FRENCH REVOLUTION ESSAY

Revolutions evolve in definite phases. At first they are moderate in scope, then
they become radical to excess and finally they are brought to abrupt
conclusions by the emergence of a strong man to restore order.” Discuss this
statement with specific references to the French Revolution.

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. “It introduced democratic ideals
to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme
rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class.” (Durant, 12) After the
revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the
aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and
equality.

The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a
movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a crowd in
Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A
series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis
XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the
same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when
Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government.

At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a

logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent
among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in
to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles
comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate.

The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy
and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. The third estate, especially the
peasants, had to provide almost all the country’s tax revenue. Many members
of the middle class were also worried by their social status. They were among
the most important people in French society but were not recognized as such
because they belonged to the third estate.

“Financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to
finance the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and the Revolutionary War (1775-
1783).” (Durant, 22) The Parliament of Paris insisted that King Louis XVI could
borrow more money or raise taxes only by calling a meeting of the States-
General. The States-General was made up of representatives of the three
estates, and had last met in 1614. Unwillingly, the king called the meeting.

The States-General opened on May 5, 1789, at Versailles. The first two estates
wanted each estate to take up matters and vote on them separately by estate.
The third estate had has many representatives as the other two combined. It
insisted that all the estates be merged into one national assembly and that each
representative had one vote. The third estate also wanted the States-General to
write a constitution.

The king and the first two estates refused the demands of the third estate. In
June 1789, the representatives of the third estate declared themselves the
National Assembly of France. Louis the XVI they allowed the three estates to
join together as the National Assembly. But he began to gather troops around
Paris to break up the Assembly.

Meanwhile, the masses of France also took action. On July 14, 1789, a huge
crowd of Parisians rushed to the Bastille. They believed they would find arms
and ammunition there for use in defending themselves against the king’s army.
The people captured the Bastille and began to tear it down. Massive peasant
uprisings were also occurring in the countryside.
 The king’s removal led to a new stage in the revolution. The first stage had
been a liberal middle-class reform movement based on a constitutional
monarchy. The second stage was organized around principles of democracy.
The National Convention opened on September 21, 1792, and declared France
a republic.
“Louis XVI was placed on trial for betraying the country. The National
Convention found him guilty of treason, and a slim majority voted for the death-
penalty. The king was beheaded on the guillotine on January 21, 1793. The
revolution gradually grew more radical-that is more open to extreme and violent
change. Radical leaders came into prominence. In the Convention, they were
known as the mountain because they sat on the high benches at the rear of the
hall during meetings. Leaders of the Mountain were Maximilien Robespierre,
Georges Jacques Danton, and Jean Paul Marat. The Mountain dominated a
powerful political club called the Jacobin Club.

“Growing disputes between the Mountain and the Gironde led to a struggle for
power, and the Mountain won. In June 1793, the Convention arrested the
leading Girondists. In turn, the Girondists’ supporters rebelled against the
Convention. One of these supporters assassinated Marat in July 1793.”
(Woloch, 526)

This was the most horrific period of the revolution. The Convention’s leaders
included Robespierre, Lazare Carnot, and Bertrand Barere. The Convention
declared a policy of terror against rebels, supporters of the king, and anyone
else who publicly disagreed with official policy. “In time, hundreds of thousands
of suspects filled the nation’s jails. Courts handed down about 18,000 death
sentences in what was called the Reign of Terror. Paris became accustomed to
the rattle of two-wheeled carts called tumbrels as they carried people to the
guillotine.” (Woloch, 526)

In time, the radicals began to struggle for power among themselves.

Robespierre succeeded in having Danton and other former leaders executed.
Many people in France wanted to end the Reign of Terror, the Jacobin
dictatorship, and the democratic revolution. Robespierre’s enemies in the
Convention finally attacked him as a tyrant on July 29, 1794. He was executed
the next day. The Reign of Terror ended with Robespierre’s death.