Prior to the French Revolution, France was going through some extreme financial struggles. As a result of the American Revolution and the spending habits of King Louis XIV and his predecessor, France was close to experiencing financial ruin. The dwindling economy, land tax, and widespread poverty caused the peasants to become dissatisfied with the monarchy.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the French Revolution occurred during the Enlightenment Era. Certain ideals like the separation of powers in government and popular sovereignty became popular through Montesquieu’s “Spirit of the Laws” and Rousseau’s “Social Contract.” This led to a desire to reform the current political system that oppressed the poor and benefitted the rich. More importantly, it also encouraged people to not look down on one another due to status and prestige. The French Revolution would signal the transition from tyrannical monarchs to a democratic system.
https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution
After the Enlightenment period swept through Europe, people in different societies began to question authority, government, and the meaning of life using logic and reason. The Enlightenment was a period of time between 1650 and 1800 where prominent thinkers emerged with new and intriguing ideas. For example, John Locke, a well known Enlightenment thinker, believed that all men are born with three natural rights: life, liberty, and property. He also believed that it was government's job to preserve those natural rights and that people agree to give up certain rights for the sake of the common good (society). Another famous Enlightenment thinker, Rousseau, believed that the government is a social contract between the people and the ruler, and rulers must preserve virtue and liberty or else the people will overthrow them. Other ideas about the separation of powers (Montesquieu) emerged as well as the concept of "checks and balances," meaning that no one branch of government should become more powerful than the others.
With these new ideas emerging, people in European societies, such as France, began to question their own circumstances. To contextualize France prior to the French Revolution, one must understand the system of government that was in place. France was split into three classes called "Estates." The First Estate was comprised of the clergy (The Church). There was just a tiny population of France that made up the First Estate, yet they had most of the power and influence in the country and did not have to pay taxes, even though they were the wealthiest. The Second Estate was comprised of the nobles. The nobles were also just a very small proportion of the population of France and, like the First Estate, were well respected, had high paying jobs, and did not have to pay taxes. The Third Estate was comprised of everyone else in France. More than 90% of the population belonged to the Third Estate, yet they had very little political power. People in the Third Estate had a wide range of wealth and status. At the top of the Third Estate was the Bourgeoisie or middle class. This group of people were typically well-respected members of society and had decent jobs (doctors, lawyers, merchants, etc.). The rest of the Third Estate was made up of poor peasants or city workers who typically lived in very poor conditions. Despite being the poorest class, the Third Estate was required to pay all of the taxes in France.
Also, the way the political system in France worked was that each Estate was represented by one vote. Therefore, any time the Third Estate would try to dissent or change aspects of society, they would be outnumbered two votes to one, as the First and Second Estate would often vote together to ensure things remained status quo.
The people of the Third Estate were inspired by the Enlightenment ideals and began to discuss and challenge the way society was operating. They found their circumstances to be very unfair and demanded individual rights and liberties, as well as a reworking of the political system to ensure a more representative voting system. When these demands were not met by the government, the Third Estate rebelled and the French Revolution began.
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