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The French Revolution And The Success Of The French Revolution

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During the time period of 1789 and 1815, human rights were questioned by the common people. Citizens were separated into three estates. The first estate was made up of 1% of the population which was the clergy. The second estate was made up of 2% of the population. The third estate was made up of 97% of the population which was the “middle class” also known as the bourgeoisie or the peasants. This estate had little to no rights and was considered poor even though they were responsible for paying for all taxes for those above them who were wealthy. This unfair distribution of power was a spark in the cause for the French Revolution. The French Revolution was fairly successful in using Enlightenment ideas to reform french society, however, Napoleon undid some of the progress the Revolution made prior.
The first phase the destruction of the old regime successfully used Enlightenment ideas to form French society. The Revolution began when the third estate broke out into protest and formed the National Assembly in 1789. This led to the Tennis Court Oath which promised to meet as many times as it took to create a constitution. In the summer of 1789, common people decided to save the third estate from the ruling of the king by breaking into the prison courtyard and taking over the prisoners and their weapons, this soon became known as the storming of the Bastille. A new government for France took place when the National Assembly wrote the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”. This was written to make the first and second estate recognize that the rights and freedoms they take for granted, should be experienced by all humans from the time they are born to the day they die and be protected no matter what. This declaration granted all men equal and abolished aristocratic freedoms which goes back to the ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers. By 1791, France created a new constitution that was set up by the Legislative Assembly at The National Convention due to food shortages and high prices that led France out of monarchy and into a republic. Phase two the Radical Revolution was successful in using Enlightenment ideas to reform French Society until The Committee of Public Safety stepped in. It commenced in

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