He was more interested in hunting than governing France. He and his Austrian queen, Marie Antoinette, lived an extravagant life at the Palace of Versailles. They did not really care about the state of their country. The first two estates worked together to outvote the large third estate to keep them from becoming a threat to the power. The French government was inefficient, unjust and corrupt.
The revolution forced by the Bourgeoisie was for the third estate as well the first two estates to be treated equally. The causes of the two revolutions were very different. The Americans wanted to be out from under the British control. The reason for this is because ever though the Americans and still be considered British colonist, through passing generation the emotional connection to the mother land has been lost. The colonist of America to their self no bigger believed they were or wanted to be British citizens so the Americans dragged Britain in 1775 by starting the revolution and the creating their own government in 1776.
Napoleon centralized the governmental systems and settled the French relationship with the Catholic Church. When Napoleon continued to take over countries, people began to realize that Napoleon was self-obsessed and was not in favor for the people. There were many things that contributed to Napoleon earning the title of a tyrant. Napoleon would do almost anything for power and control. He was overconfident with himself and took conquering too far, such as trying the Continental System to defeat Great Britain.
Equality and freedom were the motivations of the war. The commoners and lower class did not feel that were getting equal representation in their countries, even though they made up a major part of the census. The British used the Americans for their own selfish needs and benefits and taxed the colonists on sugar, stamps, wine, paper, tea, and put trading restrictions on every other country except for England’s. The Nobles in France refused
Conclusion The main conclusion to be drawn for this paper is that the French Revolution was characterized mainly by war, famine and depression, which were caused by the failure of King Louis XVI at managing the finance of the notion properly. These factors finally led to unseat the French leader. To make matters worse, the inhabitants claimed the country for themselves in the name of liberty. In other words, the Revolution involved not only the reorganization of a country in relation to its government and society, but also a profound change in the course of history.
Gordon Wood’s The Radicalism of the American Revolution provided an interesting and insightful view into the changes that were wrought by the struggle to create a republic on North American soil. Wood’s central thesis was that the political reform movement ushered in by the Revolution caused a deep social revolution, which changed the nature of American society and had a powerful impact on everything that the United States has undertaken throughout its entire existence. According to Wood, the Revolution caused America to run through several different phases of development, moving from the social organization of a monarchical society to that of a republican society and finally ending up as a democratic society that ultimately distressed many of the Revolution’s leaders. Wood claimed that the political reorganization in America changed how citizens viewed one another and had a subtle, but deep and profound change on their social relationships. Further, the American Revolution was a radical movement that changed the world in a way that shook it to its foundations by challenging the concept of aristocracy in the Western World that had existed for two thousand years and completely changed the political and social landscape in the United States and the world forever.
France got affected economically which made the people of France lose hope on monarch. The enlightenment was a more important cause because without that the people would have not thought the American Revolution as a big turning point. The critical thinking that the enlightenment bought about caused the people to look at it from another
Louis XIV From the start of his rein of France, Louis XIV ruled his country through divine right. He sought to consolidate power throughout France by establishing an absolute monarch. King Louis XIV wanted to control everything from law making to determine taxes. Louis XIV started to gain his absolute monarch through several wars, which would eventually move France into the golden age. He also used the quote, “ L’Etat, c’est moi”, which translates to “ I am the state”.
VENN DIAGRAM: COMPARE AND CONTRAST OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789) AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1776) PART I: FRENCH REVOLUTION ONLY (July 14th, 1789): (The following items do not apply to the American Revolution.) 1. Medieval French society divided into three classes, the Three Estates. 2. France was heavily indebted for financially supporting the American Revolution, as it would weaken France’s European rival, Great Britain, because of the wars waged by Louis XIV and spending of royal family.
Causes of the French Revolution France in 1789 was one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe. Only in Great Britain and the Netherlands did the common people have more freedom and less chance of arbitrary punishment. Nonetheless, a popular rebellion would bring the regime of King Louis XVI of France under the control of a constitution, then it would depose, imprison, try, and execute the king and, later, his wife Marie Antoinette. Many factors led to the revolution; to some extent the old order succumbed to its own rigidity in the face of a changing world; to some extent, it fell to the ambitions of a rising bourgeoisie, allied with aggrieved peasants and wage-earners and with individuals of all classes who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. As the revolution proceeded and as power devolved from the monarchy to legislative bodies, the conflicting interests of these initially allied groups would become the source of conflict and bloodshed.