french revolution conclusion essay

The execution of Robespierre and his accomplices, 17 July 1794 (10 Thermidor Year II). Robespierre is depicted holding a handkerchief and dressed in a brown jacket in the cart immediately to the left of the scaffold. Photo courtesy the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris

Vive la révolution!

Must radical political change generate uncontainable violence the french revolution is both a cautionary and inspiring tale.

by Jeremy Popkin   + BIO

If the French Revolution of 1789 was such an important event, visitors to France’s capital city of Paris often wonder, why can’t they find any trace of the Bastille, the medieval fortress whose storming on 14 July 1789 was the revolution’s most dramatic moment? Determined to destroy what they saw as a symbol of tyranny, the ‘victors of the Bastille’ immediately began demolishing the structure. Even the column in the middle of the busy Place de la Bastille isn’t connected to 1789: it commemorates those who died in another uprising a generation later, the ‘July Revolution’ of 1830.

The legacy of the French Revolution is not found in physical monuments, but in the ideals of liberty, equality and justice that still inspire modern democracies. More ambitious than the American revolutionaries of 1776, the French in 1789 were not just fighting for their own national independence: they wanted to establish principles that would lay the basis for freedom for human beings everywhere. The United States Declaration of Independence briefly mentioned rights to ‘liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness’, without explaining what they meant or how they were to be realised. The French ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen’ spelled out the rights that comprised liberty and equality and outlined a system of participatory government that would empower citizens to protect their own rights.

Much more openly than the Americans, the French revolutionaries recognised that the principles of liberty and equality they had articulated posed fundamental questions about such issues as the status of women and the justification of slavery. In France, unlike the US, these questions were debated heatedly and openly. Initially, the revolutionaries decided that ‘nature’ denied women political rights and that ‘imperious necessity’ dictated the maintenance of slavery in France’s overseas colonies, whose 800,000 enslaved labourers outnumbered the 670,000 in the 13 American states in 1789.

As the revolution proceeded, however, its legislators took more radical steps. A law redefining marriage and legalising divorce in 1792 granted women equal rights to sue for separation and child custody; by that time, women had formed their own political clubs, some were openly serving in the French army, and Olympe de Gouges’s eloquent ‘Declaration of the Rights of Woman’ had insisted that they should be allowed to vote and hold office. Women achieved so much influence in the streets of revolutionary Paris that they drove male legislators to try to outlaw their activities. At almost the same time, in 1794, faced with a massive uprising among the enslaved blacks in France’s most valuable Caribbean colony, Saint-Domingue, the French National Convention abolished slavery and made its former victims full citizens. Black men were seated as deputies to the French legislature and, by 1796, the black general Toussaint Louverture was the official commander-in-chief of French forces in Saint-Domingue, which would become the independent nation of Haiti in 1804.

The French Revolution’s initiatives concerning women’s rights and slavery are just two examples of how the French revolutionaries experimented with radical new ideas about the meaning of liberty and equality that are still relevant. But the French Revolution is not just important today because it took such radical steps to broaden the definitions of liberty and equality. The movement that began in 1789 also showed the dangers inherent in trying to remake an entire society overnight. The French revolutionaries were the first to grant the right to vote to all adult men, but they were also the first to grapple with democracy’s shadow side, demagogic populism, and with the effects of an explosion of ‘new media’ that transformed political communication. The revolution saw the first full-scale attempt to impose secular ideas in the face of vocal opposition from citizens who proclaimed themselves defenders of religion. In 1792, revolutionary France became the first democracy to launch a war to spread its values. A major consequence of that war was the creation of the first modern totalitarian dictatorship, the rule of the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror. Five years after the end of the Terror, Napoleon Bonaparte, who had gained fame as a result of the war, led the first modern coup d’état , justifying it, like so many strongmen since, by claiming that only an authoritarian regime could guarantee social order.

The fact that Napoleon reversed the revolutionaries’ expansion of women’s rights and reintroduced slavery in the French colonies reminds us that he, like so many of his imitators in the past two centuries, defined ‘social order’ as a rejection of any expansive definition of liberty and equality. Napoleon also abolished meaningful elections, ended freedom of the press, and restored the public status of the Catholic Church. Determined to keep and even expand the revolutionaries’ foreign conquests, he continued the war that they had begun, but French armies now fought to create an empire, dropping any pretence of bringing freedom to other peoples.

T he relevance of the French Revolution to present-day debates is the reason why I decided to write A New World Begins: The History of the French Revolution (2020), the first comprehensive English-language account of that event for general readers in more than 30 years. Having spent my career researching and teaching the history of the French Revolution, however, I know very well that it was more than an idealistic crusade for human rights. If the fall of the Bastille remains an indelible symbol of aspirations for freedom, the other universally recognised symbol of the French Revolution, the guillotine, reminds us that the movement was also marked by violence. The American Founding Fathers whose refusal to consider granting rights to women or ending slavery we now rightly question did have the good sense not to let their differences turn into murderous feuds; none of them had to reflect, as the French legislator Pierre Vergniaud did on the eve of his execution, that their movement, ‘like Saturn, is devouring its own children’.

It is hard to avoid concluding that there was a relationship between the radicalism of the ideas that surfaced during the French Revolution and the violence that marked the movement. In my book, I introduce readers to a character, the ‘Père Duchêne’, who came to represent the populist impulses of the revolution. Nowadays, we would call the Père Duchêne a meme. He was not a real person: instead, he was a character familiar to audiences in Paris’s popular theatres, where he functioned as a representative of the country’s ordinary people. Once the revolution began, a number of journalists began publishing pamphlets supposedly written by the Père Duchêne, in which they demanded that the National Assembly do more to benefit the poor. The small newspapers that used his name carried a crude woodcut on their front page showing the Père Duchêne in rough workers’ clothing. Holding a hatchet over his head, with two pistols stuck in his belt and a musket at his side, the Père Duchêne was a visual symbol of the association between the revolution and popular violence.

The elites had enriched themselves at the expense of the people, and needed to be forced to share their power

Although his crude language and his constant threat to resort to violence alienated the more moderate revolutionaries, the Père Duchêne was the living embodiment of one of the basic principles incorporated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The sixth article of that document affirmed that ‘the law is the expression of the general will’ and promised that ‘all citizens have the right to participate personally, or through their representatives, in its establishment’. The fictitious Père Duchêne’s message to readers, no matter how poor and uneducated they might be, was that an ordinary person could claim a voice in politics.

Like present-day populists, the Père Duchêne had a simple political programme. The elites who ruled France before 1789 had enriched themselves at the expense of the people. They needed to be forced to share their power and wealth. When the revolution did not immediately improve the lives of the masses, the Père Duchêne blamed the movement’s more moderate leaders, accusing them of exploiting it for their own benefit. The journalists who wrote under the name of the Père Duchêne used colourful language laced with obscenities; they insisted that their vulgarity showed that they were ‘telling it like it is’. Their tone was vindictive and vengeful; they wanted to see their targets humiliated and, in many cases, sent to the guillotine. The most successful Père Duchêne journalist, Jacques-René Hébert, built a political career through his success in using the media. At the height of the Reign of Terror, he pushed through the creation of a ‘revolutionary army’ controlled by his friends to intimidate enemies of the revolution, and seemed on the verge of taking over the government.

Maximilien Robespierre and his more middle-class colleagues on the Committee of Public Safety feared that Hébert’s populist movement might drive them from power. They decided that they had no choice but to confront Hébert and his followers, even if it meant alienating the ‘base’ of ordinary Paris residents, the famous sans-culottes . Using the same smear tactics that the Père Duchêne had perfected, they accused Hébert of dubious intrigues with foreigners and other questionable activities. Like many bullies, Hébert quickly collapsed when he found himself up against serious opponents determined to fight back; the crowd that cheered his dispatch to the guillotine in March 1794 was larger than for many of the executions that he had incited. But he and the other Père Duchênes, as well as their female counterparts, the Mère Duchênes who flourished at some points in the revolution, had done much to turn the movement from a high-minded crusade for human rights into a free-for-all in which only the loudest voices could make themselves heard.

T he ambivalent legacy of the French Revolution’s democratic impulse, so vividly brought to life in the figure of the Père Duchêne, underlines the way in which the movement begun in 1789 remains both an inspiration and a warning for us today. In the more than 200 years since the storming of the Bastille, no one has formulated the human yearning for freedom and justice more eloquently than the French revolutionaries, and no one has shown more clearly the dangers that a one-sided pursuit of those goals can create. The career of the most famous of the radical French revolutionaries, Robespierre, is the most striking demonstration of that fact.

Robespierre is remembered because he was the most eloquent defender of the dictatorship created during the revolution’s most radical period, the months known as the Reign of Terror. Robespierre’s speech on the principles of revolutionary government, delivered on 25 December 1793, made an uncompromising case for the legitimacy of extreme measures to defeat those he called ‘the enemies of liberty’. Paradoxically, he insisted, the only way to create a society in which citizens could exercise the individual freedoms promised in the Declaration of Rights was to suspend those rights until the revolution’s opponents were conclusively defeated.

Robespierre’s colleagues on the all-powerful Committee of Public Safety chose him to defend their policies because he was more than just a spokesman for harsh measures against their opponents. From the time he first appeared on the scene as one of the 1,200 deputies to the Estates General summoned by Louis XVI in May 1789, his fellow legislators recognised the young provincial lawyer’s intelligence and his unswerving commitment to the ideals of democracy. The renegade aristocrat the comte de Mirabeau, the most prominent spokesman of the revolutionary ‘patriots’ in 1789 but an often cynical pragmatist, quickly sized up his colleague: ‘That man will go far, because he believes everything he says.’ Unlike the Père Duchêne, Robespierre always dressed carefully and spoke in pure, educated French. Other revolutionary leaders, like the rabblerousing orator Georges Danton, were happy to join insurrectionary crowds in the streets; Robespierre never personally took part in any of the French Revolution’s explosions of violence. Yet no one remains more associated with the violence of the Reign of Terror than Robespierre.

