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Bastille Day and the French Revolution |
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"Bastille Day, on the Fourteenth of July, is the French symbol of the end of the Monarchy and the beginning of the French Revolution" (www.hightowertrail.com). It is very much like Independence Day in the United States because it is a celebration of the beginning of a new form of government.
There are several factors that led to the Revolution. King Louis XV and King Louis XVI both led extremely extravagant lives. They spent a lot of the government's money on luxuries even while the government had some financial problems. One of the government's main jobs back then was to protect their country from, and manage wars. In the Seven Years War against England, France spent large sums of money on the war effort but they still lost the war and had to give up their colonies in North America. Many French citizens regarded this loss as a major humiliation.
The population was divided into three estates. The Third Estate, also known as the commoners was made up of the bourgeoisie, wage earners and the peasantry. They were the majority of the population. The Second Estate was for the nobility. The First Estate was composed of the clergy. The Upper Clergy were very wealthy and powerful and therefore they related to the First Estate. The
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Below are additional random excerpts from the paper...
In 18th Century the peasant population increased dramatically. This growth in population increased the demand for more land. Land was being divided into smaller and smaller sections to cope with this problem. Eventually some sections of land were not even enough for a peasant to support his own family. The wars in America left France in huge debt. To try and pay this debt the nobility increased taxes on the peasants, which further increased their resentment towards the nobility. Poor harvests in 1787 and 1788 led to a food shortage. The peasants could barely feed themselves let alone pay taxes. The peasants started to threaten violence if their situation wasn't improved. There was an increased competition from British textile manufacturers. This left many people without jobs, and a huge increase in unemployment.
Finally, the ideas of the American constitution were published in France and were widely discussed by the people. Many regarded America as a "perfect" society. French soldiers who fought in America returned with new views and ideas. The French involvement in the war led to a financial crisis. France borrowed heavily to finance the war but didn't get many benefits from it.
Reign of Terror. The leaders rejected the idea of federalism and enforced their own ideas upon the people. They held mass executions by guillotine, closed churches, and repressed religious freedoms among other things. They claimed their acts were justified because of the European monarchy allegiances just outside of France and the growing number of uprisings within the borders. In the end, in an ironic twist of fate the leaders of The First Republic found themselves under the blade of the guillotine.
The Assembly issued the declaration of the rights of man, which stated three basic rules of new government. These were personal freedom, equality before the law and popular sovereignty. This declaration began by saying that all men are born free and with equal and natural rights. "Also, according to the Declaration all citizens had the right to decide what taxes should be levied and how public revenue should be spent. Other f
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Approximate Word count = 1450
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)  |
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RELATED ESSAYS |
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Bastille Day: A Turning Point In The French Revolution Bastille Day: A Turning Point in the French Revolution The French Revolution was a political movement devoted to the people, more specifically, the common .... |
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The French Revolution and the Bastille .... who was earning 60 Sous per ...., by 1789 .... direct result of troops of the Bastille firing into .... The French Revolution was caused by the escalating rivalry between .... |
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french revolution .... why it is often known as a bourgeois revolution. .... the metric system) - Provided French citizens equal .... the national anthem - July 14, Bastille Day wsa proclaimed .... |
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French Revolution .... The National Guard was accompanied by the French army .... two groups had the power of a modern .... police officer .... two groups in this one mob, the Bastille group and .... |
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A Tale Of Two Cities .... were to murder the Parisian populace, the French Guard joined the .... July 14th was Bastille ..... .... Lucie and Madame Defarge are both homemakers of the Revolution. .... |
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PROFESSIONAL ESSAYS |
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The French Revolution the first phase of the French Revolution would be tentative, almost-pioneer, "emancipation' of French Jews celebration of national unity on Bastille Day, July |
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Role of the Jacobins during the French Revolution and the Jacobin Club and the to maneuverings of to this account is the storming of the Bastille. to the people, with the French Revolution signalling a |
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Role of Peasants in the French Revolution work as agricultural -labourers. were electrified by the news of the Bastille's fall He notes that the French Revolution may indeed have been undertaken on a |
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The French Revolution at the Invalides and storming the Bastille in July which Gough said was "the bloodiest of the to 1300 prisoners after summary 'trials.' The French army won |
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A Tale of Two Cities is a former prisoner of the Bastille, he has The of the execution, Carton sneaks into Darnay's the work asserts that the French Revolution was inevitable |
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Louis XVI would fire Neckar, the people stormed the Bastille under the it is commonly held that without the French aid to 1-2. Larson, P. History Essay: Louis XVI |
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