French Revolution

The French Revolution was the second major revolution in our history. It was sparked by the American Revolution. Not only did the French help bring freedom to America, they also used many of the ideas from the first revolution in their own. There were a lot of problems leading up to the revolution and obviously there would be problems following.

The French Revolution originally stood for popular democracy, social equality, and personal liberty; but later on a few tyrants and dictators ruined that goal. The revolution sprung up in 1789 mainly because of finances and taxation between the monarch and his subjects. (American RevolutionÐ'...Ð'...) There were three phases of the Revolution: 1) Constitutional Monarchy-this broke down into 3 estates which included the clergy, then nobility, then all of the commoners. The way this system worked was to insure that the top two estates would maintain power even though the 3rd estate had the majority of the people. 2) Jacobin Terror- this included radicals who were led by Maximillian Robespierre. And 3) Thermidorean Reaction- this was the conclusion before the Napoleaninic times. The name Thermidorean comes from Thermidor which was the new name for August after the "Reign of Terror" was finished. Once again the middle class and the wealthy came to power.

Learning more about the French Revolution was good because now I clearly know what really went on at a greater span. Robespierre was a tyrant who was classically dealt with, and Napolean was a dictator who opened the eyes of the French and made them the great nation that they are today. The only thing wrong with these French leaders is that once they come into to power, they become real pig headed.