The French Revolution

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Lastly, during the eighteenth century, many philosophes embraced the idea of change and reasoning, their aim was to apply rationalism to all aspects of life. “Intellectual currents of the enlightenment proposed governments based on contacts or constitution rather than divine authority.”[7]Philosophes wanted to France to be ruled by constitution rather than divine authority, because they believed that one they should be able to elect the person, and France should be governed by constitution rather than divine right. Enlightenment thinkers were having a great affect on the majority of the population; especially the third estate because of the harsh treatments they endured. “For the self-styled ‘philosophers’ who set out to popularize enlightenment values, the established Church was the root if the evils of society.”[8] The Enlightenment philosopher’s criticized the fact that the church wasn’t able to fulfill the roles in France, and the fact that it was heavily funded by French citizens. The enlightenment thinkers disbelieved that that the king was God’s servant and also disbelieved that the king ruled with divine right. “Their ideas attacked all the assumptions on which the ancient regime was based. They challenged and helped undermine one of the key pillars of the old order, namely the position of the Church and role of the King as God’s servant.”[9] These ideas influenced many people during the revolution, as the church and the king’s power the target during the revolution.

In conclusion, during the sixteenth century France was struggling as the economy was near bankruptcy, the advantages/disadvantages of each estate in terms of privileges, enlightenment thinkers brought change to government and social structure of France. The economy of France was terrible because of a massive deficit that was created during wars. The ancient regime was unjust due to the privileges that were given to people of higher social class. Enlightenment thinkers helped question social problems, which helped the revolutionaries during the French Revolution. The French Revolution changed the how France was to be ruled. Century old monarchy was discarded, and a constitution took its place

Citations:

Doyle, William. "The French Revolution." . https://app.box.com/s/e0nvtlvmwgd7jk8elhb4 (accessed January 9, 2014).

Rees, Dylan, and Duncan Towson. "France in Revolution." . https://app.box.com/s/37mkqne1l56xscwe8x6t (accessed January 9, 2014).

"The Modern Period 1789-1799." . http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=ac357ffe-bf5a-4ac5-ae71-

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