Social classes during the french revolution. Classes and Class Struggles during the French Revolution on JSTOR 2022-10-15

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During the French Revolution, social classes played a significant role in shaping the events and outcomes of the revolution. The French society was divided into three main social classes: the First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate.

The First Estate was made up of the clergy, or the members of the Catholic Church. The Second Estate was comprised of the nobility, or the landed aristocracy. Both the First and Second Estates enjoyed significant privileges and held a disproportionate amount of power and wealth compared to the rest of the population.

The Third Estate, on the other hand, represented the majority of the population and was made up of a diverse group of people including merchants, craftsmen, peasants, and urban workers. The Third Estate was taxed heavily and had very little representation in the government, leading to widespread discontent and resentment towards the other two Estates.

During the early stages of the revolution, the Third Estate attempted to reform the government and address their grievances through legal means, but their efforts were repeatedly thwarted by the First and Second Estates. As a result, the Third Estate eventually turned to more radical methods, including the storming of the Bastille and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which sought to establish equal rights and freedoms for all citizens.

The revolution also saw the rise of the sans-culottes, a group of radical urban workers and peasants who played a key role in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the First French Republic. The sans-culottes were known for their radicalism and their support for the more radical elements of the revolution, including the Reign of Terror and the Jacobins.

Overall, the French Revolution was a significant event in history that fundamentally transformed the social and political landscape of France and had far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world. The struggle between the different social classes played a crucial role in shaping the events of the revolution and ultimately led to the establishment of a more equal and democratic society.

Essay About: Different Social Classes And French Revolution

social classes during the french revolution

The abolition of feudal privileges did not change land ownership and rent. . French politics has ordinarily displayed some tendencies characterizing a two-party system in which power alternates between relatively stable coalitions, each being led by a major party: on the left, the Socialist Party, on the right, Les Rpublicains and its predecessors. Worry spread that the king was going to crack down on the Third Estate and common people. In Pygmalion, Shaw incorporates social class in this play to develop not just one character's identity but multiple. Following France trouble financial problems, a political tension that launched the constitutional revolution began with the attacks on the Catholic Church corruption and the wealth of the higher clergy.

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The French Revolution: Social and Political Crisis in France

social classes during the french revolution

The aloof King Louis XVI paid little attention to what was happening outside his opulent court and was unable to control the rebellions when they started cropping up. During the reign period of Louis XVI, the royal treasury became empty as extravagant expenses of his queen Marie Antoinette. A little bit more than two hundred years later, we now know that it was a necessary event. In response, the National Assembly began dismantling the structures of the Ancien Regime. She always enjoyed luxurious and extravagant life.

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Causes of French Revolution: Political, Social and Economic Causes

social classes during the french revolution

Although Napoleon was a dangerous dictator, he also ensured that the new changes in the class system would last. The condition of the farmers was very miserable. However, the richest estates, the clergy and nobles, paid little taxes. The first of the three estates was the clergy. The economic tension dealt with the hardship of the food shortages France was facing. France also experienced one of their coldest winters in 1788 and much of northern France suffered with from temperatures which also contributed to the decline of productivity in the process of growing food.

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Social Classes In French Revolution

social classes during the french revolution

The Roman Catholics are now fighting the French Revolution during the second half of the 20th Century and are facing two major civilizational threats. The question there is now, above all, to establish better relations between labour and capital, between production and consumption, between the workman and the employer. The violence ended in July 1794, following the execution of Robespierre. The political tension was a conflict between the Monarchy and the nobility over the reformation of their tax system which led to paralysis and bankruptcy. With the revolution finally coming to an end, the French people got a new leader that they long awaited, a new government and constitution, and all together a whole different country. People didnt trust women and thought that they would give in too easily to the kings demand.

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French Revolution Social Classes & Estate System: Overview & Implications

social classes during the french revolution

Following the Storming of the Bastille, revolutionary activities rapidly spread to the countryside. Plus the 3rd estate did not have a fair say in the government. A severe financial crisis of the To What Extent Did Catherine The Great Change Russia Before the revolution, the bourgeoisie, or the wealthier and working part of the middle class, belonged to the Third Estate. The French society in the 18 th century was divided into three estates. The Assembly abolished the Ancien Régime and ended the three-estate system. As a consequence the old regime -clergy and nobility - comes to an end, the bourgeoisie rises among other reasons because to the money it had accumulated through commerce and industry and the peasants, that initially joined the bourgeoisie to propose liberty, equality and fraternity as a way to improve their freedoms and living conditions, became disappointed and organize a counter revolution.

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What was the social structure of France during French Revolution?

social classes during the french revolution

They paid no taxes but to support church activities they collected a tithe. The constitutional revolution tensions arose from the citizens of France not believing that their government was running efficiently. What were the social classes during the French Revolution? They also felt that aristocrats are less patriotic towards their country while Bourgeoisie were more hardworking and did not believed in luxury life. The Catholic Church was a very strong Catholic community that was founded by a Protestant priest named Apollinaire. Goaded by Enlightenment ideas, the lower classes began to demand equality and liberty. The Third Estate was taxed in extreme proportions so much so that bread, which was a necessity and the base of all meals, became very difficult to pay and obtain.

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French Revolution Social Hierarchy Structure

social classes during the french revolution

Nothing else like this had ever happened this powerful to change the political status quo. This group was comprised of people of various occupations such as lawyers, traders, merchants, administrative officials etc. They were not required to pay any state taxes. . Members of this social class possessed titles such as duke, count, and baron. Under this law, they would arrest anyone would they thought was suspected of treason and a plethora number of people were executed if they opposed this new rule of law. The constitutional revolution and the radical revolution in France grew from the convergence of political, social, and economic tensions present in France and the Atlantic World in the 1780s and 1790s.


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Classes and Class Struggles during the French Revolution on JSTOR

social classes during the french revolution

It was a period of social and political chaos. The size of the harvest determined how lower-class citizens would live in the upcoming year and their agricultural productivity was not keeping up with their population growth. But they did not enjoy the same privileges as the Court nobles enjoyed. The Napoleonic Code eradicated the vestiges of feudalism, as Napolean's France was not a meritocracy. Economic Cause: The economic condition of France formed another cause for the outbreak of the French Revolution. What was the social structure of France before the Revolution of 1789 Class 9? The social tension refers to the antagonism between two rising groups: the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie.

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Social Inequality In The French Revolution

social classes during the french revolution

This group was also made up of the peasants. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1967 , 73-4. The king was an absolute monarch, which meant that he obtained his right to rule from God, and, in theory, could do whatever he wanted. What were the three social orders in 18th century France? Traditional social classes still have some presence, with a large bourgeoisie and especially petite bourgeoisie, and an unusually large proportion, for modern Europe, of farming smallholders. Then Necker was appointed as the Finance Minister in 1776. The wage workers were artisans or unskilled laborers who worked in industries such as textiles and masonry.

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The French Revolution: A War of the Social Classes

social classes during the french revolution

The possibility of Louis XVI participating in France's new government was following the execution of the king on January 21, 1793. The Nobility was also sub divided into two groups-the Court nobles and the provincial nobles. Throughout the Ancien Regime, the French people accepted the church's position that the king was chosen by God. In addition, they also provided relief to the poor at the time of need. Causes of the Revolution Historians disagree about what caused the French Revolution, but one theory is that people in the Third Estate, especially the bourgeoisie, were tired of the Ancien Régime and wanted a more equal society.

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