Jenny's Socials 9 Portfolio
The French Revolution:
Was the result worth the cost?
French Revolution. Image courtesy of; http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/francois-furet-prochasson-perry-anderson
For this unit, our assignment were to get write up four paragraphs conserning the cause, events, and aftermath of the French Revolution. The concluding paragraph is to summarize the previous three and conclude that yes, the Revolution was worth it or no, it was not. I worked in a group of three with Rocio and Sophie. Sophie did the causes, Rocio focused on the aftermath and I did the events in between as well as the concluding summary. Below, along with an embeded video and various images are our written assignments and the bibliography.
Mary Antoinette Queen of France, picture by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Causes
The French revolution occurred for many reasons, including, the social inequality, huge population growth, enlightenment ideas, government bankruptcy and poor rulers. France still used the feudal system which was mainly made up of nobles who had privileges and serfs who had none. Many peasants were forced into working on lord’s properties and government projects. Then when farming and animals destroyed their crops and livestock, farmers were forbidden to kill them. To get rid of those animals, aristocrats would hunt them instead and often destroyed crops in the process without owing the workers any compensation. At times the harvests were less prosperous and yielded fewer crops. It made many peasants poor when they also had taxes had to be paid to the lords and, church tithes which were one tenth of their income.
The population of France had doubled its size by the 1800’s and had reached 26 million people by 1789. Goods and food were also in higher demand but got more expensive to the West when gold was discovered in Brazil in 1730. This further added to the poverty of the French lower class when flour became more expensive, since bread was a main part of the French people’s diet the French found it harder to afford food for themselves and their families. In fact a majority of the lower class didn’t support the feudal and monarchic systems due to knowledge of their rights and education privileges. The bourgeoisie or middle class did not like their lack of rights, education, and positions of honour and power in the hierarchy they were part of.
At the time of these events many philosophers were also spreading their ideas all through society of opposing absolute monarchies. These ‘enlightened thinkers’ were all in favour of a democratic and equal society. Among them were Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot and after the American Revolution philosophers came to the realization that they could make their ideas a reality. The contact between French and American troops further helped spread their ideas, some American diplomats such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, who had lived in Paris, were able to talk to members of the French intellectual class. After participating in the American Revolution, the French government was bankrupt and having two unfit rulers only added to the chaos. The rulers, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI who were absolute monarchs, spent huge amounts of money on unnecessary things. Louis XVI fired financial ministers who tried to help with the government dept which caused further chaos. This was all while Marie Antoinette spent huge amounts of money on unnecessary things like shoes and remained unaware of the people starving outside her door.
Events
In a last ditch effort to save France’s economy, Louis XVI decides to convene the Estates General which consists of three estates representing nobility, clerky and the public respectively in 1789. They were to find a taxation solution and the decided method would be implemented. However the First and Second Estates, nobility and clerky, were exempt from taxes while the Third Estate, the public, weren’t. Furthermore, the Third Estate greatly outnumber the first two yet each Estate is only allowed one vote meaning they can always be overruled by the First and Second Estates.
Resentment caused the Third Estate to revolt and rename themselves as the National Assembly, using their greater numbers to their advantage. Shortly after the formation of the National Assembly, the members of said assembly were denied entrance to an Estates General meeting.
Estates General meeting. http://historylists.org/images/meeting-of-the-estates-general.jpg
Ignoring the King’s demand for them to disperse, the National Assembly gathered in an indoor tennis court and swore to never to disband until a new constitution is instituted.
The Tennis Court Oath"Le Serment du Jeu de paume" by Jacques-Louis David - frome de lutene. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Later in October, the women in Paris organized a march on Versailles, where King Louis XVI’s mansion is located. They stormed the palace and overcame the royal guards. After doing so, the mob demanded King Louis and Marie Antoinette come back with them and live among the their people. Louis quickly agreed because of two reasons, he had no other choice and he thought it would be a temporary arrangement. Arriving back at Paris, Marie and Louis were placed immediately under guard.
The Tennis Court Oath inspired the citizens of France to take action. In Paris, that same year, citizens storm Bastille, the city’s largest prison mostly housing political prisoners in an attempt to obtain arms. The citizens eventually overwhelm the guards. Hearing this news, King Louis withdraws all Royal troops from the capital. The National Assembly, now called National Constituent Assembly, became the unofficial government. Meanwhile, in the countryside, peasants and farmers are revolting against their landlords by attacking their manors and estates in a period dubbed, “the Great Fear.” This lasts until early August, when the August Decrees were commissioned, freeing the peasants from their contracts, accompanied by the release of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen on September 30th 1791.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
http://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/doromac.jpg
France’s neighboring countries, Australia and Prussia hear of this and feel threatened by France’s revolutionary spirit so they release the Declaration of Pillnitz, insisting King Louis XVI reclaim the throne. This action was perceived as hostile by the revolutionaries and so they declare war on Australia and Prussia. In midst of war, King Louis attempts to flee France with the intention of returning and seizing the throne once France lost the war. The Legislative Assembly, which formed after the National Constitutional Assembly disbanded, were split into two opposing sides by this. Because it has been agreed beforehand that no member in the National Assembly would have a seat in the Parliament, the Legislative Assembly were comprised of various opposing political factions all of whom lack valuable political experience. The moderate members of the Assembly, Girondins wanted constitutional monarchy while the radical members, Jacobins wished to rid themselves of a King altogether. Eventually, Louis XVI was tried and guillotined for treason. Marie Antoinette was executed in similar fashion shortly after. The leader of the Jacobins, Maximilien Robespierre took over and France officially became a Republic.