To reduce Robespierre’s legacy to his association with the Terror is to overlook the importance of his role as a one of history’s most articulate proponents of political democracy. When the majority of the deputies in France’s revolutionary National Assembly tried to restrict full political rights to the wealthier male members of the population, Robespierre reminded them of the Declaration of Rights’ assertion that freedom meant the right to have a voice in making the laws that citizens had to obey. ‘Is the law the expression of the general will, when the greater number of those for whom it is made cannot contribute to its formation?’ he asked. Long before our present-day debates about income inequality, he denounced a system that put real political power in the hands of the wealthy: ‘And what an aristocracy! The most unbearable of all, that of the rich.’ In the early years of the revolution, Robespierre firmly defended freedom of the press and called for the abolition of the death penalty. When white colonists insisted that France could not survive economically without slavery, Robespierre cried out: ‘Perish the colonies rather than abandon a principle!’

The majority of the population was not ready to embrace a radical secularist movement

Explaining how Robespierre, the principled defender of liberty and equality, became in just a few short years the leading advocate of a system of revolutionary government that foreshadowed the 20th century’s totalitarian dictatorships is perhaps the greatest challenge in defending the legacy of the French Revolution. Robespierre was no innocent, and in the last months of his short political career – he was only 36 when he died – his clumsy confrontations with his colleagues made him a dangerous number of enemies. Unlike the Père Duchêne, however, Robespierre never embraced violence as an end in itself, and a close examination of his career shows that he was often trying to find ways to limit the damage caused by policies he had not originally endorsed. In 1792, when most of his fellow Jacobin radicals embraced the call for a revolutionary war to ensure France’s security by toppling the hostile monarchies surrounding it, Robespierre warned against the illusion that other peoples would turn against their own governments to support the French. ‘No one loves armed missionaries,’ he insisted, a warning that recent US leaders might have done well to heed.

When radicals such as Hébert started a campaign to ‘de-Christianise’ France, in order to silence opposition to the movement’s effort to reform the Catholic Church and sell off its property for the benefit of the revolution, Robespierre reined them in. He recognised that the majority of the population was not ready to embrace a radical secularist movement bent on turning churches into ‘temples of reason’ and putting up signs in cemeteries calling death ‘an eternal sleep’. Robespierre proposed instead the introduction of a purified and simplified ‘cult of the Supreme Being’, which he thought believers could embrace without abandoning their faith in a higher power and their belief in the immortality of the soul.

Robespierre knew that many of the revolution’s bitterest opponents were motivated by loyalty to the Catholic Church. The revolution had not begun as an anti-religious movement. Under the rules used in the elections to what became the French National Assembly in 1789, a fourth of all the deputies were clergy from the Catholic Church, an institution so woven into the fabric of the population’s life that hardly anyone could imagine its disappearance. Criticism that the Church had grown too wealthy and that many of its beliefs failed to measure up to the standards of reason promoted by the Enlightenment was widespread, even among priests, but most hoped to see religion, like every other aspect of French life, ‘regenerated’ by the impulses of the revolution, not destroyed.

The revolutionaries’ confrontation with the Church began, not with an argument about beliefs, but because of the urgent need to meet the crisis in government revenues that had forced king Louis XVI to summon a national assembly in the first place. Determined to avoid a chaotic public bankruptcy, and reluctant to raise taxes on the population, the legislators decided, four months after the storming of the Bastille, to put the vast property of the Catholic Church ‘at the disposition of the nation’. Many Catholic clergy, especially underpaid parish priests who resented the luxury in which their aristocratic bishops lived, supported the expropriation of Church property and the idea that the government, which now took over the responsibility for funding the institution, had the right to reform it. Others, however, saw the reform of the Church as a cover for an Enlightenment-inspired campaign against their faith, and much of the lay population supported them. In one region of France, peasants formed a ‘Catholic and Royal Army’ and revolted against the revolution that had supposedly been carried out for their benefit. Women, who found in the cult of Mary and female saints a source of psychological support, were often in the forefront of this religiously inspired resistance to the revolution.

To supporters of the revolution, this religious opposition to their movement looked like a nationwide conspiracy preventing progress. The increasingly harsh measures taken to quell resistance to Church reform prefigured the policies of the Reign of Terror. The plunge into war in the spring of 1792, justified in part to show domestic opponents of the revolution that they could not hope for any support from abroad, allowed the revolutionaries to define the disruptions caused by diehard Catholics as forms of treason. Suspicions that Louis XVI, who had accepted the demand for a declaration of war, and his wife Marie-Antoinette were secretly hoping for a quick French defeat that would allow foreign armies to restore their powers led to their imprisonment and execution.

A ccusations of foreign meddling in revolutionary politics, a so-called foreign plot that supposedly involved the payment of large sums of money to leading deputies to promote special interests and undermine French democracy, were another source of the fears that fuelled the Reign of Terror. Awash in a sea of ‘fake news’, political leaders and ordinary citizens lost any sense of perspective, and became increasingly ready to believe even the most far-fetched accusations. Robespierre, whose personal honesty had earned him the nickname ‘The Incorruptible’, was particularly quick to suspect any of his colleagues who seemed ready to tolerate those who enriched themselves from the revolution or had contacts with foreigners. Rather than any lust for power, it was Robespierre’s weakness for seeing any disagreement with him as a sign of corruption that led him to support the elimination of numerous other revolutionary leaders, including figures, such as Danton, who had once been his close allies. Other, more cynical politicians joined Robespierre in expanding the Reign of Terror, calculating that their own best chance of survival was to strike down their rivals before they themselves could be targeted.

Although the toxic politics of its most radical phase did much to discredit the revolution, the ‘Reign of Terror’, which lasted little more than one year out of 10 between the storming of the Bastille and Napoleon’s coup d’état , was also a time of important experiments in democracy. While thousands of ordinary French men and women found themselves unjustly imprisoned during the Terror, thousands of others – admittedly, only men – held public office for the first time. The same revolutionary legislature that backed Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety took the first steps toward creating a modern national welfare system and passed plans for a comprehensive system of public education. Revolutionary France became the first country to create a system of universal military conscription and to promise ordinary soldiers that, if they proved themselves on the battlefield, there was no rank to which they could not aspire. The idea that society needed a privileged leadership class in order to function was challenged as never before.

Among the men from modest backgrounds who rose to positions they could never have attained before 1789 was a young artillery officer whose strong Corsican accent marked him as a provincial: Napoleon. A mere lieutenant when the Bastille was stormed, he was promoted to general just four years later, after impressing Robespierre’s brother Augustin with his skill in defeating a British invasion force on France’s southern coast. Five years after the overthrow of Robespierre on 27 July 1794 – or 9 Thermidor Year II, according to the new calendar that the revolutionaries had adopted to underline their total break with the past – Napoleon joined with a number of revolutionary politicians to overthrow the republican regime that had come out of the revolution and replace it with what soon became a system of one-man rule. Napoleon’s seizure of power has been cited ever since as evidence that the French Revolution, unlike the American, was essentially a failure. The French revolutionaries, it is often said, had tried to make too many changes too quickly, and the movement’s violence had alienated too much of the population to allow it to succeed.

To accept this verdict on the French Revolution is to ignore a crucial but little-known aspect of its legacy: the way in which the movement’s own leaders, determined to escape from the destructive politics of the Reign of Terror after Robespierre’s death, worked to ‘exit from the Terror’, as one historian has put it, and create a stable form of constitutional government. The years that history books call the period of the ‘Thermidorian reaction’ and the period of the Directory, from July 1794 to November 1799, comprise half of the decade of the French Revolution. They provide an instructive lesson in how a society can try to put itself back on an even keel after an experience during which all the ordinary rules of politics have been broken.

The post-Robespierre republic was brought down by the disloyalty of its own political elite

One simple lesson from the post-Terror years of the revolution that many subsequent politicians have learned is to blame all mistakes on one person. In death, Robespierre was built up into a ‘tiger thirsty for blood’ who had supposedly wanted to make himself a dictator or even king. All too aware that, in reality, thousands of others had helped to make the revolutionary government function, however, Robespierre’s successors found themselves under pressure to bring at least some of the Terror’s other leaders to justice. At times, the process escaped from control, as when angry crowds massacred political prisoners in cities in the south during a ‘white terror’ in 1795. On the whole, however, the republican leaders after 1794 succeeded in convincing the population that the excesses of the Terror would not be repeated, even if some of the men in power had been as deeply implicated in those excesses as Robespierre.

For five years after Robespierre’s execution, France lived under a quasi-constitutional system, in which laws were debated by a bicameral legislature and discussed in a relatively free press. On several occasions, it is true, the Directory, the five-man governing council, ‘corrected’ the election results to ensure its own hold on power, undermining the authority of the constitution, but the mass arrests and arbitrary trials that had marked the Reign of Terror were not repeated. The Directory’s policies enabled the country’s economy to recover after the disorder of the revolutionary years. Harsh toward the poor who had identified themselves with the Père Duchêne, it consolidated the educational reforms started during the Terror. Napoleon would build on the Directory’s success in establishing a modern, centralised system of administration. He himself was one of the many military leaders who enabled France to defeat its continental enemies and force them to recognise its territorial gains.

Although legislative debates in this period reflected a swing against the expanded rights granted to women earlier in the revolution, the laws passed earlier were not repealed. Despite a heated campaign waged by displaced plantation-owners, the thermidorians and the Directory maintained the rights granted to the freed blacks in the French colonies. Black men from Saint-Domingue and Guadeloupe were elected as deputies and took part in parliamentary debates. In Saint-Domingue, the black general Louverture commanded French forces that defeated a British invasion; by 1798, he had been named the governor of the colony. His power was so great that the American government, by this time locked in a ‘quasi-war’ with France, negotiated directly with him, hoping to bring pressure on Paris to end the harassment of American merchant ships in the Caribbean.

