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In looking throughout history revolution has been a common theme. Revolutions sprung up throughout history for various reasons. Some have been based in politics, others were based on social reasons, still others were based on economic reasons and some have been the combination of all these things. Some have involved the independence of nations, some have involved industries, and others have involved the rise of the middle and lower classes. Revolutions are thing that have the potential to totally change the face of society, but at the same time that potential can back fire and cause even more problems. The reasons for each individual revolution are very distinct.
There is not one universal principle that guides a revolution, but each revolution throughout history has been influence by the lower and middle classes. No revolution was more impacted by the influence of the lower class and middle class than in the French Revolution. The French Revolution was the ultimate example of how and why the under class struck up against the old views of society. Prior to the revolution France was under the control of the Old Regime.
The Old Regime was a period of time often considered by many to be representative of a crashed society. Under the old regime, the king was the absolute monarchy. Under the rule of Louis XIV Frances bureaucracy was centralized. Louis had absolute power to rule as he pleased. His rule was basically unchallenged. He had complete control over the system of finance.
Louis was a very extravagant king. His extravagance caused the treasury to be burdened heavily. However, because Louis had control the finances of the country he was able to create taxes to fund his royal treasury. He created a tax system that only benefited those who were wealthy. During the time that Louis reigned as king society was broken down into three orders or classes. The first group was known as the First Estate.
The first estate consisted of the Clergy, or the Church. They owned nearly 10 % of all lands in France. They paid no taxes under Louis plan. To support the Church's activities the Church did collect a tithe, or tax on income. The upper nobles of France were also part of this estate.
These people lived luxurious lives in major French cities such as Paris and Versailles. The second estate in French life was mainly comprised of about 400, 000 individuals who held all the public offices in the kingdom. These people were born into the nobility and because of birth were given all the privileges that go along being nobility. This class, generally characterized by the richest members of society, enjoyed extensive rights, great land, and much wealth.
The Nobles accumulated their wealth by collecting taxes, rent, and dues for the use of farms and estates. This estate showed how lopsided society really was; most of the members of this estate werent even rich, but were they too were exempt from taxes. The third estate consisted of every French citizen who was not classified as either Clergy or Nobility. It comprised of three main groups: the peasants, the middle class, and the urban workers. The peasants mainly led the lives of farmers.
In contrast the middle class was composed of the most important people in society. However, the middle class often worried about social status, for it was not socially recognized because it was the third estate. The urban workers, on the other hand, held much weight in society before and during the revolution. Their anger over low wages and shortages of food resulted in mob violence during the Revolution. Since the first two estates were exempt from taxes this left the third estate to provide almost all the countries income. Despite the size of the third estate, it had the least influence of all three groups.
They were forced to pay taxes on their income, land, property, crops, salt, tobacco, wine, cider and even their lives. These taxes were just too much for a hard working individual to pay. In addition to financial constraints, peasants and farmers were forbidden to kill any game animal. On top of all these restrictions, the commoners were forced into military service. The people of third estate were tired of being treated unfairly throughout their everyday lives. Clearly this system was unfair and thing would have to change.
During the 1780 s, Frances financial crisis grew daily as the king drained the countrys treasury. The peasants wanted relief and the middle class desired freedom from the restrictions of the third estate. Despite this growing tension the King continued to resist the demands of his people. As a result of his constant refusal to grant his people equal rights, many rebellions and wars broke out and financing these wars diminished the country's treasury.
Furthermore, a series of bad harvest hurt the peasant even more. These unfortunate circumstances hurt the peasants even more than the problems they had faced before. In addition to these events, food riots, lack of work, and the issuance of political pamphlets all played key roles in fuelling the fire of the French Revolution. This revolution symbolized equality for all classes around the world.
The French Revolution spanned throughout the 18 th and early 19 th Century. It effect are various and vast. The essence of the Revolution was the lower classes rising up against a government which professed equality but practiced prejudice in all it policies. The Revolution grew out of a need for equality and it is a symbol for all societies that they can change their lives. The most important reason the French Revolution was that the middle class was strong and they were able to change their situation.
Bibliography: Bibliography Dowd, David; The French Revolution. New York, American Heritage Pub, 1965.
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