The Enlightenment of the 18th century referred to a sense of progress universal among the educated classes, which included many modern ideas, which are still valued today such as progress and change. Although these ideas help sparked progress Enlightenment ideas had a detrimental effect on the French nations stability, which caused its revolution some of these ideas came from papers such as; of commerce, the Declaration of Independence, Social Contract, The Third Estate, and The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Women.
How did commerce affect the French Revolution?
The French Revolution was in part caused by the state of the French economy. The price of bread rose substantially, and the revolution made it rise even more. The revolution had economic effects as far as America, which lost commerce as a result of Britain’s involvement in the Napoleonic wars. The defeat of Napoleon’s army also caused France to lose the colony of Haiti, which affected the Caribbean for a long time after. The economic effects were disastrous. Because of civil unrest, widespread violence and anarchy overall the trade was dying, the food prices rose substantially and the harvests were destroyed. As for economic policies by the government; the Revolution caused the nuit de sacrifices, this was the abolition of the feudal system, which gave the people more power in economic matters than the nobility
How were the Declaration of Independence’s Enlightenment ideas portrayed in the French Revolution?
The Declaration of Independence draws heavily on the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke. Much of what Jefferson wrote in the Declaration comes direct from Locke’s ideas about government. Three examples of this are first, the Declaration of Independence says that people have certain rights just because they are people. These rights are not given to them by the government and cannot be taken away from them. They have these rights simply because they are human. This is a major idea of the Enlightenment. Second, the Declaration of Independence says that a government is only legitimate if the people consent to be ruled by it. It is possible for a government to force its will on the people, but that government is not a legitimate government and it has no right to rule the people. Enlightenment thinkers wondered why governments had the right to rule people. They did not believe that kings had a divine right to rule. Instead, they believed that governments were legitimate if the people agreed to be ruled by those governments. This idea is found in the Declaration as well. Finally, the Declaration of Independence says that the only reason to have government is to protect the rights of the people. This, too, comes from the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers did not think that governments should exist to give power to kings. Instead, governments should exist to protect their citizens. This is the third Enlightenment idea found in the Declaration of Independence. In the French citizens case there rights were stripped from them and they no longer trusted the monarchy system and the laws that reigned upon them
How were the Social Contract Enlightenment ideas portrayed in the French Revolution?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau political thoughts also heavily influenced the French and American Revolution. Rousseau wrote a Social Contract, which helped inspire political reform and revolutions. The main points of his social contract are: Life in Society is becoming corrupt, but men can fix it by signing the contract man must join together to fight the enemy, only then will he be victorious the government is an intermediate group established by the people, who solely create and execute laws the general will is always correct once a law is made, only general will can break it The Social Contracted provided a stable foundation for a future government that the Revolution would create. The Social Contract outlined the beliefs of the French Revolution and provided a goal for the people to try to attain. Rousseau was a major supporter of the French Revolution, and all revolutions in general. When it was first published in 1762, The Social Contract was met with outrage and censorship. Rousseau became a wanted man both in France and in his native Geneva. The Social Contract was the foremost influence on the intellectual development of the French Revolution, and that stormy period in history is our best example of Rousseau's ideas put into practice. It is not fair to blame the Reign of Terror and the many disasters of the Revolution on Rousseau, but his influence was certainly felt throughout.
How were the Third Estate’s Enlightenment ideas Portrayed in the French Revolution?
Before the revolution, French society was divided into three estates or orders: the First Estate made up of mostly clergy, Second Estate which included the nobility and Third Estate who were the commoners. With around 98 percent of the population, the Third Estate was the largest of the three by far. The Third Estate would become a very important early part of the French Revolution. Despite the Third Estate’s enormous size and economic importance, it played almost no role in the government. On top of having no government say the third estate were heavily taxed by the state. In the aftermath of France's decisive aid to the colonists in the American War of Independence, the French crown found itself in a terrible financial position. Experts on finance came and went, but nothing was resolving the issue, and the French king accepted appeals for an Estates General to be called and for this to rubber-stamp financial reform. However, from a royal point of view, it went terribly wrong. The Estates was called, the votes were had, and representatives arrived to form the Estates General. But the dramatic inequality in voting the Third Estate represented more people, but only had the same voting power as the clergy or the nobility this led to the Third Estate demanding more voting power, and as things developed, more rights. The king mishandled events, and so did his advisors, while members of both the clergy and the nobility went over to the Third Estate to support their demands. In 1789, this led to the creation of a new National Assembly that better represented those not part of the clergy or nobility. In turn, they also effectively started the French Revolution, which would sweep away not just the king and the old laws but the whole Estates system in favor of citizenship. The Third Estate had therefore left a major mark on history when it effectively gained the power to dissolve itself.
How was the Declaration of the Rights of Man as well as the declaration of the rights of women Enlightenment ideas Portrayed in the French Revolution?
The Declaration of the Rights of Man as well as the declaration of the rights of women are furthermore one of the most important papers of the French Revolution. This paper explains a list of rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and separation of powers. All people should have these rights. They also talk about some rights many people have together. This paper was written using some of the ideas of natural rights, these rights are for all men: they are supposed to be valid in all times and places. They are said to be rights of human nature. The National Constituent Assembly accepted the last idea of the Declaration of man on 26 August 1789. It was a very important first thing to do before the people could write a constitution. These papers explained these basic rights, not only for French people but also for all people without exception; neither of these papers said anything about slavery. People now think that it was an important step towards international human rights or Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the first article of the rights of man is “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common utility.”1 The ideas written in the declaration are important in French law today. They can be used to fight or change new laws or other government actions.
In conclusion the Enlightenment of the 18th brought not only progress among the educated classes, which included many modern ideas but also brought the end of the French Monarchy. Although these ideas help sparked progress Enlightenment ideas had a detrimental effect on the French nations stability, which caused its revolution some of these ideas came from papers such as; of commerce, the Declaration of Independence, Social Contract, The Third Estate, and The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Women.