The French Revolution - by Difan Li

 The French Revolution - by Difan Li

The French Revolution was a major event from 1789-1799 that completely changed French history and perhaps even the world. It brought about a newer form of government more similar to modern society, and still remains a symbol of the people’s revolt and refusal to accept a monarchy rule. Prior to the revolution, France was made up of three classes of people, called estates. The first two estates were made up of the clergy and nobility while the rest of the population was part of the Third Estate and were often treated unfairly. France had come into severe debt after the Seven Years’ War and their participation in the American Revolution and the food crisis caused many citizens to start growing resentment toward the upper classes. In 1789, the Estates-General was called to help resolve these issues. During this meeting, the Third Estate, having only one third of the votes, could not pass anything. They split away to form the National Assembly and the rest of the estates were eventually forced to join. Tensions grew and on July 14, 1789, there was an attack on the Bastille, the prison that held enemies of the king. Riots and revolts soon followed. The National Assembly opted to create a constitution, and approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as well as formed a new system of justice and voting. In 1792, war was declared on Austria as the brother of Marie Antoinette, the wife of the king, had begun to amass an army. This led to many revolutionary wars and widespread fear and violence. The king was sentenced to death by guillotine on January 21, 1793 and the Reign of Terror took hold over France. Thousands of people were executed due to accusations of being enemies of the republic or anti-revolutionary. 17,000 people were officially sentenced and executed by the government. As the National Convention lost the trust of the people, a new government, the Directory, stepped up. It was later brought down again by Napoleon Bonaparte, who both ended the revolution and set himself up as the head of state. The French Revolution had many long term effects on the world. It destroyed the Divine Right belief and changed societal codes. These ideas of government spread and helped to build the modern Europe we know today. 

Works Cited

"French Revolution." Scholastic GO!, 

go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/D/article/a20/110/a2011040-h.html.