French Revolution Dbq Essay

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. In the earliest stage of the Revolution, equality and fairness were implemented. In 1762, a famous philosopher, …show more content…
Robespierre emerged as the leader of the Reign of Terror. His influence from Rousseau was shown through the Republic of Virtue, but it was quickly twisted into a much darker idea. Robespierre then created the Committee of Public Safety which caused terror throughout France, and stated “Terror is nothing but prompt, severe, inflexible justice; it is therefore an emanation of virtue”(Document 7). Robespierre went against enlightenment ideals, such as Beccaria’s, by convicting citizen without evidence and prosecuting them without a trial. Robespierre soon went against Rousseau's idea that everyone was equal, because Robespierre clearly saw himself as being above the law. The Committee of Public Safety was given powers other than prosecuting whoever they saw fit such as Dechristianization. Dechristianization made it so Sundays did not exist on the calendar anymore. Robespierre and his Committee wanted everyone to forget about God and how things used to be in France, because they believed they were introducing a new and better way of ruling. Robespierre claimed he applied enlightenment ideals in his new policies, but he was actually just twisting them to make it so he could keep the people of France happy for as long as