French Revolution Essay Example

One extremely significant event during the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 was The Tennis Court Oath. In the meeting of the Estates General, the third estate, who made up a vastly greater percentage of the population than any other estate, was often overruled by the clergy and the nobility who represented the first and second estates. These spokespersons of the third estate established themselves as a group called the National Assembly, whose objective was to make laws for France without regarding the estates and to coerce the king to agree to a new constitution. The National Assembly then found themselves locked out of their meeting and moved to a nearby Versailles tennis court, an open defiance to the monarchy, where they vowed to remain united until a new constitution for France had been put into effect, hence this pledge being name The Tennis Court Oath. The Tennis Court Oath was significant because it informed the population that the nation’s people had political authority and not the monarchy. This sparked many following revolutionary actions that were supported by this new established idea that the people of France were citizens to the state, not subjects of the king.  

One significant economic cause for the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 was government debt. One reason the government was in major financial debt was because of France’s involvement in several wars. The French army had fought in the French and Indian War and lost, which caused a colossal increase in debt. The French army also joined American forces in the American Revolution against the British, one of France’s biggest enemies, which was detrimental to its country’s finances because of the costly prices of another war. Another source of France’s debt were the taxes enforced by royals which were created to obtain money after the luxurious spending of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Although the first and second estates had the most money of all of France’s population, it was the third estate who was burdened by the excessive taxes. Many of the third estate was unable to pay these expensive taxes because they had barely enough money to survive and the clergy and the nobility refused to pay taxes, therefore an economic crisis broke out in France. Tension rose among the people of France because taxes were viewed as a sign of inequality in the social hierarchy by the third estate, and the first and second estates believed they should have been excluded from paying taxes.     

The Enlightenment influenced the outbreak of the French Revolution in several ways. Before the introduction of enlightenment ideas, France’s social classes were divided by three estates. The third estate was treated exceptionally unfairly because they were the only group who were taxed and who received a minuscule say in matters of their country. One famous thinker from the Enlightenment, John Locke, argued that a government’s power is decided by popular consent and that people should have the right to rebel against unjust rulers. During his rule, King Louis XVI led France into enormous debt which he unsuccessfully tried to reduce by creating unjust taxes for the third estate to pay, even though they did not have enough money to afford them. Eventually, commoners revolted against the king and established themselves as the National Assembly, a group who was now in charge of representing the country. This practiced Locke’s idea of having the right to rebel against unrighteous rulers. Additionally, the National Assembly created a document called the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen which stated that all men were born free and equal and have the right to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. This declaration is similar to Locke’s enlightenment ideas which expressed that all people have the right to three human rights which were life, liberty, and property and that the government’s job was to protect these rights. Commoners in the third estate were granted civil rights because of this declaration but prior to this, they had no basic rights which both the first and second estate possessed. This exemplifies that the French social classes were becoming more equal because more citizens were gaining human rights, a direct relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. In conclusion, the Enlightenment’s ideas were used in the French Revolution to challenge the oppression from rulers and to give rights to all citizens.