The post-Robespierre French republic was brought down, more than anything else, by the disloyalty of its own political elite. Even before Napoleon unexpectedly returned from the expedition to Egypt on which he had been dispatched in mid-1798, many of the regime’s key figures had decided that the constitution they themselves had helped to draft after Robespierre’s fall provided too many opportunities for rivals to challenge them. What Napoleon found in the fall of 1799 was not a country on the verge of chaos but a crowd of politicians competing with each other to plan coups to make their positions permanent. He was able to choose the allies who struck him as most likely to serve his purposes, knowing that none of them had the popularity or the charisma to hold their own against him once the Directory had been overthrown.

One cannot simply conclude, then, that the history of the French Revolution proves that radical attempts to change society are doomed to failure, or that Napoleon’s dictatorship was the inevitable destination at which the revolution was doomed to arrive. But neither can one simply hail the French movement as a forerunner of modern ideas about liberty and equality. In their pursuit of those goals, the French revolutionaries discovered how vehemently some people – not just privileged elites but also many ordinary men and women – could resist those ideas, and how dangerous the impatience of their own supporters could become. Robespierre’s justification of dictatorial methods to overcome the resistance to the revolution had a certain logic behind it, but it opened the door to many abuses.

Despite all its violence and contradictions, however, the French Revolution remains meaningful for us today. To ignore or reject the legacy of its calls for liberty and equality amounts to legitimising authoritarian ideologies or arguments for the inherent inequality of certain groups of people. If we want to live in a world characterised by respect for fundamental individual rights, we need to learn the lessons, both positive and negative, of the great effort to promote those ideals that tore down the Bastille in 1789.

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French Revolution

By: History.com Editors

Updated: October 12, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

The French Revolution was a watershed event in world history that began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens radically altered their political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as the monarchy and the feudal system. The upheaval was caused by disgust with the French aristocracy and the economic policies of King Louis XVI, who met his death by guillotine, as did his wife Marie Antoinette. Though it degenerated into a bloodbath during the Reign of Terror, the French Revolution helped to shape modern democracies by showing the power inherent in the will of the people.

Causes of the French Revolution

As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American Revolution , combined with extravagant spending by King Louis XVI , had left France on the brink of bankruptcy.

Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but several years of poor harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward a regime that imposed heavy taxes—yet failed to provide any relief—by rioting, looting and striking.

In the fall of 1786, Louis XVI’s controller general, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the aristocratic classes would no longer be exempt.

Estates General

To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing aristocratic revolt, the king summoned the Estates General ( les états généraux ) – an assembly representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class – for the first time since 1614.

The meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from each locality would compile lists of grievances ( cahiers de doléances ) to present to the king.

Rise of the Third Estate

France’s population, of course, had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic, middle-class members of the Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people but could still be outvoted by the other two bodies.

In the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto—in other words, they wanted voting by head and not by status.

While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath to give up the privileges they had long enjoyed under the traditional system.

Tennis Court Oath

By the time the Estates General convened at Versailles , the highly public debate over its voting process had erupted into open hostility between the three orders, eclipsing the original purpose of the meeting and the authority of the man who had convened it — the king himself.

On June 17, with talks over procedure stalled, the Third Estate met alone and formally adopted the title of National Assembly; three days later, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the so-called Tennis Court Oath (serment du jeu de paume), vowing not to disperse until constitutional reform had been achieved.

Within a week, most of the clerical deputies and 47 liberal nobles had joined them, and on June 27 Louis XVI grudgingly absorbed all three orders into the new National Assembly.

The Bastille 

On June 12, as the National Assembly (known as the National Constituent Assembly during its work on a constitution) continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital.

Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the start of the French Revolution.

The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the entire country. Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords and the aristocratic elite.

Known as the Great Fear ( la Grande peur ), the agrarian insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from France and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789, signing what historian Georges Lefebvre later called the “death certificate of the old order.”

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

IIn late August, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( Déclaration des droits de l ’homme et du citoyen ), a statement of democratic principles grounded in the philosophical and political ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau .

The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government.

Drafting a formal constitution proved much more of a challenge for the National Constituent Assembly, which had the added burden of functioning as a legislature during harsh economic times.

For months, its members wrestled with fundamental questions about the shape and expanse of France’s new political landscape. For instance, who would be responsible for electing delegates? Would the clergy owe allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church or the French government? Perhaps most importantly, how much authority would the king, his public image further weakened after a failed attempt to flee the country in June 1791, retain?

Adopted on September 3, 1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the more moderate voices in the Assembly, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the king enjoyed royal veto power and the ability to appoint ministers. This compromise did not sit well with influential radicals like Maximilien de Robespierre , Camille Desmoulins and Georges Danton, who began drumming up popular support for a more republican form of government and for the trial of Louis XVI.

French Revolution Turns Radical

In April 1792, the newly elected Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia, where it believed that French émigrés were building counterrevolutionary alliances; it also hoped to spread its revolutionary ideals across Europe through warfare.

On the domestic front, meanwhile, the political crisis took a radical turn when a group of insurgents led by the extremist Jacobins attacked the royal residence in Paris and arrested the king on August 10, 1792.

The following month, amid a wave of violence in which Parisian insurrectionists massacred hundreds of accused counterrevolutionaries, the Legislative Assembly was replaced by the National Convention, which proclaimed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the French republic.

On January 21, 1793, it sent King Louis XVI, condemned to death for high treason and crimes against the state, to the guillotine ; his wife Marie-Antoinette suffered the same fate nine months later.

Reign of Terror

Following the king’s execution, war with various European powers and intense divisions within the National Convention brought the French Revolution to its most violent and turbulent phase.

In June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention from the more moderate Girondins and instituted a series of radical measures, including the establishment of a new calendar and the eradication of Christianity .

They also unleashed the bloody Reign of Terror (la Terreur), a 10-month period in which suspected enemies of the revolution were guillotined by the thousands. Many of the killings were carried out under orders from Robespierre, who dominated the draconian Committee of Public Safety until his own execution on July 28, 1794.

Did you know? Over 17,000 people were officially tried and executed during the Reign of Terror, and an unknown number of others died in prison or without trial.

Thermidorian Reaction

The death of Robespierre marked the beginning of the Thermidorian Reaction, a moderate phase in which the French people revolted against the Reign of Terror’s excesses.

On August 22, 1795, the National Convention, composed largely of Girondins who had survived the Reign of Terror, approved a new constitution that created France’s first bicameral legislature.

Executive power would lie in the hands of a five-member Directory ( Directoire ) appointed by parliament. Royalists and Jacobins protested the new regime but were swiftly silenced by the army, now led by a young and successful general named Napoleon Bonaparte .

French Revolution Ends: Napoleon’s Rise

The Directory’s four years in power were riddled with financial crises, popular discontent, inefficiency and, above all, political corruption. By the late 1790s, the directors relied almost entirely on the military to maintain their authority and had ceded much of their power to the generals in the field.

On November 9, 1799, as frustration with their leadership reached a fever pitch, Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup d’état, abolishing the Directory and appointing himself France’s “ first consul .” The event marked the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era, during which France would come to dominate much of continental Europe.

Photo Gallery 

French Revolution. The National Archives (U.K.) The United States and the French Revolution, 1789–1799. Office of the Historian. U.S. Department of State . Versailles, from the French Revolution to the Interwar Period. Chateau de Versailles . French Revolution. Monticello.org . Individuals, institutions, and innovation in the debates of the French Revolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 

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The French Revolution, Essay Example

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French Revolution refers to a strenuous period of drastic social and political changes, which occurred in France. It was a period where France as a country underwent social, political, and economic cataclysms. These changes resulted in an aggravated leadership of a long existent monarch. It all began in 1789 with a meeting of the generals of state in May took place. During the same year, there was a planned attack on Bastille. The royal family together with Louis suffered ejections from Versailles to Paris. A legislative council held several meetings grounded on curbing the storming unrest in the country. However, this was an unsuccessful venture. This legislative council was later replaced by the national convention through an allied army of Holland, Prussia, Australia, and Sardinia. The national convention took hold of and reclaimed the republic. What followed was the capture and execution of the king in 1793. Because of this, the revolutionary government went on war with Britain. This war is presumed to have started, reignited and was presumed to continue for several years.

After the execution of the president, there were several committees established as the committee of the revolutionary tribunal and safety to the public. In 1793, the reign of terror came into action. This followed a period of ruthless operations by the ruling splinter group. All these actions were objected to exterminate every probable enemy to the nation. It was a merciless action as enemies were exterminated irrespective of their age, sex and any other condition whether meritorious or awful. This lasted up to 1794. During this period of the red terror, several people were guillotined. For instance, about fourteen hundred people underwent this action in Paris alone. The national convention was later subsequently replaced by other parties as the directory and the consulate. What followed was the ushering in of Napoleon Bonaparte who took over in 1804.

The French revolution had a variance of significance in many nations of the world. It represented a crucial event that made history in the western world. It hammered the British governments in various perspectives as in the field of intellect, political life, and philosophical establishments. All these activities took place and formed the history of the nineteenth century being studied today. It had other notable significance that extended to the outside leaders as the English radicals. They perceived the French revolution as a fight for power between the superstitious and leaders of reason. It was a triumph for leaders of reason. What English leaders perceived was the return of humanity to a state that had been swayed away by a belief in perfection. Forces of liberals were also felt because they condemned the act based on actions against equity, fraternity, and liberty.

The French revolution also had its significance being responded to by other nations. Existing regimes in England had previously allied themselves to the leaders of reason as Locke and Newton. Publications were made and spread across Europe for people to read every reason for and against this revolution. It received enthusiastic reflections from other leaders of the world as George the third. According to Burke, the leaders who had participated in the genesis of this war had several hidden agendas. They wanted to start a conquest among themselves, which would later extent to the borders and cross to Europe. Moreover, this conquest had been planned to conquer the entire world, hence benefiting them. Responses to these connotations kept arising, hence raging the subconscious of the entire world to date. Parties in confute were the conservatives and the radicals (Carlyle 1857).

