Human Rights in the French Revolution

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France, one of the greatest powers of the world, terrified other countries with its reign, but still was unable to control its own people. The citizens of France started to get tired of the mistreatment brought about by their government. The monarchy had been adding significant taxes to the people, overspending and broadening the debt of the country, and making the lives of the French miserable and poverty-stricken. This caused economic and political turmoil throughout the nation and made the citizens want a new form of leadership. The idea to revolt was inspired and ignited by The Third Estate which represented 98% of the population. These individuals were later led by Napoleon Bonaparte to help end the corruption and discontent within France. The unstable conditions brought about by the expenditures of Louis XVI and the reign of terror made the people of France seek a stronger and more secure leader; which resulted in a revolution that changed the country.

King Louis XVI was not a very good ruler and most of the people of that time knew that. He single handedly deprived France of its money and resources. The middle to lower class' living conditions were terrible, and only the upper class lived in comfort. Louis XVI did not have sympathy for the poor, and only favored the Special Class which consisted of nobles, royalty and other people who had a lot of money (The Beginning of the French Revolution, 1789.). This Special Class only consisted of about 2% of the population of France. They were the ones who had the most benefits. The king and the nobles were greedy and refused to help the citizens. They used France's money for their own well being and nobody else. With the money being wrongfully spend the citizens had to find another way of getting money. They tried farming, but the country had been on a drought for over two decades (French Revolution - History). They tried every method possible at that time, to have a successful harvest. Even with every method possible they were unable to produce anything. They were getting extremely inpatient so the citizens with all these problems had nothing else do, but to demand the government for their help.

Even with the whole population in poverty Louis XVI did not do anything to help. People were left with no other choice than to rebel against the government and search for a better and more just life. The king was unwilling to comply with the people's demands, so they decided to fight against the government. It wasn't a simple rebellion; his mistreat made a whole new faction called the Third Stare which was composed of 98% of the population. These 98% of the population decided to rebel against the minority 2% (The Beginning of the French Revolution). With a lot of effort and in less than a year King Louis XVI was guillotined. This didn't had effect they were expecting, the killing of the King backfire and the Reign of Terror Began. In June of 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention, and established a new government, a new calendar, and the extermination of christianity. (French Revolution - History.) For the next 10 months of the Reign of Terror thousands of revolutionary enemies were guillotined. This caused a lot of hysteria, which was believed to be the end of France. People were scared and didn't wanted a rebellion so much now.

When everyone thought that everything was going to end, and that there was no point in fighting, a leader stepped in and took control of the situation. This leader was named Napoleon Bonaparte. He, with massive effort, was able to put an end the Reign of Terror (Cause of French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Cause), which was a relief for most of the French population. After he terminated the Reign of Terror Napoleon established the first ever bicameral legislature. Yet this wasn't enough to create a corruption free and fully functional government. Still there was population discontent, financial crisis, and inefficiency. Napoleon saw this and decided to change even more the government. He eradicated the Directory, and was able to name himself and create the first consul (Age of Enlightenment, Impact The French Revolution). With Napoleon as Consul finally the people were at rest and in the late 1890's the revolutions came to an end. With Napoleon, France underwent through many changes. France completely changed their political landscape, centuries of absolute monarchy and feudal system came to an end (French Revolution - History.).

France went through a lot in only one year, and many changes were made. Century old ways of being were changed for the better. With the help of Napoleon the people of France were able to be freed from their poor living conditions, and finally experienced equality. This all happened with the expenditures of King Louis XVI and his Nobles, however it could have been deterred had the king and his Monarchy listened to the citizens of France.. They thought that they could get away with whatever they wanted, but the people were not going to sit back and take the abuse. The commoners united and fought for a better government, and in the end those lives didn't die in vane as France was able to eradicate the anarchy and establish their own government. This was the moment that many citizens were waiting for throughout the years. It finally came with the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte in the late 1890's. If he had not intervene and reformed France, who knows what would have happened to France. The French Revolutions Inspired many other European countries to rebel for their rights. If had not intervene most of Europe will probably still be a monarchy and millions of people would have never gotten the freedom they deserved.

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Human Rights in The French Revolution. (2019, Jun 14). Retrieved April 23, 2024 , from
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