Multitudes of people were driven to the cities in search of work; in turn they ended up living in cities that could not support them. Low wages were a problem as well as child labor. With the new industrial epoch, a new quantitative and materialistic view of the world occurred. This caused people to consume as much as they possibly could. .
During this revolution of industry, much international strife was developing. The American Revolution occurred during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The French Revolution was in process at the turn of the nineteenth century. This was a brilliant time that resulted in newly discovered democratic rights that spread throughout Europe and North America.
During the late eighteenth century, France followed in America's footsteps. The French Revolution was principally based on the Third Estate's desire to obtain liberty and equality, which were humanitarian ideas derived from the Enlightenment. The economic classes in France were arranged in such a way that is was only a matter of time before a revolution occurred. The first estate was the clergy, the second was the nobles, and the third was the peasants and the uneducated. France's economic system allowed for the highest taxation of the third estate while the clergy members were exempt from taxes, and the nobles paid little or no taxes at all. Individuals who could barely afford to survive and were starving could only pay so much before they refused to pay anymore. .
When Louis XVI convened the Estates-General in May 1789, its first meeting since 1614, he was not expecting to lose any power to the nobles, let alone the commoners who comprised the Third Estate. Meeting to address the deepening financial crisis plaguing the French government, the Estates-General could not even concur on how voting would ensue once deliberations got under way. The bourgeoisie controlling Third Estate quickly became aware that their desires would always be outvoted by the clergy and nobility.