How Did The French Revolution Undermine Democracy?

One of the 1st proofs for their problems with the politics in France was, “In order to assure the 3rd estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers… its votes in the assembly should be taken by head…(Doc. 3 “Cahiers”) This excerpt from document 3 explains that the 3rd estates wants more power in government and politics due to the amount of number of people. The purpose for this, is so that they have a say in government and will not get outvoted by the 1st and 2nd estate who have majority of the power during the ancient regime. Another example of the politics in France is in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), “ Liberty consists in being to do anything that does not arm another person.” (Doc 8, Rule 4 of Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen).

The French Revolution began in the year of 1789, which would soon change the course of history for both France and surrounding nations. During this time, peasants were rebelling because they were being treated unfairly and changes needed to be made for the future of the country. While rebelling, the people used some of the ideas from the American Revolution, which had a positive impact on the people. The revolution did not only affect the French people, but it also had an impact on the countries watching. One can argue that the French Revolution wasn’t effective, however, the members of the third estate rebelled because they weren’t given social or economical equality and their rebellious actions lead to a change in government and the Declaration

One might ask if the 1789 document, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen addressed the needs of all the people of the third estate like its writers claimed was its purpose. The National Assembly of France, which consisted of mostly wealthy bourgeoisies men, wrote the declaration. The remaining members of the third estate, which included the urban poor sans-culottes, therefore did not have much say in what was being addressed to the public. Enlightenment ideas such as popular sovereignty and civic equality, advocated by both the bourgeoisies and sans-culottes, is apparent in the statement. Furthermore, the National Assembly of France addressed the sans-culottes’ need of equality, employment based on talent, and desire for a political reorganization.

The goal of the French Revolution was to change the governmental structure from a monarchy to a democracy and that government was to spread their democratic ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity (Doc B). However, people in the Vendée region were thrown off of boats and drowned for opposing the revolution (French Revolution - History Channel documentary). An important part of democracy is freedom of speech, the idea that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. With displays of violence, the government sent the message that only those in support of the revolution could speak their mind. Additionally, one major complaint of the people in France was that the King had too much power; yet, a court of justice called the revolutionary Tribunal was established to try all crimes against the state, and the members would not be elected. Instead they were “appointed by the National Convention (the revolutionary government) and their power would be absolute” (Doc E). So while the leaders ‘established’ a system in which the people could decide what they want and who they want in authority, only a small group of people decided the fate of thousands. Furthermore the very leader of the revolution claimed that in order to create a democracy, they had to act as a dictatorship. In a speech to the National Convention, Robespierre said, “We must finish the war of

This statement shows how poorly people of the lower class were treated, and how corrupt this system of government is on the people of France. Once the French monarchy faced bankruptcy in 1787, the Estates General was called, and a new form of government was formed called the National Assembly. This government was composed of members of the third estate, because they were the only estate that had to pay taxes when they were already poor. The National Assembly was the rightful representatives of the French people, who demanded tax reform and greater political equality. In a report of the British Ambassador, the Duke

229 years ago, was the start of The French Revolution. No historians have reached consensus to the exact reason for this major event in world history. Even though many of the issues that caused the revolution like rich getting richer and poor people getting poorer, I can barely imagine invading Buckingham Palace, beheading our Queen or breaking into a military facility full of weaponry.

The development of the French Revolution was greatly influenced by the philosophies of the French Enlightenment period. Interestingly, disparate to the English and American Revolutions, the French Revolution did not evolve in a linear fashion. Instead, it progressed in a series of conflicting phases, each of which could be considered almost as a revolution in itself. Political theorists – such as Montesquieu, Rousseau and Voltaire – were sources of inspiration for key revolutionaries throughout the Revolution’s three major phases. As the revolutionists occupying the leading roles changed, the principles of the Revolution’s former phase were abandoned in favour of another policy, essentially antithetical to the previous one. Ultimately, in shifting between various Enlightenment philosophers, France was able to subject its government to massive structural change - from being an absolute monarchy (prior to the Revolution), to a constitutional monarchy (1791-1792), then a republic (1792-1804), and finally a dictatorship (under Napoleon Bonaparte).

