The French Revolution

The French Revolution has notably been recognized as the war of the liberation of humanity and is an excellent lesson on the workings of mob mentality. Both of these perspectives are feasible because never before in the history of Western Civilization had there been such a triumph for traditionally oppressed groups of men and women. France like many other nations at the time was in turmoil and civil unrest with classes dividing the people. Discontent within the peasantry was rising. Moreover, the support for the American Revolution and a weak monarch that forced the Ancien Regime, which undoubtedly had many negative features, were all trigger points to the French Revolution. Nevertheless, the one point that pushed the ideology of the revolution to actual actions was the economic state of France, so bad was the financial system that King Louis 14th was almost bankrupt.

France in the late 18th century was a society divided and separated by classes. The population was divided into three estates. The Third Estate was made up of the peasants, wage earners and beggars. They were the majority of the population. The Second Estate was for the nobility. The First Estate included the clergy. The Upper Clergy were very wealthy and influential and therefore they were the most powerful estate. The first and second estates had privileges and benefits over the third estate. For example even though these two estates were much more wealthier then the third they were exempt from paying taxes. They were also fortunate enough to be the only members of society to hold positions of importance such as officers in the army or judges in the courts. Over time the first two estates were taking advantage of their stature and this caused great dissatisfaction within the Third Estate. To put more fuel on the fire the peasants had many other grievances and one of the main objections they had was the seigniorial system. This system allowed for larger income inequality in France and a real separation of classes. This often left peasants almost isolated and more importantly discriminated against. In addition, the third estate was heavily taxed and all the burden of paying the kings debts was put on the shoulders of the peasants. The taxation became so large that most peasants were almost giving all their money just to pay the taxes. This obviously led to problems within the Third estate and was key reason to the uprising.

French aid to America was huge and very costly. Considering France's already poor financial position this was a heavy load on the taxpayers. The main reason for sending support to the Americans was to take out revenge against the British after the humiliating Seven Years War defeat. However, the importance of the American Revolution is not only associated with the cost but also with the American revolutionary ideas. Like a little boy coping his bigger brother, the French peasants were impressed with America's success against the British and wanted to taste such victory and freedom. The majority of the French population was amazed and bewildered about the events that took place in the 13 colonies. Like in most of Europe at the time a new way of philosophy and ideology was developing among the Third estate. When the French troops (mostly Third estate) came back from America they brought back revolutionary thoughts and encouraged this new school of thought. Many of them believed that on the principles of the American Revolution they could achieve the same success in France. Those principles include that you have the right to take up arms against any form of treason, there should be no taxation without representation and all men poor or rich should have liberal freedom.

An Absolute Monarchy can falter if the monarch is weak and more significantly if the people are not particularly loyal to him. It was known to the people that Louis XVI was a bored and lazy king that was not a hard worker. It was also acknowledged to them that he was more concerned with his own personal interests than in the interests of the State. Often he became fed up with his duties and he left his work up to his advisers and ministers. Or even worse he would make hurried decisions that would cause even worse consequences in France all for the fact that he was not educated on the issues concerning the state. He was influenced and often embarrassed by his wife Marie Antoinette who held great power over Louis XVI and France. She talked him out of many economic reforms that could have prevented the revolution. Moreover, much of the population resented her and Louis XVI for being so out of touch with the people and the issues. Louis XVI was also not a very decisive man or neither was he demanding leader, he never imposed taxes on the nobles and never took strong measures to resolve the problems in France. Louis XVI also preferred the old Ancien Regime that refers to the old order of France. The government was an Absolute Monarchy that was supposed to be in charge of justice, the