses on enlightened thought and gave them ideas of controlling their own lives and living for the nation not the king (Lecture 9/17). The principles of enlightened thought helped to create an environment in which the estates general had to be