Causes of the French Revolution I .Intellectual Cause A

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CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION I .INTELLECTUAL CAUSE A. The Enlightenment. The Philosophes made people aware of the poor conditions they Lived under in France 1. Wrote about political, economic, social and religious freedom II. POLITICAL CAUSES A. The King was an absolute monarch B. No freedom of speech or the press C. No trial by jury D. Estates general ( French parliament) never met. People Had no voice in the government E. Government was run by the aristocracy F. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were unpopular and the King was viewed as incompetent III Social Causes A. Society divided into 3 classes with little movement 1. Clergy- tax exempt, owned land, wealthy and poor 2. Nobility- tax exempt, owned land, wealthy, served in the government and the army 3. Rest of the Population ( 95 to 97 %) Divided into there own groups A. Middle Class- (Bourgeoisie)Wealthy, educated, wanted a voice in government Opposed the nobility and its privileges, leaders of the revolution Paid taxes B. Peasants – Worked the land, poor paid taxes C. City Workers - Poor workers, wanted rights , very active during the revolution III ECONOMIC CAUSES A. The middle class and poor were heavily taxed 1. Taille- Land Tax 2. Tithe- Church Tax 3. Gabelle- Salt Tax 4. Corvee- feudal tax, forced to repair roads and bridges IV INFLUENCE OF THE AMERICAN AND ENGLISH REVOLUTIONS A. Glorious Revolution successfully established a Constituional Monarchy B. English Bill of Rights C. American Revolution- American Colonists establishing a Republic D. The Declaration of Independence and The Constituion E. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin spread ideas to France F. French soldiers like Lafayette spread ideas V IMMEDIATE CAUSE WAS BANKRUPTCY A. Finance ministers like Turgot, Calonne and Necker tried to convince the King to Tax the nobility. Louis XVI was indecisive B French Parlements (noble courts) blocked all attempts for tax reform C. Attempts to establish a new Assembly of Notables also failed to bring Tax reform D. Failures led to the King calling the Estates General into session E. Before discussing reform the 3rd estate wanted reform. Wrote CAHIERS, a list of grievances against the government. They called for reforming the undemocratic features of the estates general and creating a National Assembly ( Tennis Court Oath) F. King accepted the establishment of the National Assembly and the revolution begins .

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Nationalism in the French Revolution of 1789
The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Honors College 5-2014 Nationalism in the French Revolution of 1789 Kiley Bickford University of Maine - Main Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors Part of the Cultural History Commons Recommended Citation Bickford, Kiley, "Nationalism in the French Revolution of 1789" (2014). Honors College. 147. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/147 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NATIONALISM IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1789 by Kiley Bickford A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for a Degree with Honors (History) The Honors College University of Maine May 2014 Advisory Committee: Richard Blanke, Professor of History Alexander Grab, Adelaide & Alan Bird Professor of History Angela Haas, Visiting Assistant Professor of History Raymond Pelletier, Associate Professor of French, Emeritus Chris Mares, Director of the Intensive English Institute, Honors College Copyright 2014 by Kiley Bickford All rights reserved. Abstract The French Revolution of 1789 was instrumental in the emergence and growth of modern nationalism, the idea that a state should represent, and serve the interests of, a people, or "nation," that shares a common culture and history and feels as one. But national ideas, often with their source in the otherwise cosmopolitan world of the Enlightenment, were also an important cause of the Revolution itself. The rhetoric and documents of the Revolution demonstrate the importance of national ideas.
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French Revolution and English Revolution Comparison Chart Print Out
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Shaping Nationalism
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French Revolution 1789–1795
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