Sociological perceptions

The French revolution left a variance of legacies to many societies in the world. It left enormous amounts of attentions on history and development of human societies. The public together with scholars and academics benefit a lot from the study and exploration of the French revolution. Several human groups elicit varied perceptions and reflections on the French revolution. For instance, historians lean towards ideological perceptions of the revolution. However, this is contrary to the real development of revolution in the old France. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, social importance was a serious issue concerning the French revolution. The prosperous middle class had realized its importance and contributions to the present human society. According to Edmund Burke, the revolution emerged because of selfish intentions by the few individuals. They took advantage of the weaknesses portrayed by the masses and decided to benefit themselves by starting the conquest. Moreover, other thinkers had their thoughts narrowed to social exemplifications that could only benefit the society.

In conclusion, French revolution is one of the world’s memorable conquests that touch on socialism. Historically speaking, French revolution is perceived as a stepping-stone that marked an end to the old human era and ushered in the modern one. Democratic ideals emerged and spread throughout Europe. The Russian resolution benefited from the ordeals that oscillated around French revolution. Moreover, genesis of a modern society can be perceived as a replication of the French revolution.

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• A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

• Literature Notes
• The French Revolution
• A Tale of Two Cities at a Glance
• Book Summary
• About A Tale of Two Cities
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Book 1: Chapter 1
• Book 1: Chapter 2
• Book 1: Chapter 3
• Book 1: Chapter 4
• Book 1: Chapter 5
• Book 1: Chapter 6
• Book 2: Chapter 1
• Book 2: Chapter 2
• Book 2: Chapter 3
• Book 2: Chapter 4
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• Book 2: Chapter 7
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• Book 2: Chapter 14
• Book 2: Chapter 15
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• Book 2: Chapter 18
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• Book 2: Chapter 20
• Book 2: Chapter 21
• Book 2: Chapter 22
• Book 2: Chapter 23
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Critical Essays The French Revolution

When Louis XVI became King of France in 1775, he inherited a country with economic distress, social unrest, a debauched court, and problems with the nobility and parlement (the courts of justice). The inheritance was fatal. At the time, the aristocracy was living on borrowed money and the labors of the lower classes. The middle class was becoming wealthy from its trade, manufacturing, banking, and contracting. The lower middle class consisted of tradesmen and laborers, with a few government officials.

The king, only twenty, was inexperienced and easily influenced, and he soon tired of his country's problems. He was a shy man who was often indecisive and narrow-minded; he usually depended on his ministers for advice but frequently would reverse their decisions and decide matters for himself, simply because he wanted to show his authority. He sincerely believed that he ruled by the will of God, by the Divine Right of Kings.

The court was in debt and in dire need of money because of years of royal extravagance, financial deficits, and two wars. In order to cope with these problems, Louis reinstated the parlements , which were made up of aristocrats; he hoped that they could solve his problems. Although the lower classes were suffering, the magistrates in the parlements believed that reforms to help the lower classes were unnecessary. They thought that the lower classes needed no social reforms and that such people were born to bear the burdens of taxation. In contrast, members of the nobility, because of their birth into the upper class, or Second Estate, were exempt from any taxation. Not surprisingly, therefore, the parlements passed numerous laws favoring the aristocracy.

The parlements next asked Louis to return French rule to the Estates-General (a body that had not met since 1614), and eventually Louis gave in. Three legal status groups, or Estates, comprised the Estates-General — called simply, the First, Second, and Third Estates. In the First Estate were the clergy, usually the younger sons of the nobility. The Second Estate comprised the nobility, while the Third Estate included members of the working classes, plus some well-to-do merchants and professional men such as lawyers, doctors, and members of the minor clergy. Under the rule of the Estates-General, only the nobility could hold public office, high ranks in the military, important posts in the government, or sit in parlements.

The commoners of France, overjoyed when Louis established the Estates-General, soon became disappointed. Initially, they thought that they would have their "own"Estate and, thus, a voice in government policy-making They quickly realized, however, that they possessed no real power. Organizing the new Estates-General on the same principle of the 1614 concept meant one vote for each member of the Estates. Thus, the clergy and the aristocracy could easily out-vote the Third Estate, two to one, which they did repeatedly.

Political problems increased, and food riots broke out due to food shortages. Rainstorms and hail ruined the crops of 1788, leaving people hungry. Paris, in particular, was a crowded, densely populated city of poor people. The masses had no jobs and no money. They began burning and looting the countryside, and even common soldiers began talking against their aristocratic officers. Political pamphlets aggravated the situation by demanding that the Third Estate have a stronger voice in the government.

By the middle of June 1788, poor parish priests who belonged to the First Estate began to desert their political base and join the Third Estate. As a result, the Third Estate recognized that it was the only Estate elected by "the people."They declared themselves "the National Assembly,"and immediately banned taxes.

This declaration placed Louis in an uncomfortable and difficult position. Recognizing the legitimacy of the National Assembly would mean surrendering his power, but not recognizing it might drive the Third Estate to even greater rebellion. Unfortunately, he chose to listen to Jacques Necker, his Minister of Finance, and to his queen, Marie Antoinette, and decided to oppose the National Assembly. He closed the chambers where the Assembly was to convene, but the Assembly immediately moved to an indoor tennis court. Despite the confusion, the Assembly took an oath not to disband until they had a constitution, and they openly defied the king. They would have a constitution.

Three days later, Louis vetoed the legitimacy of the National Assembly and ordered the Estates-General to return to their traditional system or he would dismiss them. When he left, the Second and most of the First Estate followed him out. The Third Estate remained, and one of them, Mirabeau, shouted that the Third Estate would leave the assembly hall "only at the point of a bayonet!"Louis could not bring himself to use force against the Estate because so many clergymen and liberal noblemen had joined them. In a dramatic move, they defied the King and won. The Revolution had begun.

Continued on next page...

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French Revolution - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France, leading to significant changes in French and global history. Essays on the French Revolution could explore its causes, significant events like the Storming of the Bastille or the Reign of Terror, and its lasting impact on French society and the wider world. Moreover, discussions on the ideologies and key figures of the Revolution would provide a deeper insight. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about French Revolution you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Womens Rights in the French Revolution

Prior to the French revolution, events such as the Enlightenment also known as the “Age of Reason” sparked a new outlook on traditional french society. From this movement arose the spirit of question in which the people began to question just about everything including the manner in which they treat women. Throughout the 18th century concepts and principles established by both Catholic Church and Protestant authorities were highly valued. Therefore the “ideal” woman was perceived to be poise and subordinate […]

The American and the French Revolutions

The right of revolution was an idea proposed by Enlightenment Philosopher John Locke, which inspired and challenged the colonies in America and the people of France to revolt. Displeased with their current positions with their governments, they mustered up the courage and strength to challenge authority. Through their battles and hardships, both revolutions sought a government that mirrored the Enlightenment beliefs of natural rights, power of the people, and equality. With those goals in mind, they demonstrated the idea that […]

Differences between French, Russian and American Revolutions

A revolution is a successful attempt made by a large group of people to change / challenge the political system of their country. People who are willing to engage and take action in a revolution are trying to fix the struggles in justice, reminding people not to forget the future against the past. People who want to change the political system are looking out for the future of their country. Revolution was the only way average people or citizens felt […]

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Enlightenment and the French Revolution

The main ideas of Enlightenment thinking led to the French Revolution in many ways. The Enlightenment was a movement that took place in Europe in the 1800s. There were many different views and concepts that were introduced during the period. France was made of three estates or social classes, which were the Clergy, the nobility, and then the commoners or bourgeoisie. There were constant struggles between members of each class. French people like the bourgeoisie loved the ideas of the […]

Was the French Revolution Successful

King Louis XVI once said “The interests of the state must come first.” But it's funny because that's actually the complete opposite of how he did things while he was king. I think the French Revolution was very successful because multiple things got accomplished from it. For example, the social classes went away and everybody was equal, the taxes went down, and France got a new and better ruler that benefited the people a lot more. But how did they […]

American, French and Mexican Revolutions

When it comes to the American Revolution, there was one individual that gave American people an idea of what they should be fighting for. John Locke’s idea of “life, liberty, and estate” heavily inspired Thomas Jefferson’s “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” when fighting against the British. So why did the Americans revolt? What beliefs did they have? One thing the American, French, and Mexican revolutions have in common is that their governments were corrupt. The Colonists called for […]

The Effects of the French Revolution in the Caribbean

The French Revolution had a major impact on the French colonies of the Caribbean. Eric Martone the author of the article “Gens de Couleur in Saint Domingue and France during the French Revolution” explained that prior to the French Revolution the Caribbean colonies that were owned by France were the top producers of the “Western society’s sugar and coffee.” The majority of this sugar and coffee was produced in San Domingue. As a result of the French Revolution, San Domingue, […]

Causes of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was a huge event in European history, one that shaped the way the French government worked forever. However, there was not just one cause that led to this war. There were many causes in the 1780s that led to the French Revolution, the most important being political unrest, failure to reform, and economic crisis. The first major cause of the French Revolution was political unrest throughout the country. The people of the Third Estate wanted the government […]

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Rise to Power

Napoleon’s Youth Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, closer to Italy then France. It was governed by Genoa, which was a port in Italy, then local revolutionaries to over. I was later taken by France on 1768 with the Treaty of Versailles. Napoleon was born to a noble family, however, after he was born, the family lost their money. Napoleon was good at math, so he had a special in artillery in the army. Napoleon during the revolution […]

The French Revolution: Great Changes in France

The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. The revolution toppled the government, set up a republic, accelerated political strife under Napoleon who conveyed many of his standards to territories he defeated in Western Europe. Inspired by liberal and radical thoughts, the Revolution significantly changed the course of current history, setting off the worldwide decrease of total […]

The French Revolution Within Frankenstein

Almost twenty years after the end of the French Revolution, Mary Shelley published her gothic horror novel, Frankenstein, in 1818. Shelley grew up with parents who were intellectual radicals (Sterrenburg 143). Yet, she was detached from radicalism and opted for a more conservative perspective (Sterrenburg 143). She did a vast amount of readings on the French Revolution (Sterrenburg 143). By extensively studying the ideas around the revolution, it is not a surprise that they appear embedded through her work, more […]

