French Revolution Essay - 812 Words

The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799. Although there were several factors that made the French Revolution possible, such as population growth, the expansion of the middle classes, and the rise of an informed public, there were three immediate causes of the Revolution. One was the diminished authority of the royal government. Another was the revolt by the nobility, who sensed a weakening monarchy. The third cause was the crop failure. The government of France was in a financial crisis. The country was deeply in debt from the financing of the wars of Louis XIV. To deal with the nation’s economic problems, Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General in 1789. The Estates General was made up of†¦show more content†¦As he stationed his army in and around Paris, crowds of Parisians stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789. There they hoped to find weapons and other ammunition to use in resisting and fighting the troops of the king. The Bastille was captured and torn down. This event and numerous other tumultuous events made Louis realize the urgent need for reforms. The National Assembly met in August of 1789 and considered feasable changes. By the end of the month, the Constituent Assembly (the name the National Assembly renamed itself) adopted the quot;Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizenquot; as a preamble for the new constitution. In 1791, a new constitution was written by the Constituent Assembly. It left the monarchy with little control of France, and put into effect a separation of powers. The monarchy was powerless against the Constituent Assembly, which had power over the government. Louis and his family’s attempt to flee the country made it clear that the king was not loyal to his country. When the National Convention, the new Assembly, met on September 21, 1792, it proclaimed France a republic, and Louis was put on trial for treason and for being a member of the monarchy. He was found guilty of treason and other crimes, and died under the guillotine on January 21, 1793. The death of the king opened the revolution to more tumultuous change led by the radical groups.Show MoreRelatedThe French Revolution And The Revolution1523 Words   |  7 PagesThe French Revolution was a time rife with violence, with many revolutionaries using extreme actions to overturn the French Monarchy and create a government based on equality and justice, rather than tyranny and despotism. This violence reached gruesome and terrible heights throughout the revolution, but was justified by the revolutionaries, who believed that their goals of total equality, the end of tyranny, and the return to a virtuous society, allowed them to use means necessary to attain theseRead MoreThe French Revolution And The Revolution1336 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis The French Revolution was such an important time history. 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