french revolution 2
There was a loud "thunk" as the blade hit the wood block. Silence and then a cheer rose from the crowd, as yet another nobleman's head rolled down. Deaths like this occurred often in the French Revolution, one of the bloodiest revolutions in history, it was responsible for taking the lives of thousands of Frenchmen. But what was the cause of this carnage? As former Vice President Hubert Humphrey said, "History teaches us that the great revolutions aren't started by people who are utterly down and out, without hope and vision. They take place when people begin to live a little better - and when they see how much remains to be achieved." This is almost exactly what started this most significant and influential revolution which has forever changed the course of World History. The people's glimpse of a better life of freedom and equality is what brought this historical event to arms. When the French Revolution began in 1789, the rest of Europe watched in shock. For more than 100 years France had been one of the largest, most prosperous, and powerful of European nations. In a short time the monarchy lost much of its power and a group of elected representatives voted to execute the king. These representatives then formed a set of
The First Estate made up less than 1 percent of the entire French population and consisted of the clergy of the Roman Catholic church. They were not obligated to pay any taxes yet they still agreed to make donations of money to the French king. One-tenth of all the land in France was owned by these clergy, and they received unbelievable amounts of money from rents, taxes, and fees that the lands brought in. As a result of their wealth many of the clergy became lazy and neglected many of their spiritual duties. The rest of the people of France made the Third Estate. This estate itself, since it consisted of the majority of the population, was broken into 3 sub-groups. At the top stood the "bourgeoisie," who were the city-dwelling middle class people, who were merchants, manufacturers, and professional people such as doctors and lawyers. Many of them were wealthy and well-educated. Below the bourgeoisie came the laborers and artisans of the cities. At the bottom of all of this stood the peasants who often led miserable lives in poverty, their lives in the hands of their landlords and the king. (Bosher) The nobility composed the Second Estate, and represented only 2 percent of the population. They had special privileges and customs that had come out of the feudal times, such as the right to bear a sword, and function themselves as "lord of the manor." They paid few taxes and collected feudal dues from the peasants. This estate was regarded by the others as thoughtless, irresponsible, and extravagant. (Bosher) However Louis XVI still tried to save his power and authority as a king and tried to secretly bring troops to Paris and Versailles, where the representatives were meeting. In fear that the king planned to drive out the National Assembly by force, the people of Paris took action. It was on July14, 1789 that they stormed and captured the Bastille, a hated prison-fortress, in search of weapons. It was these weapons which they would use to defend the National Assembly against the royal troops. Finally Louis XVI decided to gather at Versailles in May 1789 , with the Estates-General. He hoped that by calling together the representatives of all three estates, and not just of the nobility he might be able to get approval for his plan to tax the wea
Some common words found in the essay are:
Third Estate, National Assembly, Louis XVI, Roman Catholic, French Revolution, Henry IV, Humphrey History, , Regime French, World History, third estate, louis xvi, liberty equality, french revolution, national assembly, nobles clergy, cobb louis xvi, pay taxes, revolution 1789, french kings, cobb louis,
Approximate Word count = 1539
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