How the Age of Enlightenment Changed France and the United States

The Enlightenment Age in Europe, which include both the late 17th and 18th centuries, was a period of numerous achievements in various areas of reason such as science, politics, as well as philosophy. During this era, individuals drastically changed their views of the world by questioning and challenging authority and coming up with novel ways of improving humanity and the general society. The changing aspects of philosophy were particularly substantial in this period since philosophers established a structure of ideas […]

The French Revolution: Social and Political Crisis in France

The French Revolution was a watershed period of social and political crisis in France and its colonies that began in 1789 and lasted until the late 1790s. This period consisted of the French citizens that were razed and wanted to redesign their country’s political landscape by uprooting absolute monarchy and the feudal system. The French Revolution played a critical role in overthrowing their own monarchy, establishing a republic, and shaping modern nations by showing the rest of the world the […]

Economic Crisis Druing the French Revolution

The economic issues made by the French kings additionally added to the Revolution. Amid the eighteenth century, the French government spent more cash than it gathered in expenses. By 1788, the nation was bankrupt. Arthur Young, an Englishmen, and spectator, who ventured out to France from 1787 to 1789 furiously portray the living conditions of the workers in his book Travels in France (Campbell, 18). The measure of expense every individual must pay is out of line. Landholders found in […]

French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts. They lasted from 1792 until 1802. They happened because of the French Revolution. They fought against Great Britain, Austria and several other monarchies that were extremely popular at the time. How it all Started On Apr. 20, 1792, France started a war with Austria. They lacked discipline, and many noble officers had emigrated. The Austrian and Prussian forces under Charles William Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, quickly crossed the frontier […]

The Great Changes during French Revolution

The time of the revolutions brought great changes to their focus. The French Revolution, which took place in late 18th century France, was aimed at overthrowing the King or Absolute Monarch who had control over France. The people of France took action upon themselves to dethrone the King and execute him for the crimes he had committed, leading to a war being waged with other countries. These actions led to the Reign of Terror, a bloody and gruesome phase for […]

Was the Reign of Terror Justified Essay

According to an history editor in 1789 the French revolution started as a watershed modern European history when the French revolution ended in the 1790s the Napoleon Bonaparte. The citizen of the country destroy their own country's political landscape, removing long age institutions like absolute monarchy and feudal system. This disaster was ignited by an extensive act of discontent with the French monarchy and also with the bad and poor policies made by Louis XVI in his economy sector, though […]

The Sugar Act and the French Revolution

In addition to the Sugar Act, the government decided to place the Stamp Act in 1765, placing taxes on items like documents, newspapers, and even playing cards. The colonists began to revolt this and petitioned against the Parliament. With this, the colonists began to feel that they were being treated unfairly because of how they were being targeted even though they did not have a say in the government and they did not have certain rights (www.ups.org). The British government […]

The Start of the French Revolution

The start of The French Revolution began due to the disconnect between the people of France and the monarchy, resulting in one of the bloodiest revolts in history. Economic, social and political conditions in France added to the discontent that was felt by many French citizens particularly those from the third estate. One of the main factors that lead to the contribution of the revolution was the crisis in the monarchy. The thoughts of the scholarly people of the Enlightenment […]

The French Revolution and Louis XVI

Louis XVI was one of the rulers during the French Revolution. He was not an impactful leader for the people. He wanted to run from issues instead of facing them head on and he made some promises that could not be kept and had poor decisions. In time of crisis he could not take charge. The rebellion of the Third Estate showed that they felt unrepresented and did not have equal rights as the other estates did, and Louis XVI […]

Social and Political Upheaval in France during French Revolution

During 1789 The French Revolution was a period of a far-reaching social and political upheaval in France and its colonies. The French Revolution started May 5, 1789 and ended around November 9, 1799. There was many causes that cause the French Revolution to break apart and rebuild.The upheaval was caused by the widespread with the French monarchy and the poor economic policies. One of the causes that made the revolution the way it is now was the land that was […]

An Analysis of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte is broadly viewed as probably the best winner to ever live. Conceived the child of a respectable off the banks of Italy, it just took him years and years to ascend to unmistakable quality during the French Revolution, which started in July 1789 . For the duration of his life he was consistently a student, acquired constantly information; he was an enthusiastic peruser of history, science and reasoning . Beside his goal-oriented character, his diligent qualities likewise helped […]

The French Revolutions Impact on Romantics

The French Revolution is undoubtedly one of the most influential events in Europe during the late 18th century, with lasting concepts in politics, culture, and literature. During this period, Romantic poetry arose and introduced a generation of authors that each uniquely portrayed their own perspectives on the revolution through their works. Some poets referenced a more concrete political standpoint, while others went towards a more intangible concept of freedom and equality. The works written by authors: William Wordsworth and Mary […]

How the American Revolution Led to the French Revolution

In the American Revolution, the thirteen colonies were able to gain independence from Great Britain and an important cause of the victory was the help of the French who made a major impact on the war and were allies of the colonists. They fought together closely and exchanged several ideas, which included thinking that led to the start of the American Revolution. After the war of almost eight years, there were many parts of French culture that had been affected […]

The Tumultuous Tides: Unraveling the Causes of the French Revolution

The French Revolution, which spanned from 1789 to 1799, stands as a pivotal moment in world history. The events that transpired during these turbulent ten years fundamentally altered the trajectory of France and had lasting impacts on the world at large. But what were the catalysts that sparked this massive upheaval? As with most monumental shifts, the French Revolution was a product of an intricate interplay of various factors, which together forged a tempest of change. First and foremost, the […]

An Introduction to the Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution

On 9th November 1799, the future emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, took power. The intervening period may be divided into several stages: first the Regency, followed by the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, and finally the French Revolution. France, the most populated country in Europe, was to experience almost eighty years of domestic peace and economic prosperity. The emergence of the philosophical spirit in salons, cafes, and clubs led to the gradual erosion of monarchical authority. Strengthened by their newfound […]

Success and Justice of American Revolution

 For thousands of years, people have defended their countries to make sure injustice would never arise, they would even fight against their countries and governments if injustice and corruption ever arose. This longing for freedom, justice and independency evolved into revolutions that attempted and sometimes succeeded in destroying the very building blocks of society over the past 400 years. Out of all the revolutions that tore apart towns, cities and countries, the American, French, Industrial and Mexican revolutions are seen […]

The Scientific Revolution in Western Europe

The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment were revolutionary for Western Europe and the world. This is because they opened up new ideas through philosophy and science. Their characteristics were scientific ideas that contradicted prior religious beliefs. Additionally, the Enlightenment had characteristics that were full of ideas and innovation to improve people and society. A new form of religion called Deism became popular. Deists believe that God created the Earth, but then left it and is not an “active power.” Tolerance […]

Napoleon Bonaparte Influence on Art

In the 19th century the Europeans were enamored by the exotic culture that they believed was taking place in the Middle Eastern cultures. The Europeans believed that this eastern world was a very eccentric, foreign, feminized and sexualized culture in this far away land. European artists began to depict this Middle Eastern culture in their art whether or not they visited the land. These works were thought to be a clear glimpse into the Middle Eastern land and its people. […]

Napoleon Bonaparte Style to Honour Soldiers

The initial discussion will describe in detail the historical narratives and art periods of both monuments.Next, there will be some exploration of some comparisons, as well as some contrasts between the two pieces. Finally, comparing the two monuments contextually, with a more contemporary piece of art there will be a discussion on how all three monuments historically, symbolically, and politically prove that even in honor, there are moral compasses and hidden political agendas that exist. Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile […]

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How To Write an Essay About French Revolution

Understanding the french revolution.

Before starting an essay about the French Revolution, it's crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of this pivotal historical event. The French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France that had a lasting impact on French history and the wider world. Begin your essay by outlining the key causes of the Revolution, including the financial crisis, social inequalities, and the influence of Enlightenment ideas. Discuss the major events of the Revolution such as the fall of the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Understanding the complexities of these events and their interrelations is essential for writing a well-informed essay.

Developing a Thesis Statement

A strong essay on the French Revolution should be centered around a clear, concise thesis statement. This statement should present a specific viewpoint or argument about the Revolution. For instance, you might analyze the role of the Third Estate in propelling the Revolution, the impact of the Revolution on the establishment of democratic principles, or the reasons for the transition from revolution to the Napoleonic era. Your thesis will guide the direction of your essay and provide a structured and coherent analysis.

Gathering Historical Evidence

To support your thesis, gather historical evidence from credible sources. This may include primary sources like contemporary letters, speeches, and political documents, as well as secondary sources like scholarly articles and history books. Analyze this evidence critically, considering the context, perspective, and purpose of each source. Use this evidence to build your argument and provide depth to your analysis of the French Revolution.

Analyzing Key Events and Figures

Dedicate a section of your essay to analyzing key events and figures of the French Revolution. Discuss how these events were pivotal in the progress of the Revolution and examine the roles and contributions of significant figures such as Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Maximilien Robespierre, and Napoleon Bonaparte. This analysis will help readers understand the complexities and dynamics of the Revolution.

Concluding the Essay

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points of your discussion and restating your thesis in light of the evidence presented. Your conclusion should tie together your analysis and emphasize the significance of the French Revolution in shaping modern political and social thought. You might also want to reflect on the broader implications of the Revolution, such as its impact on the concept of citizenship and the spread of democratic ideals.

Reviewing and Refining Your Essay

After completing your essay, review and refine it for clarity and coherence. Ensure that your arguments are well-structured and supported by historical evidence. Check for grammatical accuracy and ensure that your essay flows logically from one point to the next. Consider seeking feedback from peers, teachers, or historians to further refine your essay. A well-written essay on the French Revolution will not only demonstrate your understanding of this crucial period in history but also your ability to engage critically with historical narratives.

