Preview

Social Inequality- the Major Region for French Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
563 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Inequality- the Major Region for French Revolution
The French had good reasons for wanting equality. Before 1789 inequality was typical of the old government. The nobles and clergy were the privileged orders. They were exempt from such direct taxes as the taille, or land tax. Most taxes were paid by the Third Estate--a class that included peasants, artisans, merchants, and professional men. Even among these groups taxes were not equal. Some provinces were exempt from certain assessments, such as the gabelle, or salt tax. In addition, the collection of some taxes was made by contractors or tax farmers, and the tax gatherers collected whatever they could. Other Inequalities
There were social and economic inequalities as well as political ones. The peasant suffered under the burden of out-of-date feudal dues. These were collected with renewed vigor by the nobles in the latter part of the 18th century.. In addition to the dues to the king and the nobles, the peasants had to pay dues to the church. These and other obligations seemed senseless and unreasonable in an age when people were coming to believe in the rule of reason. The conditions were no worse in the latter part of the 18th century than they had been earlier. Neither were they as bad in France as in some other parts of Europe. Now, however, the people were beginning to think. The writers of the time helped stir up thought and discontent. OPPapers.com
Major Causes Of The French Revolution
DBQ Essay: What were the major causes of the French Revolution? (Discuss three.)

The major cause of the French Revolution was the disputes between the different types of social classes in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 was one of the most important events in the history of the world. The Revolution led to many changes in France, which at the time of the Revolution was the most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to the development of new political forces such as democracy and nationalism. It questioned the authority of kings, priests, and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    I believe several factors, such as Feudalism, unfair taxes, years of oppression, inequality in the French society, the bad harvest of the summer of 1788 and the increasing economic crises contributed and lit the fuse of the French revolution. The calling of the Estates-General in May 1789 was aimed to solve the economic crises, however mistreatment of the lower classes for centuries led to them wanting change. This event led to the Tennis Court Oath, in which the lower classes, who were represented by the third Estate declared themselves a National Constituent Assembly. This could be seen as the start of the French revolution, as it is the first time that Louis is not in full control and gives away part of his power to the population. Furthermore the increasing economic hardship led to anti-government feelings among the population and a rise in popularity towards the popular movement.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    french revolutin dbq

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The French Revolution of 1789 caused many changes in the social, political, and economical world of France. The French Revolution sparked the beginning for many new reforms in France that were previously unavailable to the 3rd estate. The things that led up to the French revolution were all caused from within the social, political, and economic world of France.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During Arthur Young’s travel through France from 1787 to 1789 he stated “There is an injustice levying on the amount of each person must pay” (Document 1). One Cause that brought of the French Revolution is the inequality of the levy and taxes on the among the 3…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When it came to equality, the French Social structures was bitterly unfair. The middle class was denied political representation and participation. Concepts of equality and society were reinforced by the success of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    SOCIAL: Transcript of The Lasting Social Effects of the French Revolution as evide The Lasting Social Effects of the French Revolution as evident in Mid 19th-Century France Bryttan, Mary, Daniel Social Structure before the French Revolution Large class differences between the rich and the poor French leaders were known to be very extravagant and constantly found themselves in debt The French Revolution Abolished the feudal system and monarchy of France Peasants burned and pillaged many places Mass murder of nobles and noble sympathizers Long Lasting Effects Changed the social structure beginning with the feudal system and monarchy Bourgeois and land owning classes emerged as dominant classes Caused widespread reform in other monarchies Gave…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    "French Revolution - Causes." Spiritus-Temporis.com - Historical Events, Latest News, News Archives. 2008. 05 Mar. 2009 .…

    • 976 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It should be apportioned equally among all the citizens according to their capacity to pay” (Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen). Louis taxed people that were poor and had no way of affording taxes while the seemingly rich didn’t have to pay nearly as much, this is one of the point that was clearly made in their Declaration. This Declaration represents many Enlightenment ideas and philosophies. The Enlightenment Age deeply affected the ideology of the poor to seek their own nature rights. “Unlike the English and American Revolutions, the French Revolution went through a series of phases, each of which almost amounted to a revolution in itself; and as the Revolutionists repudiated one policy to adopt another, more or less its antithesis, they were able to turn from one philosopher of the Enlightenment, to an alternative, competing or rival theorist from the same stable” (Cranston).The thought of being able to control your own life appeal to the masses for people that were starving to death due to their neglectful King. The commoners were able to watch what was happening in America, a sociology change was triggered in the group when the pressure became too much. Another problem that the commoners had to face…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This, along with the economic tensions of France's growing debt, created a need for change. France’s society before the new laws was largely structured on corporate privilege; this meant that certain higher class social groups had special privileges that set them apart from others. For example, nobles were not expected to pay taxes to the king because they directly served him, but commoners were. This imbalance is only making economic problems worse. Aside from economic problems, there were also social conflicts arising and people were less afraid to voice their opinions because of the Enlightenment.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution - 1

