To What Extent Was the Enlightenment the Cause of the French Revolution

How and to what extent did Enlightenment ideas about religion and society shape the policies of the French Revolution in the period 1789 to 1799?

One of the most famous philosophies of John Locke is his belief in freedom. He is quoted saying,

In France important discoveries were made during the age of enlightenment. Philosophers developed a new respect for human intelligence. Poets celebrated freedom and imagination. People believed that the truth about how the world around them functioned could be worked out by reason, instead of accepting ideas and superstitions of the past. It was also a time of when people began to find things out by scientific experiment and observation. When enlightenment ideas spread to America, they are an influence of British-born writer, Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine supported the ideas behind both the French and American revolutions. In his book, The Rights of Man, he said he saw "a dawn of reason rising on the world" (Gale online) In France, we can see the writings and ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau on government and citizens' and human rights begin to influence political events.

The Enlightenment and the French Revolution, two of the most enriched periods of history, probably never to be left out of the history books. The French Revolution was influenced greatly by the Age of Reason. The Enlightenment period took place over about three-hundred years, whereas the French Revolution took place for only ten years. The French Revolution was able to happen in such a short amount of time because it integrated the enlightened ideas from the Enlightenment and used them as its own. These enlightened ideas then took grasp of the people of France, the

In the 17th century, John Locke, an English philosopher paved the road to modern-day democracy. Lock is one of the first philosophers of the Enlightenment and leader of classical liberalism. In his life, he wrote multiple books and letters, which is considered common thinking today however he was seen as radical. John Locke’s The Two Treatises of Government and his leadership formed a legacy for us today.

The Enlightenment was a movement that dominated ideas in Europe in the 18th century. The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy. The ideas of the Enlightenment paved the way for the political revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. Throughout towns and cities enlightenment spread quick its ideas led people to question the inequalities of the old regime. With economic troubles getting worse the tension started to heighten because france was spending more money than it was making.after louis the XIV france was deeply engulfed in debt the american revolution put the financial problem under an even larger strain so they came up with a plan to raise costs of things leading for the lavish court to make millions.

Third Estate- The French social society was broken up into three estates the first being the clergy, the second is consisted of the nobility; and the third estate is basically everyone else from wealthy financiers to beggars and peasants. The third estate had occupations in finance, manufacturing, and commerce. This social class was an ambitious group approved of expanding the publishing industry, purchased many new homes in Paris and other cities, and subsidized the fine arts. In 1789, the third estate was allowed to have a vote in polices and with the help of the other two estates help create the National Assembly.

Prior to the French Revolution, people of influence abused the political system in order to allow them to live in luxury. The government consisted of the first, second and third estate. The First Estate is composed of kings, queens, and other royalty personnel which is around one percent of the population. The Second Estate consists of nobles and clergy, which is equivalent to one percent of the population. Lastly, is the Third Estate which ranged anywhere from the

The rest of the population in France (97%) fell into the Third Estate. This estate was comprised of three groups, all differing greatly in their economic conditions: the bourgeoisie, the urban workers, and the peasants. The bourgeoisie (upper middles class) included bankers, merchants, professionals, skilled artisans, teachers and judges; plus, they often received good educations and strongly supported the morals of liberty and equality that were introduced during the Enlightenment. There were even bourgeoisies who had as much money or even more money than the nobles, but they had to paid high taxes and they didn’t have access to the advantages of the other estates. A lot of members of the French upper middle class wanted greater social status and power; on rare occasions, a member of the bourgeoisie bought their way into the Second Estate with the purchase of a noble title. The urban workers of France were poverty-stricken; this subgroup consisted of

(Crosbie, 2005) The First Estate numbered around 100,000, was dominated by the Catholic Church. The Second Estate made up of the Nobility which tolled around 400,000 who were a privileged group, which took up positions in the Church and the government and collected taxes from the peasantry. Lastly, came the Third Estate which was the largest

The French Revolution and the European Enlightenment were some of the most historically impactful events in the Western world. While these occurrences took place in vastly different time periods, their motivations had notable similarities. At the end of the day, the thoughts during the enlightenment were extremely consistent and comparable with the thought process that unfolded throughout the French Revolution despite the course of actions being significantly different. Without the progressive thoughts and actions of either event, society would not be where it is today.

The Enlightenment was an extensive intellectual, philosophical, and cultural movement that spread throughout Europe, predominantly England, France and Germany during the 18th century. The Scientific Revolution, which began in the 16th century, gave way to a new and revolutionary way of thinking. It encouraged independent thought, the capacity to ask questions, and a progressive attitude. Additionally, the enlightenment arose during a time when there was absolute monarchy and an extremely powerful church. Political, philosophical, cultural, and religious ideas were in the need of reform. The French Revolution was arguably an effect of the growing ideas of the enlightenment. People within France finally had enough of absolute monarchy and wanted reform. Philosophers and thinkers were crucial to the progress of the enlightenment. Thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, and Adam Smith were prominent figures of the enlightenment. They questioned religion, promoted secularism, and freedom. Most believed that the government was to be an extension of the people and should not be totalitarian. Locke and Rousseau were focused on protecting the people’s rights. Adam Smith focused on the economic aspects and promoted a free economy without restrictions from the all powerful monarchy. He is the founder of modern economics. Immanuel Kant focused on the problem with government and how the absolute monarchy had been detrimental to the people. He argued that the

France’s population had been divided into estates since the Middle Ages, making it a symbol of the old regime. Before the beginning of the Revolution in 1789, King Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General and requested for a list of grievances to be drawn up by each estate. “The Cahiers: Discontents of the Third Estate” reveals what was bothering the people of the Third Estate before the French Revolution. It says, “The due exacted from commoners should be abolished, and also the general or particular regulations which exclude members of the Third Estate from certain positions, offices and ranks which have hitherto been bestowed on nobles either for life or hereditarily” (Chair from the Third Estate).

By the 1780’s, France was almost bankrupt and it was divided up into three separate estates the first estate (clergy), second estate (nobility), and third estate (common people) (Palmer, Colton, & Kramer 2014). The first

The first stage happened during 1788-1792 and it was when the King Louis XVI felt all the pressure and convoked a meeting with the three estates. The third estate reclaimed to be the only ones elected by people and funded their own National Assembly. The second one, also known as, The Great Fear stage, was when the new government established the limited monarchy and mobilized country's resources to spread the revolution to other kingdoms. Also, it characterized by several attacks, made by peasants and serves against the nobility. This happened during 1792 to