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Inventing the French Revolution : essays on French political culture in the eighteenth century

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History Grade 10 - Topic 3 Essay Questions

Causes of the French Revolution

Based on the 2012 Grade 10 NSC Exemplar Paper:

Grade 10 Past Exam Paper

Grade 10 Source Addendum

Grade 10 Past Exam Memo

Essay 1: What were the causes of the French Revolution?

In 1789 the bloody French Revolution began, which would continue till the late 1790’s. The aim of the revolution was to overthrow the monarchy and uproot the system of feudalism, and replace it with ideas of equality, liberty and fraternity. [1] The French revolution occurred for various reasons, including poor economic policies, poor leadership, an exploitative political- and social structures. 

Political Causes

The political causes of the French revolution included the autocratic monarchy, bankruptcy and extravagant spending of royals. To understand the causes of the French Revolution, one needs to understand France’s political structure before the revolution began. An autocratic monarchy means that French society was governed by an all-powerful king or queen, believed to have been given divine right to rule by God. [2] These monarchs were hereditary rulers, which meant that the son or daughter of the monarch would be the next ruler. [3] As many believed the monarchs to be a “representative of God”, they did not question the orders of their rulers. But this unlimited power of the monarchs soon led to abuse. Under King Louis XIV reign all monarchs could have anyone arrested and imprisoned by the Letter de Cachet. The monarchs did not care for their subjects as even the innocent could be arrested and imprisoned at any time. This caused anxiety, panic and fear in France.

King Louis XIV reigned from 1643 to 1713. [4] After his death, his great-grandson, King Louis XV became king at the age of five. Both his parents and brother had passed away in 1712, and a regent, Philippe II, was appointed who would govern till he came of age. [5] When King Louis XV finally took the throne, he was a lazy leader who lacked self-confidence and spent more time with his mistresses than with the affairs of state. [6] His national policies never had firm direction. He became known as the “butterfly monarch”. [7] His involvement in the Seven Years War (1756 – 1763) drained France’s treasury. [8] While the country was bankrupt and many citizens were impoverished, taxes were generated to sustain a large army. [9] King Louis XV contributed to France’s bankruptcy due to overspending on his luxurious lifestyle and wars. [10]

The next leader, Louis XVI (1774 – 1793) reign also set the stage for a revolution. King Louis XVI is remembered as a simple man, but his wife Marie Antoinette lived in the lap of luxury. [11] Louis XVI inherited the kingdom and all the debt of France when he became king. He failed to fix the financial situation. The expensive upkeep of his palace and the unnecessary spending of Marie Antoinette angered the French population. Especially as the tax system excluded nobility from paying tax, while the poor paid for the royals’ luxurious lifestyles. By 1786 Charles de Calonne, the general of finances, warned against raising taxes of the poor as it could lead to unrest. [12] As King Louis XVI did not want to tax nobility, De Calonne had to approach European Banks for loans. [13] While King Louis was unable to fix France’s financial situation, his wife continued with her extravagant lifestyle. Marie-Antoinette’s never-minded response to the poor suffering is mostly reflected in the quote: “Let them eat cake”. [14]   Even though no evidence could be found that she truly said it, the famous quote does portray the monarchy’s attitude. While many were starving, the monarchy turned a blind eye. This quote shows how oblivious they were to the suffering of their people.

The defective administration of generations of monarchs set the stage for a French revolution. The poor were no longer willing to pay for the monarchy’s extravagant lifestyles and unwise foreign policies. People were starting to revolt against the idea of “divine rule” and started to question the authority and wisdom of their monarchs.

Social Causes:

The second cause of the French revolution was based on the social structure of France. French society was based on the relics of feudalism, which divided the French population in to three classes based on the Estate System. [15]   According to the Estate System, people’s status and rights were determined by the estate they owned. [16] The three estates included the clergy, the nobility and the peasants.

The first estate consisted of the clergy, which was subdivided into two groups, the upper and lower clergy. The higher clergy were at the top of the hierarchy in French society, while the lower clergy were impoverished. The higher clergy lived extravagantly, exploiting people and exempt from paying taxes. [17] While the lower clergy was also employed as workers of the church, monasteries and educational institutions, but not in high positions such as the higher clergy. [18]

The second estate consisted of the nobility, which included two groups, namely the court nobles and the provincial nobles. [19] They were also exempt from paying taxes. However, the provincial nobles actually cared for the people, while the court nobles only focused on leading scandalously wealthy lives. [20]

The third estate consisted of the peasants, which included the sweepers, farmers and cobblers. [21] They were the lowest classes in French society, who were forced to pay taxes to sustain the luxuriously living of the first and second estate.

But besides the unequal taxing given to the third estate, they were also unequally represented in court. The third estate represented 98% of the French population, yet they were outvoted by the first two estates. The third estate fought against this unequal representation and began to mobilize support for abolishing the noble veto. This meant that votes would be counted by the amount of people in favor or against a law, rather than nobles dictating laws. This led to opposition from the first two estates, who wanted to remain in control.

To fight against the current voting system, the Third Estate met on 17 June 1789 alone to change the title of National Assembly. [22] Three days later, they met at an indoor tennis court and undertook the Tennis Court Oath, declaring that would not end their fight until they achieved judicial, fiscal and governmental reform. [23] On 27 June, after 47 liberal nobles joined the Third Estate’s cause, Louis XVI accepted all three orders into a new assembly.

The rise of the third estate against the Estate System and unequal representation due to the class structure also gave rise to the French Revolution. The poor were angered to pay for the luxurious lifestyles of first and second estate. They were also tired of having 2% of the population veto all their rights and having inequal representation in court even though they made up 98% of French society.

Economic Causes

Another cause of the French revolution was the economic conditions of France. King Louis XIV “Seven Years War” left France bankrupt. His foreign policies led to expensive foreign wars, which emptied the coffers of the royal treasury. After his death, he was succeeded by Louis XVI. But as previously shown, even though the king was simple, his wife continued with frivolous spending. King Louis XVI also refused to listen to the economic counsel given to him, which led to necessary economic changes being ignored.

Firstly, when Louis XVI took the throne, Turgot was appointed Minister of Finance in 1774. Turgot’s first duty was to rid France of their debt. [24] He came up with a solution to appease the peasants and fix France’s financial situation by minimizing spending of the royal court and imposing taxes on all three estates. [25] However, Turgot’s solution was dismissed after Marie Antoinette intervened. Turgot was fired and Necker was appointed as the new Finance Minister in 1776. Necker remained King Louis XVI Finance Minister for seven years. [26] During his time he published a report of the income and expenses of the government, to appease the French population. [27] But in 1783, he was also fired. Finally, Calonne was appointed Minister of Finance in 1783. Calonne advised the king to improve France’s financial situation by approaching European banks for a loan. [28] The European banks were not keen to lend money to France, but Calonne was able to obtain a loan. Calonne’s solution proved problematic. When France finally did receive a loan, their debt doubled within three years from 300, 000, 000 to 600, 000, 000. [29] Thereafter, Calonne realized that his solution was not feasible and urged the king to impose taxes on all three classes. Finally, Calonne was also dismissed.

King Louis XVI economic decisions finally set the stage for the revolution. The monarchy refused to impose taxes on all three estates, while the royals continued living in a lap of luxury. These decisions created economic instability in France. The peasants were angered, as while they were starving, they had to maintain the standard of living for the rich. Therefore, the economic conditions in France was one of the main reasons for the revolution.

Ultimately, there was three main reasons for the French Revolution. The Estate System, economic policies and autocratic monarchy gave rise to a bloody revolution, which led to the need for equality, liberty and fraternity in France. 

Essay 2:  What is the Legacy of the French Revolution of 1789 or What were the consequences of the French Revolution? 

Tip:  If there is a term that is unfamiliar to you, please check out our French Revolution Glossary some definitions.

The Bloody French Revolution officially began when hundreds of French city workers stormed the Bastille fortress in Paris in 1789. [30]   Although the revolution came to an end in the late 1790’s, its legacy (or consequences) had a significant impact on the World, especially other European countries.  This statement will be examined by discussing various political and socio-economic legacies of the French Revolution of 1789, while discussing how the idea of the possibility that popular mobilization can overthrow established monarchies and aristocracies rose from the French Revolution of 1789.

Political Legacies:

When discussing the legacy of the French Revolution, it is important to understand the causes of the revolution as it gives one a better understanding of the desired outcomes.  For example, one of the main causes was that French citizens who belonged to the Third Estate . grew significantly tired of the absolute power and wealth of the French monarchy and wanted a political system that represented the popular interests.  Consequently, one of the direct consequences of the revolution was that France became a Republic; which indicated a step towards liberty, equality and democracy. [31]   This need for liberty and equality spread to many other countries and especially to countries in central Europe, where popular protest  and movements called for the election of parliaments and to ultimately demolish the feudalistic-approach of European life. [32]

As briefly mentioned, the French Revolution of 1789 demonstrated that an organized group of popular protest and mutual interests could demolish something as established as old monarchies and aristocracies. [33]   This idea significantly led to the revolution of the slaves of Saint-Domingue, a French Colony on one of the Caribbean Islands, who mobilized themselves for the fight for their independence. [34]   In 1804 this movement was able to finally break free from French colonial rule and establish the Republic of Haiti.

Socio-Economic Legacies:

When discussing the political movements that were influenced by the French Revolution, it is also important to discuss the Socio-Economic legacies that were influenced by the changes in the political environments.  For example, the fall of the monarchy also meant that the French system of estates (based on Feudalism) also crumbled.  This meant that the French middle class were able to gain better opportunities through acquiring more land (as the Church’s lands were nationalized) and having to pay less taxes (as they did not have to pay Feudal taxes anymore). [35]   Furthermore, the elite classes (such as the nobles and corrupt clergy) lost most of their power and privileges.  Therefore, it is evident that the revolution led to a significant change in the political, social and economic structures of France.

Growth of Nationalism

With the middle class and “peasants” (in this context, French farmers) gaining more opportunities and a better standard of living and the decline of Feudalism, as well as the loss of extreme privileges of the clergy and nobleman, a need for the growth in Nationalistic sentiments continued.  Consequently, instead of the protection provided by the Feudalistic-structure , a French army was established. [36] Other examples of the lasting spread of French Nationalism, is the change of France’s flag (the Tricolore), the National anthem (the Marseillaise) and the creation of France’s National Day (Bastille Day). [37]   The legacy of French Nationalism out of the French Revolution still exists today.

