Topic: “Was the French Revolution Worth its Human Cost?” The French Revolution was a time in history that changed Europe forever. The people of France mainly the bourgeoisie did not want to be ruled by the absolute monarchy. The bourgeoisie were the middle class in which the majority of France consisted of. Under the absolute monarchy, these groups of people were the least to benefit from. The middle class had no political power whatsoever.
The articles were introduced in 1777 and this gave the power to individual states. The problem of the Articles of Confederation was that it limited the power to central government. This meant that the congress had no power to tax. The congress gave all the authority to the states over and left it with no power over the nations economic affairs. The main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation are that it legislated for states but not for individuals.
Absolutism Defination of Absolutism Ruling in the Absolutist state means, sovereignty resided in kings (not the nobility or the parliament)who considered themselves responsible to God alone. Absolute kings had created new bureaucracies of the status, strong standing armies, adjusted all the institutions of government and kept the cooperation of the nobility secured. Some historians reject that absolutism was a stage of development that followed feudalism, but, instead, was "administrative monarchy." The absolutist state reflected the model totalitarian status althought its lack for the control over all aspects of the citizens' lives The foundations of French absolutism: Henry IV, Sully, and Richelieu Henry
Aside from reducing state revenues for overseas expeditions, the domestic policies of Philip II further burdened Spain and would in the following century, contribute to its decline. This caused inflation and a high tax for all the workers under his rule. The Spending of all this money lead to Spain's first bankruptcy in 1557 due to rising military costs. This eventually led to a failure in leading his people, and it was his debt that truly ended his reign. (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Philip_II_of_Spain) (Spielvogel,456, The Human
Voodoo Anyone? Christopher Warden breaks down economics into a fool proof explanation, and uses terms references which a dummy could understand. As I read this informative book I gathered an understanding for the way in which our economy works, as well as the unseen ways in which our government handles the issues that affect our everyday life. In the first chapter, the author discusses what prices are the difference between the price of things, and the cost of things. He breaks down what the stores charge us in order to sell the product at a price we will pay, so the store can still make a profit on the item.
The nation was quite poor from the Revolution and had loans from the French that it was unable to pay back. This was because the Confederation did not have the power to tax, the states were supposed to donate money to the government and as a result, when other states realized that some were not donating money, they refused to as well. Despite the lack of taxing for the nation, the states placed taxes on goods being traded in or through their territory from other states. However, trade was complicated by the fact that there was no national currency. A Virginia dollar could be worth more than a South Carolina dollar, or worth less than a New England gold coin.
Another weakness of the Articles of Confederation was its inability to levy taxes. Congress was unable to tax the states and, as a result, was unable to reduce the growing debt or provide a national military. In a letter to Congress, in 1782, Rhode Island rejected a federal taxation proposal from Congress saying the amount requested was “unequal in its operation, bearing hardest on the most commercial states.” Rhode Island thought such amount would negatively affect the economy of their state (Doc A). Since the power to tax was given to the individual states and not the federal government, the articles had no way of enforcing such a proposed tax.
Without an enforced base tax, there was no way for the fledgling country to pay off state and national debts from the war years, except for requesting money from the states which seldom came. The Articles of Confederation did give the federal government control over many things. Foreign relations lied solely with the central government, but the weakness of the Articles was frustrating in conducting foreign policy. In 1789, Thomas Jefferson, concerned over the failure to fund an American naval force to confront the Barbary Pirates, wrote to James Monroe, “It will be said there is no money in the treasury. There never will be money in the
This led to further economic collapse that hit its climax 1777. So in order for the government to dig its way out of this huge hole was for it to create new taxes, Calonne attempted to do this by side stepping the parliament which only resulted in a Nobles revolt and a call for an estates general. Brienne became the new minister to replace Calonne, however although his many attempts to try to fix the national debt and end the crisis he was sabotaged by Louis XVI and disgraced. Once again France was at this fragile point in its economy and with the high national debt and the high taxes that the 3rd estate, and second estate were paying it made it the perfect environment for a
The people also did not have any right of seeking his removal even if they were dissatisfied with him. Such a doctrine would have been suitable in a theocratic or highly Christian state. The France of the late eighteenth century had become far more secular and the ideas of philosophers like Rousseau captured the imagination of the bourgeoisie. Rousseau was one of those who rejected the divine source of political power and argued that people in any society were the true source of all political power. He further asserted that those who held political power did so by agreement and permission of the nation which was the owner.