Liberty, Equality, fraternity - Assignment Example

LIBERTY, EQUALITY AND FRATERNITY. The French Revolution was a period of significant change enacted by French citizens in the 18th Century. The revolution signaled a shift from a feudal monarchy that was legally unequal to a more democratic society that put a clear distinction between church and state. The revolutionaries championed the concepts of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity." This essay will serve to identify the extent the Revolution embodied these concepts.After years of servitude, the proponents of the French revolution sought to redefine the concept of liberty to be inseparable from human rights.

This redefinition can be seen by the passage of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen during the beginning of the revolution 1. A revolutionary document that declared all men are born and remain free, and have inalienable rights to liberty, security, property and to resist being oppressed.Pre-revolution France was an unequal society where the aristocracy and the clergy enjoyed enormous privileges and power above ordinary countrymen 2. The two groups were subject to different laws, and this created legal inequality.

Peasant rebellions during the early days of the revolution saw the abolition of feudalism 3. This elimination in addition with the Rights of Man and of the Citizen had the effect of granting equality to all French citizens.The concept of fraternity had not exercised prior to the French revolution with the monarchy being indebted to the whims of the aristocracy and clergy4 . Fraternity requires putting the interest of others above your own. The Rights of Man and of the Citizen eliminated the privilege enjoyed by the nobility and clergy.

Therefore, the French residents were not indebted to the monarchy but each other.The French revolution personified the ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity which the old regime had failed to protect. Revolts and riots led by the middle and low-class citizens resulted in several fundamental legislation such as the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the elimination of the feudal system. These laws unified French citizens and signaled the entry of an era where every man free and equal.ReferenceNeely, Sylvia.

A concise history of the French Revolution. Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.