Conclusion:

When discussing the causes and outcomes of the French Revolution of 1789, it evident that the outcomes of the revolution had a lasting impact on the French political, social and economic way of life.  As seen in the examples of the changing social structures, the change in the tax system and finally the strong rise in French Nationalism.  It is also important to note the legacy created by the ideology of the French Revolution and its effect on many European countries.  For example, as seen in the growth of the Jacobin movements.  One of the most significant phenomena surrounding the French Revolution of 1789 and its legacy, is that the world was able to witness how people were able to organize themselves to fight for National interest and take down century old ways of life.  This ultimately led to the legacy and the birth of the idea of the possibility of differing political ideologies. [38]

Tips & Notes:

• Check out our Essay Writing Skills  for more tips on writing essays.
• Remember, this is just an example essay.  You still need to use the work provided by your teacher or learned in class.
• It is important to check in with your teacher and make sure this meets his/her requirements.  For example, they might prefer that you do not use headings in your essay.

This content was originally produced for the SAHO classroom by Ilse Brookes, Amber Fox-Martin & Simone van der Colff

[1] Author Unknown, “French Revolution”, History, (Uploaded: 9 November 2009), (Accessed: 29 April 2020), Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution

[2] Author Unknown, “France Before the Revolution”, History Crunch, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 29 April 2020), Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution

[3] Author Unknown, “France Before the Revolution”, History Crunch, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 29 April 2020), Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution

[4] Author Unknown, “Louis XV”, Encyclopedia Britannica, (Uploaded: 11 February 2020), (Accessed 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XV

[7] V. Rana, “Causes of the French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes’, History Discussion, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.historydiscussion.net/world-history/french-revolution/causes-of-french-revolution-political-social-and-economic-causes/1881

[8] Author Unknown, “The French Revolution (1789 – 1799)”, Sparknotes, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/section1/

[10] V. Rana, “Causes of the French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes’, History Discussion, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.historydiscussion.net/world-history/french-revolution/causes-of-french-revolution-political-social-and-economic-causes/1881

[12] Author Unknown, “The French Revolution (1789 – 1799)”, Sparknotes, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/section1/

[14] J. M. Cunningham, “Did Marie-Antoinette really say “Let them eat Cake”?”, Encyclopedia Britannica, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.britannica.com/story/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them

[15] Author Unknown, “France Before the Revolution”, History Crunch, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 29 April 2020), Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution

[17] V. Rana, “Causes of the French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes’, History Discussion, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.historydiscussion.net/world-history/french-revolution/causes-of-french-revolution-political-social-and-economic-causes/1881

[22] Author Unknown, “French Revolution”, History, (Uploaded: 9 November 2009), (Accessed: 29 April 2020), Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution

[24] V. Rana, “Causes of the French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes’, History Discussion, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.historydiscussion.net/world-history/french-revolution/causes-of-french-revolution-political-social-and-economic-causes/1881

[28] Author Unknown, “The French Revolution (1789 – 1799)”, Sparknotes, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/section1/

[29] V. Rana, “Causes of the French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes’, History Discussion, (Uploaded: Unknown), (Accessed: 30 April 2020), Available at: https://www.historydiscussion.net/world-history/french-revolution/causes-of-french-revolution-political-social-and-economic-causes/1881

[30] South African History Online, (2011), “The French Revolution,” Grade 10 – Topic 3, South African History Online (online), Available at https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/grade-10-topic-3-french-revolution-0 (Accessed:  6 June 2020)

[31] J. Battaro & P. Visser & N. Worden, (2011), “Grade 10 Learner’s Book,” Oxford in Search of History.  Oxford University Press, South Africa.

[32] UKEssays, November 2018, “Legacies of the French Revolution,” UKEssays (online). Available at https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-major-legacies-of-the-frenc… (Accessed 5 June 2020).

[33] UKEssays, November 2018, “Legacies of the French Revolution,” UKEssays (online). Available at https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-major-legacies-of-the-frenc… (Accessed 5 June 2020).

[34] UKEssays, November 2018, “Legacies of the French Revolution,” UKEssays (online). Available at https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-major-legacies-of-the-frenc… (Accessed 5 June 2020).

[35] J. Battaro & P. Visser & N. Worden, (2011), “Grade 10 Learner’s Book,” Oxford in Search of History.  Oxford University Press, South Africa.

[36] J. Battaro & P. Visser & N. Worden, (2011), “Grade 10 Learner’s Book,” Oxford in Search of History.  Oxford University Press, South Africa.

[37] J. Battaro & P. Visser & N. Worden, (2011), “Grade 10 Learner’s Book,” Oxford in Search of History.  Oxford University Press, South Africa.

[38] UKEssays, November 2018, “Legacies of the French Revolution,” UKEssays (online). Available at https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-major-legacies-of-the-frenc… (Accessed 5 June 2020).

[1] Battaro, J. & Visser, P. & Worden, N., 2011, Oxford in Search of History:  Grade 10 Learner’s Book, Oxford University Press, South Africa.

[2] Goldstone, J.A. “A Fourth Generation of Revolutionary Theory”, Annual Reviews, (Vol. 4), 139 – 187. 

[2] Schwartz, M.  “History 151: The French Revolution: Causes, Outcomes, Confliction Interpretations”, (Accessed: 28 April 2020), Mount Holyoke Available at: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151s03/french_rev_causes_consequences.htm

[3] South African History Online, November 2011, “The French Revolution”, Grade 10 – Topic 10 (online).  Available at https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/grade-10-topic-3-french-revolution-0 (Accessed:  6 June 2020).

[4] Tulloch, S., Reader’s Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder: A Unique and Powerful Combination of Dictionary and Thesaurus, London: The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, date unknown. 

[5] UKEssays, November 2018, “Legacies of the French Revolution,” UKEssays (online). Available at https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/the-major-legacies-of-the-frenc… (Accessed 5 June 2020).

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119 French Revolution Essay Topics & Research Examples

French Revolution essay is a popular task in colleges and universities. As such, you should know what you are expected to write when given this topic. For example, discuss the worldwide context in which the Revolution took place.

🏆 Best French Revolution Topics

📑 good research topics about french revolution, 🎓 simple french revolution essay topics, 📌 interesting french revolution research topics, ❓ french revolution essay questions.

Before the French Revolution, Europe was a land where monarchy was a dominant mode of government. It was supported by religious figures, with their propositions such as the divine mandate and the general illiteracy of the population. However, the Enlightenment changed the situation as more and more people became educated and interested in state affairs.

The consequences of the Revolution, locally and internationally, are a significant matter for discussion. By covering these ideas and following The French Revolution essay requirements, you will create powerful work. You can discuss the dynamics of power in its execution and how pragmatic leaders eventually replaced idealistic ones.

Napoleon Bonaparte is an important figure, as he emerged as the ultimate victor of the Revolution. France began as a monarchy and ended as an empire under dictatorial rule, showing the issues inherent in revolutions.

Try to concentrate on a specific topic instead of discussing everything you can think of. Use side topics as arguments in support of your thesis. If you find yourself struggling, visit IvyPanda to find a variety of useful, professionally written samples!

