French Revolution Essay -- essays research papers

The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799. Althoughthere were several factors that made the French Revolutionpossible, such as population growth, the expansion of themiddle classes, and the tog up of an informed public, therewere three immediate causes of the Revolution. One was thediminished authority of the royal government. Another wasthe revolt by the nobility, who sensed a weakeningmonarchy. The troika cause was the crop failure.The government of France was in a financial crisis. Thecountry was deeply in debt from the financing of the wars ofLouis XIV. To deal with the nations economic problems,Louis sixteen called for a meeting of the the three estatess General in1789.The Estates General was made up of representatives fromeach of the three social classes, or Estates. The First Estateconsisted of the clergy, the Second Estate consisted of thenobility, and the Third Estate consisted of the commoners.The Third Estate, which made up 98 percent of thepopulation of France, w as underrepresented. Since theEstates General had to vote separately and by order, theThird Estate would near always be outvoted by the FirstEstate and the Second Estate who would get to vote first.Because of this, the Third Estate wanted its traditionalnumber of representatives to be doubled so that it matchedthe other two orders put together. When Louis XVI refusedtheir demand, the Third Estate, led by Abbe EmmanuelSieyes, changed its name to the Nation...