The Third Estate Analysis

The Third Estate, the general population of France, is an unrepresented and oppressed class that Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes tries to rally in his pamphlet, What is the Third Estate?, to stand up rebel against the First and Second Estates. In the opening paragraphs of his pamphlets he describes four classes. The first being one that collects the raw materials, the second sculpts the materials into valuables, the third class packages and distributes the valuables, and the fourth encompasses everyone else who consumes and fills in the blanks. Then Sieyes goes into explaining what the Third Estate is.
Sieyes believes that the Third Estate is essential everything and because it comprises the four main classes of French Society. Therefore, the members of the Third Estate have a duty to stand up and take control of the other French States, because the Third Estate is being misrepresented. Sieyes goes forward to list the grievances of this estate and complaining that the Third Estate is everything except that it is “everything shackled and oppressed” by the privilege estate. The grievances and rights of Third Estate that Sieyes believes are not being represented properly are explicitly explained in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (August 1789). …show more content…
This declaration is essential the French People’s, the Third Estates, equivalent to the American Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. It starts off by stating that the following articles represent the feelings of Third Estate. The reason for coming forth is that they have been cheated by the illegitimate representatives and that they are done being stepped on. These feeling can be attributed from John Locke’s idea of value of property, and the American view of the basic human rights, life, liberty, and property. The other articles include ones about freedom of speech, the purpose of the government, and that everyone is treated equally under law no matter their class. Along with some other grievances the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen is the plea of the French people that they’ve had enough. By expressing their feelings they are also saying stating that if they are not properly representing that they will no longer sit on the sidelines.
As the writers of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen go on it is obvious that they are closely following in footsteps of the United States. The seeds of revolution were set by writings of Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes. He was able to convey the discontent of the nation, and spread it throughout the country. This was made possible because of new inventions like the printing press which increases the literacy rate of Europe. The Third Estate begins to realize how unfairly the elite treat them so they begin collecting themselves, and start formulating the rights they believe they deserve. This leads to them informing the French government that no longer will be raped of their basic their rights. French lower classes begin to start assembling and formalizing a document which is essentially a French equivalent to the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen completed during the summer of 1789 right before the French Revolution. It lies out what the French general population wants from the government, which is just to be treated fairly under the law and to have the basic