The Pros And Cons Of The French Revolution

The French Revolution, which is often described as the beginning of Modern Europe, represents the beginning of the 19th century. The political change brought by the Revolution was so immense that it caused other European powers to intervene to prevent its ideas from entering the conscious of their subjects. Ideals outlined by the Declarations of the Right of Man such as “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” and “As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty,” ideas that Europe today considers basic and inalienable was anathema to the autocrats of the time (National Assembly of France). The attack of the Coalitions on France brought rise to Napoleon, a general of the same stripe as Hannibal and Alexander. Napoleon scored major victories over every power …show more content…
Fascist governments, even fascist-leaning ones, are subject to European Union sanction as seen with the Freedom Party in Austria (Bell 245). These governments existence is key to defining modern Europe as the surviving institutions spent so much on combatting them. The Nazis razed Europe to the ground and it had to be rebuilt. The Soviets left Eastern Europe stuck behind the West technologically and economically, wounds which have yet to be healed. The Revolutions of 1848 achieved no lasting reforms, and the same could be argued about the Revolutions of the 20th century as those nations have since dissolved, but the Russian and Fascist Revolutions caused nearly unimaginable destruction. Thirty-six million died in Europe during the Second World War and millions more in the purges of the Soviet Union (Judt 17). If only the human cost is considered, the radical governments of the 20th century still give an immense push to the 20th century being the most important in the creation of a modern Europe, one that has hung up the gloves on