Caballero 1

Delaney Caballero

Mr. Smith

AP World History

9 December 2010

Causes of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was one of the most influential events in history. The

government was torn down and rebuilt many times over and throughout it all, some of the

most important documents in history were written. The major contributing factors

that caused the French Revolution were intellectual growths, political and social, and economic

problems. The immediate cause of the Revolution was the country’s financial crisis.

The French Revolution was caused intellectually because the growing middle class was

well read in the Enlightenment ideas of the philosophes and they were aware of the positive

result of the American Revolution. After learning about Montesquieu’s idea of a separation of

powers and Rousseau’s idea that the government should reflect the general will of the people,

the bourgeoisie had many thoughts of a new structure of government. The stories of the

American Revolution provided physical proof that a successful revolution could be achieved.

The political and social causes of the French Revolution are related to the structure of

the Old Regime and the bourgeoisie’s dissatisfaction with their place in France’s social pyramid.

The bourgeoisie were at the top of the pyramid in the Third Estate in the Old Regime. The

bourgeoisie wanted to be given their share of political and social power. The group beneath the

bourgeoisie, the Sans Cullotte, wanted to change the entire structure of the Old Regime. Not

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helping the monarchy’s situation, Louis XVI was an indecisive and depressed king that felt very

inadequate and projected it through his rulings.

The extreme amount of debt that the country was in was a major economic cause of the

French Revolution. The French were in so much debt because they took part in a great number

of wars such as the War of Devolution with King Louis XIV from 1667-1668 and the Seven Years

War with King Louis XV from 1756–63. The aid they provided in the American Revolution

drained the treasury that much more. The French were also continuing to pay for the many

costs of Versailles.

The immediate cause of the French Revolution was due to the fact that the economy

was crumbling and the government was in a state of crisis. Periodic droughts caused bad crop

harvests, sending the cost of food prices so high that peasants and poor city dwellers were in a

state of hunger. The treasury was bankrupt and the government did not react well to this. The

government set even higher taxes that the people could not pay and the nobility blocked

reforms.

The French Revolution is a very important event in the history of Europe. There were

many things that caused the French Revolution. The influence of the Enlightenment, a dated

social pyramid, , governmental debt, and a failing economy were the major contributing factors.

The revolution was immediately caused by France’s failing economy.