    • 634 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There were many issues that led up to the French Revolution. For example, the unfair tax burden. According to Document two, the Third Estate paid all of the government taxes. There were three estates. The 1st estate was all of the clergy; they had wealth because they collected taxes from the 3rd estate and they also owned land. They had power, food, liberty, and freedom. The 2nd estate was the rich titled nobility. They derived their wealth from land ownership, and they collected some taxes. They also had power, food, and freedom. The 3rd estate was separated into three different classes. The Bourgeoisie was the highest of the third estate; they had cash wealth since they were made up of the merchants, bankers, and artisans. The Bourgeoisie paid very high taxes, and had very little power, they had a food supply, but they had no power. The peasant farmers, and the city workers had no wealth, power, or liberty, and they had to pay taxes. The 1st and 2nd estate only took up about 3% of the population. The Bourgeoisie thought that the taxes were unfair to the entire 3rd estate. Document three explained how a peasant had 7 children, and couldn’t support her family, but she still had to pay taxes. This shows how unfair the tax burden was.…

    • 634 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of the major inequalities which existed in France in the 1700s were that the people were divided into three large groups, everything depends how is your economic status. They were two two estates had privileges for example access to high offices and exemption of taxes, those privileges weren't granted to the third. The Roman Catholic Church was the first estate which help poor people with education and relief services. The second estate were the rich nobles they own a 20 percent of land and paid almost no taxes. The third estate was the lowest and was three groups divided, first group were the bourgeoisie (middle class) that were the professionals workers, the second group was the worker of France the ones the do the domestic work and then the third was the peasants.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French Revolution is considered to be one of the most significant events in world history. It drastically changed the face of France, which at the time of the Revolution was the most powerful country in Europe, as well as altered the society and government. The causes of the French revolution are attributed to several intertwining factors. Socioeconomic, political, and intellectual events before and during the revolution fueled it from the start.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution Causes

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages

    King Louis XIV left France with an enormous pile of debt to be paid due to his luxurious life style, countless wars, and much more. From there, when Louis XVI reigned during those years, there was huge upset throughout the whole county because the debt only began to increase more than ever because the constant involvement of more wars and unnecessary spendings. The only way in King Louis’ mind to clear some of the debt was to tax the people of France. When he proposed the idea of increasing the tax system many were against it. When the countless taxes were given out the burden of paying them were towards the Third Estate. The Third Estate paid all of the taxes all the way from the church taxes to salt taxes. On the other hand, the First and Second Estates, were exempt from taxes and had no obligated dues directed towards the country of France. The only “burden” they had was to support the Old Regime and the monarchy of course. It was clear that the tax system needed a rapid change but the church and nobles rejected that idea. They rejected the concept because to them, being taxed would have been something they would label as unethical but it was fine if the taxes were directed towards the Third Estate. “The distribution of the tax burden was only part of the problem. In particular, the administration of direct and indirect taxes was both inefficient and corrupt” (Price…

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A flawed fixed social structure and fiscal mismanagement are some of the plethora of issues that demonstrated the disdain for the rights of man in pre-revolutionary times. During this time, unequal distribution of wealth, status, and land lead to the economic downfall of France. To put a stop to the financial ruin, leaders knew they needed to make a radical change to their taxation system. Because the first and second estate benefited from tax exemption, the third estate felt the need to fight for their individual freedom and social equality, bringing about the revolution, it’s main goal being the pursuit of the rights of man.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Kingdom of France was 98% peasants, and 2% nobles and clergy. However, the upperclass had significant influence in the ruling of the nation, thus resulting in many state policies being in favour of them. Peasants were required to pay the tithe, taille, vingtème and the capitation. Further royal and seigneurial obligations also have to be paid. These taxes were burdensome in good times and devastating in harsh times. However, the nobles and clergy were exempted from taxes, with the exception of two modest taxes, placing the tax burden on the already poor peasants, wage-earners and the educated and cultured Bourgeoisie, together comprising the third estate. Nobles also had further privileges in the military, gained through family links, whereas the peasants could not even have insignificant posts in the government. This unfair social structure and government system caused great resentment among the third estate. This resentment had been portrayed in newspapers and plays like The Marriage of Figaro (1784) in which there was a line: “What have you (nobles) done to deserve so much? You just went through the trouble of being born - nothing more”. The food crisis of 1788 exacerbated the discontent. In summer, storms and floods caused harvest to fall in seigneurial dues and defaults on leases. The freezing weather and flooding during the winter also caused bad harvests, forcing the price of bread…

    • 2259 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Antoine suddenly intervened, “I agree with Voltaire. The Catholic Church is certainly guilty of becoming corrupt, and using fear to influence the people of France into obeying their laws. The lower class of France was forced to pay much higher taxes than the wealthy clergymen. Also, the tax was hardly used to help the lower class improve their conditions, but rather further helped the upper class, which created an enormous wealth gap. This made the life for peasants much difficult.” Antoine, although not affected by the heavy taxes as much as the peasants, expressed his thoughts on the…

    • 2063 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays