preview

French Revolution Dbq Essay

Decent Essays

During The French Revolution, many citizens (mostly the 3rd estate) were not treated the way they should have been. The French Revolution was the cause of the rebellions and difficult economic situations that many citizens had to endure. During the reign of King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette, many citizens (especially the 3rd estate) were livid about how poor they were being treated. The citizens of the 3rd estate and some citizens in the 2nd estate in France during 1789, were not happy at all. They were getting heavily taxed by Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and the Catholic Church. When they didn’t have the money to pay the taxes that was forced upon them. After all of the hard work they put in to growing crops, the crops were taken …show more content…

The Declaration of Independence, which talked about Independence sparked the French Revolution. From the Declaration of Independence, French citizens realized how much better they could be treated and thus wanted to follow the American’s example of how their citizens were being treated. A quote from Albert Mathiez is, ‘The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact…’ (Document 7). Another quote that goes with this subject from Lord Acton is, ‘…the spark that changed thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of Independence…The American example caused the Revolution to break out…” (Document 7). Those two quotes show how the French wanted to gain more independence and to have more rights. The Declaration of Independence helped them to do that. Also, it is shown from another quote from document 7, that since the lower class had a very low literacy rate, the upper classes helped them gain more independence and rights. The quote from Document 7 is, ‘The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read’ (Document

Get Access