• History of French Revolution The whole French terrorism was a means of dealing with the rivals of the bourgeoisie that is feudalism and absolutism. In the estates general, there was the clergy, nobility and the rest of the people.
• Napoleon Bonaparte’s Role in the French Revolution Despite the outstanding development, Napoleon stayed in the position of the second lieutenant for six years; it was not until the beginning of the French Revolution that he was able to advance his career in […]
• Music and the French Revolution They also wanted to do away with the Christianity as well as the old method of days of the week and naming the years from the birth of Christ.
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• Comparison of American and French Revolution Both the revolutions were for a cause, the American Revolution took place because the Americans wanted to free themselves from the enslavement of the British and similarly the French revolution took place because the rich […]
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• A Tale of Two Cities: A Balanced Portrayal of the French Revolution The novel paints a vivid picture of the French Revolution, the fervor and radicalism of the revolutionaries and the terror and bloodshed spread by the revolutionaries.
• Food Scarcity Factor in French Revolution Many writings and works devoted to the investigation of European history in the 18th century have captured the chronicles of a long-term hunger that was spread across France on the eve of the Revolution.
• Restoring Justice Through the French Revolution However, the role of breakthroughs, which spurred the rise of capitalism and the bourgeoisie with its intentions to change order within the country, led to the French Revolution, which restored justice.
• The French Revolution in Its Historical Context The French Revolution was a series of events that marked the downfall of the Bourbon monarchy and the rise of a democratic republic in France.
• Society and Cultural Changes in the West During the French Revolution The main influence on the development of the political life of Western countries in the second period of New History was the French Revolution, which put forward the ideas of freedom, equality, and fraternity.
• The French Revolution and National Regeneration The ideas presented by the interpretations of the effects and consequences of the revolution are important in offering knowledge of new political ideologies.
• “The Old Regime and the French Revolution” by Alexis De Tocqueville Consequently, in chapter 2, Tocqueville explains that the Church was targeted by the anti-elitist and semi-anarchist aims of the Revolution due to being a part of the feudal system.
• The Nationalism Role During the French Revolution One of the most developed variants of this concept is the nationalism of the era of the French Revolution. In 1789, with the outbreak of the French Revolution, the idea of nationalism spread throughout France, […]
• Why the French Revolution Led to War Between France and Prussia & Austria To understand why the French Revolution led to war between France on the one side and Prussia and Austria on the other in 1792, one should briefly recall the essence of this revolution.
• Origins of the French Revolution Tired of the current situation and raring for change, the French people had to find a reason to revolt. She was convicted and executed of the same.
• The Role of Napoleon Bonaparte in the French Revolution The aftermath of the revolutionary actions was disastrous and the society would have faced the need to readjust to more alternations in political orders.
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• Print Making During the French Revolution Print making entails the use of originality in the creation of prints as opposed to the reproduction of a painting using photographic means.
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• French Revolution in World History The French revolution, in this part of the world at least, was the inspiration for all subsequent uprisings and revolts throughout Europe in the nineteenth century and its ideals, in part, are visible in many […]
• Women During the French Revolution: Olympe de Gouges As a move to fight for the women rights, I wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the citizens in 1791.
• Western Civilization: The French Revolution 1789-99 One of the most popular theories includes the idea that the fall of the monarchy was simply a result of the fall of the social class with which it was most closely associated, that of […]
• French Revolution and the European Music For instance many of the ideas of democracy taken for granted in many parts of the world today like the freedom and impartiality of individuals, the importance of written establishments in supervision of a country, […]
• How Revolutionary Was the French Revolution? The French Revolution was the most revolutionary era in the history of France as the country underwent radical reforms. One of the greatest landmark revolutions was the spread of the Napoleonic culture and some of […]
• French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars: Idea of Nation While studying the French Revolution of 1789 and the Napoleonic Wars of 1803-1815, I was challenged by the question of their impact on the ideas of nations.
• The French Revolution and Its Factors The French revolution is seen as a period of both social and political upheavals in the History of Europe and France. It was the French revolution that was seen to overthrow this old regime to […]
• French Revolution, Its Social Causes and Legacies The French revolution owes its occurrence, foremost, to the significant increase of the French population throughout the eighteenth century. The implication of this stratification was the lumping of a majority of the population into the […]
• Robespierre’s Influence During the French Revolution Besides, the title of the article does not directly capture the interest of the reader since it approaches the focus of the reader from a broad perspective; The Economic Terror of the French Revolution.
• French Revolution and Societal Transformation The French Revolution was a period of political and social instabilities in France, which lasted between 1789 and 1799, and was partially planned and carried out by Napoleon in the course of the French Empire […]
• French Revolution and War Periods The themes of the songs before the French Revolution of 1848 and shortly before and during the time of the Paris Commune in 1871 were mostly political and revolutionary.
• The French Revolution Role in the History The French Revolution was a major event not only in the history of the French Empire but also in the history of the world.
• Industrialization, Enlightenment, French Revolution Human history has been shaped greatly by three periods: The industrial revolution, the period of enlightenment, the French revolution, and finally the period of protest and revolution 1815-1850.
• Neoclassicism in French Revolution As a matter of fact, the roles played by art in the social realms could not be ignored during the revolution years. The cruel nature of the French regime was depicted in the Marat’s figure […]
• French Revolution and Napoleonic Era Subsequently, rebellion and a spirit of revolution began to ferment among the commoners, the nobility and the clergy as well as the wider French society.
• Edmund Burke: Reflection on Liberty and the French Revolution One of the things that Burke seems not to appreciate is the fact that freedom and liberty are not a one-time achievement.
• Industrial and French Revolutions In addition, people from the middle classes were the greatest beneficiaries while peasants and the poor were the losers in the revolutions.
• French revolution and the Napoleon era The enlightenment era consisted of quite a number of ideas that changed the French society in addition to growing wave of civilization in the West.
• The French Revolution and Napoleon’s Governance Like any substantial change in the political life of any country, the French Revolution consisted of several stages of the dramatic transformation of the state system, political and social life in France. During the decade […]
• The effect of the French Revolution on Lazare Carnot The period of the French revolution was celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and it can be perceived to have laid the groundwork and the birth of the new world socio-political order.
• How Did the French Revolution Impacted the Issue of Slavery and the History of Santo Domingo? The French Revolution led to the spread of revolutionary ideas. After the French Revolution, the law prohibited slavery and abolished in Santo Domingo.
• Origins and trajectory of the French Revolution The Second Estate consisted of the nobility, another privileged group which held the highest positions in the government, the Church and the army.
• The French Revolution Movie The movie by the name Marie Antoinette tells the story of the Austrian-born queen and the events leading to the collapse of the monarchy in France.
• Liberty and Nation: The French Revolution This paper will discuss the role of the French Revolution in shaping the concept of nation, freedom, and citizenship. This author argued that people of the Third Estate constituted the bulk of the French nation […]
• Major social groups in France prior to the French revolution The First Estate consisted of the clergy; the second one was nobility while the third estate was known as the commoners. The major goal of the commoners was to attain more power and independence from […]
• The American vs. French Revolution: Ideals Matter The development of the first Heliocentric theory of the universe and the Pythagorean system had profound revolutionary implications on man’s conception of the universe and natural law.
• What Caused the French Revolution? The American Revolution: In 1775-1783, America experienced a revolution and the government of France sent its troops and navy to help the rebelling colonists. This consequently led to the rise of hunger and high prices […]
• Absolutism in French Revolution It means that the contemporaries of Louis XIV did not use this term, but preferred to use the word-combination “absolute power of the crown”, which they understood as the “concentration of sovereign authority in the […]
• An Analysis of a Document Written by an Anonymous French Sugar Planter Who Escaped the French Revolution by Going to Saint Domingue
• An Analysis of French Revolution Differ in American Revolution
• An Analysis of Political Upheavals of the French Revolution
• A History of the French Revolution and the Origin of Totalitarianism
• An Analysis of the Significance of the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution
• An Analysis of the Significance of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars to Modernity
• An Analysis of the Causes and Impact of the French Revolution in the 16th Century
• Age of Enlightenment and French Revolution
• An Overview of the Preliminary Stage in Politics and the Causes of the French Revolution
• A Biography of Maximilien Robespierre, a Famous Leader of the French Revolution
• An Analysis of the Goals of the French Revolution Produced by the Enlightenment
• An Analysis of the Specific Themes in Charles Dickens’ Novel A Tale of Two Cities Regarding the French Revolution
• An Overview of A True Revolution in French Revolution and the Brutality
• An Analysis of the Primary Causes of Social and Political Upheaval in the French Revolution
• A Description of the French Revolution as a Significant Milestone in European History
• A Look at France and England During The French Revolution in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• An Analysis of the Beginning of Time on the Concept of Revolution and the Principles Behind the French Revolution in Europe
• An Analysis of the Investigation on Napoleon’s Betrayal in the French Revolution
• A Better Understanding of the Causes of the French Revolution in the 1700’s
• A Description of Both Conservatism and Liberalism Which Were Both Born in the French Revolution
• A Look at the French Revolution and the Killings During the Devolution
• An Analysis of the Ideological Connection between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution
• An Analysis of the Great Changes in the Society and Government of France Brought By The French Revolution
• Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and His Relevance to the French Revolution
• An Examination of the Estates General: The First Step to the French Revolution
• Advantages And Disadvantages Of The French Revolution
• An Overview of the French Revolution as a Major Theme of Change in the 18th Century
• An Examination of the Influence of French Revolution on the Society of Europe
• An Analysis of the Causes of the French Revolution: the Financial Debt of the Government and the Long-Standing Political Differences in the Government
• An Analysis of Queen Marie Antoinette’s Involvement in the French Revolution
• A History of the Fall of Bastille and the French Revolution
• Assess the View That the Enlightenment Had Been the Main Cause of the French Revolution
• An Analysis and an Introduction to Revolutionary Leaders and the Effects of the French Revolution
• A Comparison between the American Revolution and the French Revolution
• An Evaluation of the French Revolution, Social Injustice, Love and Compassion in Les Miserables, a Play by Victor Hugo
• A Discussion of the Creation of Conservatism and Liberalism During the French Revolution
• A Look at the Major Revolutions and the Differences in the French Revolution
• An Analysis of the Essential Cause for the French Revolution in the End of 18th Century
• An Analysis of the Three Main Views Interpreted in the French Revolution
• How Far Was Christianity Seriously Threatened by the French Revolution Between 1789 and 1815?
• Was Napoleon the Son or the Enemy of the French Revolution?
• How and Why Did the French Revolution Affect Ireland?
• How Much Does Napoleon Owe to the French Revolution?
• Did Marie Antoinette Play a Decisive Role in the French Revolution?
• How Did American Revolution Serve as the Inspiration for the French Revolution?
• Did Napoleon Abuse the Ideas of the French Revolution?
• How Did the Enlightenment Influence the French Revolution?
• Did the American Revolution Help Spur the French Revolution?
• How Did the French Revolution Impact Western Civilization?
• How Did the French Revolution Become More Radical in 1789-1793?
• Did the French Revolution Have Occurred Without the Enlightenment?
• How Did the French Revolution Both Support and Violate the Motto – “Equality, Liberty and Fraternity”?
• Was Napoleon Bonaparte the Saviour or the Destroyer of the Ideals of the French Revolution?
• How Did the French Revolution Enter a New Phase After the Storming of the Bastille?
• Was the French Revolution a Class War?
• How Did the French Revolution Lead to the Unification of Germany and Italy?
• Was the French Revolution Successful?
• How Did the French Revolution Undermine Democracy?
• Was the French Revolution Necessary?
• How Did the Social Upheaval of the French Revolution Influence the Beliefs of the Romantic Poets?
• Was the French Revolution Preventable?
• How Effectively Did Pitt Deal With the External Threats of the French Revolution?
• Was the French Revolution the Birth of Modernity?
• How Far Did Napoleon Maintain the Aims of the French Revolution Till 1815?
• What Are the Four Main Causes of the French Revolution?
• How Far Was Louis XVI to Blame for the French Revolution in 1789?
• What Caused and Sustained the Second French Revolution?
• How Important Was the Part Played by the Third Estate in the French Revolution up to 1793?
• How Important Were Economic Causes of the French Revolution?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 24). 119 French Revolution Essay Topics & Research Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/french-revolution-essay-examples/

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IvyPanda . (2024) '119 French Revolution Essay Topics & Research Examples'. 24 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "119 French Revolution Essay Topics & Research Examples." February 24, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/french-revolution-essay-examples/.

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IvyPanda . "119 French Revolution Essay Topics & Research Examples." February 24, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/french-revolution-essay-examples/.

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