Citizens were not permitted to vote as individuals. Instead one vote was given to each of the three estates, the clergy (first), aristocrats (second), and everyone else excluded from the first two, who were most commonly peasants and the working class (third) (Roberts et al. 646). Unsurprisingly, the Third Estate was outvoted and citizens within became furious. They, “…insisted that those who worked [for low wages] and pay taxes were the nation…” (Roberts et al. 646) Shortly afterward, the National Assembly was born and was determined to take France’s future into its own (Belloc, 93).

In pre-revolutionary France, the “Old Regime”, had a social system called the “Estates General”: the clergy, the nobles and the Third Estate. The Third Estate represented ninety-five percent of the population in which later became the majority of the members in the National Assembly. Maximilien Robespierre, one of the most influential leaders during the French Revolution, led the Third Estate to a tennis court after they protested joining of the clergy and nobles to the National Assembly. After their Oath, the National Assembly fought for the power of the people

When analyzing the French Revolution, the idea of political transformation and citizen involvement play a huge role in actually understanding how the revolution altered from enlightened conversations in salons to its completion, resulting from the French “voice” uniting to halt The Terror that Paris had become. Reflecting back on this event, historians still debate on the specific moment this aristocratic revolution of 1789 turned into the blood-bath radical revolution due to the momentum and contingency that each event has on the overall Revolution. The two authors, Jeremy Popkin, and Timothy Tackett, explain their historical opinion on this period of French history, in which both share a similar

The reign of Terror in France was so profoundly influential that subsequently sent the rest of Europe into a period of revolutionary change. The revolution saw substantial change to both political and social aspects. During this period the French constitution of 1789, by the National assembly, constituted the principle of democracy. This being distinctive at the time as England was the only country to have constitutional rights and even their right to vote was minimal.

Many people wonder, how did the French revolution end in dictatorship? There are many different arguments that can be made about this topic, but there is no one right answer. Although the three most influential causes were that the French Revolution gave power to poorer people who did not have it before, there were many wars which boosted Napoleon’s popularity, making it easier for him to slip into power, and Napoleon was a determined, smart, and well liked man. Although the French Revolution began by defending the rights of the people, the combination of the social shakeup, all of the wars which caused a major dependence on the army, and Napoleon’s ambition ultimately caused it to end in dictatorship.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité was the cry of freedom that countless people used to propel them through, and to the end of the French Revolution. This long period of social, political and economic change in France lasted 10 years, starting in 1798 and ended with Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Revolution greatly affected all of Europe at the time and continues to represent the embodiment of revolution to this day. This constant struggle between the heavily taxed, burdened, and unrepresented third estate and those higher created an environment of monumental change for everyone. In the years leading up to the French Revolution, new beliefs and ideas were reaching every corner of Europe creating the thought that men should live free of oppression. However, in France the leader Louis XVI lead like a tyrant leaving the people impoverish and angry. Through the analysation of numerous circumstance present during the Ancien Régime, such as an inferior fiscal leadership, massive debt, and the forthcoming of new ideas during the Enlightened period, it can be concluded that the means for this revolution were justified as it is in our essence to revolt for a change.

Revolutions are a common occurrence throughout world history. With the amount of revolutions in history, there are those that get lost and those that are the most remembered or well known. One of the well known revolutions is the French Revolution which occurred in the years 1789 to 1799. Before the French Revolution, France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, this meaning that one ruler had the supreme authority and that said authority was not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs, a definition given by wikipedia.com and the feudal system, which was a system that said a peasant or worker would receive a piece of land in return for serving under a king, a definition given by vocabulary.com. Those who opposed the, then

The freedom to openly criticise a government is completely necessary to ensure that the people and their ideals and beliefs are being fairly represented in the state. Sometimes, when it is widely believed that the government is not and will not justly represent its people, the people will start to desire a new form of government. A desire for political reform is almost always the initial step towards national self-determination. The result can be a superior system or a significant disappointment. This is blatantly evident in the French Revolution, which occurred partially because of unfair political representation in the Estates General assembly. The French monarchy at the time was not promoting positive change in areas such as war, finances, and social classes. Without change, the country could not grow and find success. The demand for change was formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals. Therefore, the Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon that rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe and beyond. The lack of political control directly after the Revolution led to extreme social instability highlighted by the bloody Reign of Terror in which approximately 16,500 people were executed. Ultimately, the French people’s efforts to establish a fair representative government through self-determination failed as Napoleon formed France into