Causes and Impacts of the French Revolution - Research Paper Example

Causes and Impacts of the French Revolution The French Revolution that took place from 1789 to 1799 has become a subject of great controversy in the recent past. The historical accounts of the revolution indicate that social, economic and political issues culminated to the ten years insurgence. A close examination at the matters underlying the cause of the revolution shows that the French people were responding to a long time oppression that was perpetrated by arrogant leaders. The French revolution was much similar to other revolutions that preceded in other countries. The French case is much similar to the American Revolution that took place just before the case in France. However, the long period of revolution had positive impacts for the country as the citizens acquired equal rights and terminated the oppressive regimes that had continuously oppressed the rights of the public. It marked an end for unreasonable tax policies, oppression of peasants, and the decline of dictatorship. From this perspective, the French revolution was an expression of the political, financial and social crisis that had affected the country, and its results contributed to a positive transformation of France. The looming financial crisis in France was a major contributor to the events that occurred during the French revolution. By the end of 1789, France was in great debt and the country was already heading to the worst financial crisis. The country’s debts were as a result of the country’s participation in the Seven years’ war and the American Revolution war (De Tocqueville 12-19). The government of France had invested in the war and the country was already in a financial crisis at the time the war ended. Besides, the government was spendthrift and the country resources were used extravagantly. Consequently, the government was under pressure to device ways to alleviate the crisis and fund its extravagant spending. The king was in fear that it would soon become hard to run the government if new strategies of financial collection were no passed. When the government introduced burdensome tax policies, the Peasants were resistant and felt that the regime was becoming unbearable. The social activists mobilized the public to resist these changes. What followed was resistance to pay taxes as the peasants felt the need to fight for a fairer society which would be government with economic balance. Therefore, an oppressive tax policy was the trigger that initiated the French revolution. Another radical issue during the French Revolution was the existence of social inequality within the country. By the year 1781, France hosted a population of about 26 million citizens. Among this population, over 21 million citizens depended on Agriculture, while others took up extra labor to support their families. For over five years, the France land had proven unfertile and the population was suffering due to reduce harvest. While this has been interpreted as natural problem that was experienced in many regions, the France’s case was unique. The government created policies that subdivided the people into two economic classes; the rich and the peasants. Evidently, the rich were extortionist who relied on the sweat of peasant farmers. For example, the peasant farmers were expected to pay ten percent of their produce to the local churches. While this was a religious obligation, the clergymen did not benefit from these tithes but the government did. The influential members in the political landscape used resource tithed by the poor people to enrich themselves. The peasants were concerned on the economic gap that was slowly expanding and felt the need to fight for their rights during this period (De Tocqueville 19). The only way for the poor to end economic gaps was to join in the revolution and garner support for the cause of action. Besides, modernism was becoming a more popular issue during this time and the wave of enlightenment was sweeping the global landscape. The American Revolution occurred before the French revolution but was a beginning to the war against bad leadership. The American Revolution was similar to the French revolution in a number of ways. In both wars, the citizens rioted against bad leadership and colonial oppression. In America, the citizens were against abuse of leadership power and the oppression of the poor (Bonwick 67). The same way, citizens in other countries were accepting the concepts of modernity whose main themes was equality and the liberation of the poor in monarchy systems. The participation of France in the American factor inspired the same desire in French. The members of public were already in great desire for liberation during an era of modernity. Therefore, the French troops involved in the previous revolution absorbed the revolutionally ideas and were intending to embrace them in their countries. This explains why the French revolution occurred only a few years after the American Revolution. The enlightened members of the public believed that this was a period of liberalization and revolution was the only bridge to a modern France. The failure of reforms was another major cause for the French revolution. During the leadership of Louis, the concept of public reforms was importantly considered. For instance, Ministers such as Turgot and Necker proposed revisions of the tax systems. The main aim was to ensure that every citizen in the country, including the noble in the country, paid taxes. However, the Parlements opposed these concepts and decided that there would be no change to the tax policies. The main reason for this opposition was that the noble members of the society had a great influence within the justice system (Bonwick 67). The King was more cooperative with the reforms but the judicial systems presented their side of the coin and this put them at a disagreement. Therefore, the minister lost in this case and the reforms for inclusive tax were thwarted. The situation became worse when the Finance Minister, Charles Calonne, supported lavish spending leading the country into a bankruptcy. The rejection of reforms was disheartening and tension was building up to overthrow the government and reinstate order. Therefore, the government’s failure to implement political reforms created the tension that led to the French revolution. The political, economic, and social crises in France were expressed in the revolution that kicked off in 1789. The French revolution started with the declaration of war on Austria and Prussia, which were seen as the main sources of resistance for this revolution. Insurgency