Chapter 18 FRQ French Revolution
Dan Weir
Mr. Cotier
AP Euro
10/30/14
The term French Revolution is a term that represents a series of horrifying events between 1789 and 1799. In 1792, tension in France erupted into war, which tore apart the Bourban monarchy and was the first time in history we saw a republic emerge in France. Many historians think that the causes of the French Revolution had heavily to do with social class conflict. The three main causes of the French Revolution was caused by social class conflicts in France, political theories from the Enlightenment period, and the campaign for change by economic reformers. The start of the French Revolution was directly in French society. Society was constantly dominated by nobles, or a social group that was primarily made up of: aristocrats, officeholders, professionals, merchants and businessmen. The French society was broken up into three social classes, or better known as “Estates.”. The First Estate was comprised of all the clergy; the Second Estate was comprised of the nobility, and the Third Estate was comprised of everyone else, including wealthy lawyers, businessmen, urban laborers and poor peasants. The Third Estate was by far the largest social class. All of these classes had one thing in common, and that was a want for an economy that would serve their interests. The nobility depended on a constant infusion of talent and economic power form the wealthy social groups represented in the Third Estate. Less prosperous lawyers were jealous of the privileged position very few had in their profession. Over the course of the century the price of offices rose, making it more difficult to buy one’s way into nobility, and creating tensions between middling members of the Third Estate and the very rich in trade and commerce who were the only group able to afford to climb the social ladder. Several fault lines ran through the elite and the middle classes which led to resentment of the government and a need for change. People started to
Mr. Cotier
AP Euro
10/30/14
The term French Revolution is a term that represents a series of horrifying events between 1789 and 1799. In 1792, tension in France erupted into war, which tore apart the Bourban monarchy and was the first time in history we saw a republic emerge in France. Many historians think that the causes of the French Revolution had heavily to do with social class conflict. The three main causes of the French Revolution was caused by social class conflicts in France, political theories from the Enlightenment period, and the campaign for change by economic reformers. The start of the French Revolution was directly in French society. Society was constantly dominated by nobles, or a social group that was primarily made up of: aristocrats, officeholders, professionals, merchants and businessmen. The French society was broken up into three social classes, or better known as “Estates.”. The First Estate was comprised of all the clergy; the Second Estate was comprised of the nobility, and the Third Estate was comprised of everyone else, including wealthy lawyers, businessmen, urban laborers and poor peasants. The Third Estate was by far the largest social class. All of these classes had one thing in common, and that was a want for an economy that would serve their interests. The nobility depended on a constant infusion of talent and economic power form the wealthy social groups represented in the Third Estate. Less prosperous lawyers were jealous of the privileged position very few had in their profession. Over the course of the century the price of offices rose, making it more difficult to buy one’s way into nobility, and creating tensions between middling members of the Third Estate and the very rich in trade and commerce who were the only group able to afford to climb the social ladder. Several fault lines ran through the elite and the middle classes which led to resentment of the government and a need for change. People started to