La Guillotine en 1793 by H. Fleischmann (1908), page 269
Aftermath
Maximilien Robespierre, the man behind the reign of terror, was its last victim. When he called for a purge, the rest of the committee and even his supporters sent him to the guillotine in order to end the violence.
However, the immediate effects of the French Revolutions were ones that no one had hoped for, a period of time that would later be known as the Reign of Terror or La Terreur, a time known for its extreme violence. After taking its first victim, the queen Marie Antoinette, the Committee of Public Safety came to power as the new form of government. Though in their time of power, the committee did nothing but cause political terror, despite the revolution's ideas. Comparable to Cromwell's rise to power during the English Civil War, in spite of his good intentions, Cromwell ended up being just as much as a tyrant as Charles I, the man he had fought to overthrow. The committee eventually started to fear its own people, and take drastic measures against possible enemies. Robespierre, the mastermind of the Terror, said "Softness to traitors will destroy us all." By passing the Law of Suspects, the committee was able to arrest and execute anyone who was believed to be "an enemy of freedom." However, this contradicted the Declaration of Rights of Man, a book that stated popular revolution was acceptable when the government did not defend their citizens' natural rights. 16,594 lost their lives to the guillotine, and many of them were peasants who had made critical remarks about the committee.
After the beheading of King Louis XVI during the reign of Terror, the people finally started achieving what the revolution had aimed. The feudal system was abolished, leaving nobles without their titles, and tithes and taxes were cancelled. Overall, less power and privileges was given to the church and the nobles to better achieve social equality like removing the divine right of kingship.
After Robespierre's execution, the Committee lost most of its power and the Directory took charge.
This allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to seize power. Despite being born to a small minor family, France's new view of social status allowed him to rise up in the army and was eventually made commander of the Army of the Interior. Later, he was given control of the army in Italy, and conquered most of Italy in the name of the Revolution. According to Frederick Artz, Italy actually benefited from this and received more religious and intellectual tolerance, a fair taxation system, and an overall better economic situation. Switzerland was also conquered during the French Conquest, and were given freedom of thought and faith, as well as equality of all citizens. Although in 1814, most of the nations France had conquered were returned to their previous owners the benefits they had gained stayed. Napoleon also issued the Napoleonic Code, which did not allow privileges due to birthright , freedom of religion and stated that government jobs should be more qualified.
The French Revolution had also left the people of France with a sense of nationalism, an idea that would quickly spread to other nations, such as small states in Germany, due to Napoleon's French Conquest. Like the American Revolution, The French Revolution inspired revolutions in Poland, Latin America, Ireland, and in the middle classes of Germany and Italy.
In Conclusion...
The automatic response to the French Revolution would be yes, it was worth it because it spread the idea of democracy, equality and freedom. Essentially, it gave birth to the democratic government we experience today in Canada. However, there's a knot in the wonderful tapestry. After Napolean fell from power, the monatchy was re-instituted. Matter of the fact is, in the end, the French Revolution did not acomplish what it set out to do, which was to make France a Republic. However, even though the French Revolution lead to unecessary blood-shed and failed to acheive the goal it was meant to acomplish, the Revolution did more good than harm.
The cause of the Revolution was well justified. The French economy was already weak and helping America war against Britian and a sudden population growth brought it to it's knees. This meant the common public were starving and suffering while the uncaring Royalty and Nobles sat in their cushioned seats and sipped wine. To make matters worse, the richest of the french (aka the Nobility, Clerky and Royal Family) were exempted from paying taxes while the common folk were forced to bear the full impact of France's dwindling treasury. Meanwhile, philosophers of the age were spreading the idea that, "Hey, democracy and equality is achievable." Everything snowballed onto what we know now as the French Revolution.
So King Louis XIV noticed the economic crisis and attempted to solve it by calling together the three estates in order to have a meeting called Estates General. The idea is, if they can decide on a new taxing method, it would be put into action. The Third Estate represented the public and the odds were serverely stacked against their favor in terms of taxing. So the Third Estate formed a new group called the National Assembly and vowed to never disband unless a constitution is put in place. The public, hearing this, revolt and lash back against the higher class. After the Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen was released, France declares war on Autralia and Prussia because they demanded that Louis re-ascend the throne. In midst of warfare, Louis and his Queen attempts to escape, which leads to their capture and execution.
By all rights, France was then a Republic. What happened, however, was that Maximilien Robspierre, the leader of the Jacobin/more radical faction of the Legislative Assembly (which replaced the National Assembly) took charge and organized a massive "purge." This means the killing of anyone percieved to be "against the revolution" and an "enemy of freedom." Today, it is known as the Reign of Terror.
However, the Reign of Terror didn't, in anyway, deminish the benifits of the French Revolution, which was making democracy an option. After Robespierre was guillotined in the Reign of Terror, Napolean rose to power. He introduce to France the idea of Emporer and thus named himself one. He conquered many countries in his time in the name of the revolution. And in doing so, Napolean effectivly spread the benifits of democracy, like equality and diminished taxation. The benifits were long-term. So inspite of the ceasless exectution that took place during the Reign of Terror, the French Revolution was well worth the sacrifice. It helped shape a major part of life today.
Modern Day Paris. Photo courtesy of; mostbeautifulplaces.org
And the promised video...