led by Jacobins attacked the Kings residence in Paris arresting the King at his place. At the same time, the Legislative assembly was overthrown and replaced by the National convention. From here, the citizens waged war to end Monarchy system and claimed President Louis as victim of treason. The King and his wife were killed on the grounds of crimes against humanity during different times in 1973 (Ross 114). In June 1793, the French revolution turned violent with the establishment of bloody reign of terror. Robenspierre ordered the killing of enemies of the revolution before his execution in 1794. One year later, Napoleon Bonaparte supported a National convention that proposed the establishment of a new constitution. Although this constitution was criticized as soon as it was presented, the army was swift to silence activists and Bonaparte took over leadership. This marked the end of bloody French revolution and Napoleon took over in the influential France, which would later dominate much of the European continent. The consequences of the French revolution were much similar to the American revolution. The American marked the end of a monarchy system, the same case evidenced in France. The American revolted that lasted 8 years was a move to overthrown the British leadership and usher a period self-rule. While this was an anti-colonist revolution, it was a war whose agenda was to fight oppression. The same way, the French revolution was established as a strategy to fight anarchic systems. Consequently, France acquired new type of Leadership as they faced out King Louis and installed Napoleon to take over leadership. The Napoleon era was friendlier than the dictatorial period. The establishment of the new constitution paved way for the creation of a free country where all citizens would contribute to social development. During the Napoleon era, the rich and the poor were compelled to contribute to tax contribution (Ross 56-67). From this perspective, the resistance to an oppressive government system provided an opportunity to close the economic gaps that persisted in France. The poor and the rich acquired equal rights and the judicial control was more relaxed in the new era. The abolition of feudalism in French was a milestone that was achieved shortly after the French revolution. The Feudal system was a major issue that many activists had championed in the past. Ministers like Necker had rallied close to enough supporters to vote against feudalism but this was met by a large opposition. Also, the citizen had complained about the Feudal tax policies complaining the tax system was oppressive and members of public were already facing a big challenge to pay these rates. At the end of the war, the feudal system was eliminated and the country designed new tax policies. Napoleon revised the tax policies and reduced the rates, which was a great relief for peasant farmers who were already facing food shortage (Doyle 76). Besides, members of public acquire the right to participate within the government and to provide their opinions. The human rights declaration was an indication of the government’s willingness to award the poor their civil rights. The new constitution prohibited the killing of the poor or those who were linked to resistance against the government policies. From this angle, the French revolution provided the country with a new face and promoted the development of human rights in the country. However, critics of the French revolution have pointed out to the possibility of failure in the entire process. Critics have pointed out that the French revolution was a political manipulation that was engineered to install new leaders who did not like the traditional system. They claim that the Napoleon era was marred by serious issues of corruption and oppression, just like the previous regime. While this may be a reasonable counterargument, there is evidence that the revolution ushered a whole different era that marked improvement of the financial system. Under the leadership of Napoleon, the country improved its financial position and lavish spending was completely eliminated. Historians have cited this as a turning point that paved way for the development of a modern era. Like America, the country acquired independence from oppressive leadership. The challenges experienced in France after the revolutions were much similar to those experiences in America after the American Revolution (Acemoglu 11-22). In America, economic disparities continued to persist even after the war and this became a big challenge that had to be settled through legal channels. Therefore, it is possible to term both revolutions as turning points that phased out dictatorial leadership within these countries. In conclusion, the French revolution was an important historical period in the country. Just like in the American revolution, the French revolution was meant to overthrow an oppressive regime and pave way for an equal society. The financial crisis that faced France was a result of the government’s unwise spending and over-engagement in other wars. Secondly, the establishment of bad tax policies ignited tension among members of public who were already struggling with poverty. The resistance of the government to reforms was an insult to the citizen’s efforts to embrace change within their countries. Consequently, the citizens joined in the great revolution that was meant to change the regime and end the oppression of the poor in the society. The termination of the monarchy and overthrow of the king was the optimal position of this war. The impact of this revolution was the abolishment of bad tax policies, economic disparities, and oppressive laws. This transformation was similar to the accomplishments of the American Revolution that had led to the end of colonial oppression in America. Therefore, it is indisputable that irrespective of the controversies that arose from the revolution, it was an important mark for modernity and an invitation for a new democratic era. Works Cited Acemoglu, Daron, et al. The consequences of radical reform: The French Revolution. No. w14831. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009. Bonwick, Colin. The American Revolution. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991. Print. De Tocqueville, Alexis. The Old Regime and the Revolution, Volume II: Notes on the French Revolution and Napoleon. Vol. 2. University of Chicago Press, 2001. Print. Doyle, William. Origins of the French revolution. Vol. 24. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. Ross, Stewart. The French Revolution. London: Evans, 2001. Print. Read More