The Causes of the French Revolution

By:Jessica BaileyParker Ford

Alex WilliamsTravis StoutPaden Gill

Political Problems• One of the problems in the political side of

France was the King• The King during these tumultuous times was

Louis XVI and he came to power in 1774• He borrowed money out of the court and

treasury until 1786 when the debt became so bad he couldn’t borrow anymore

• He also was against raising the taxes on the rich so he put it all on the poor

Political Problems

• One other main problem with the politics in France was the Estates-General– This was a meeting held by the king to try and solve the

financial crisis• The meeting consisted of all the classes in the French

society• He surrounded the place with troops and was

persuaded by the rich to dismiss Jacques Necker who was the minister of finances– The reason was dismissed by the rich was because he

wanted equal taxation which did not go over well– These political problems led to a bigger divide among the

rich and poor

Political Problems

• The political problems within the French monarchy was the direct cause of much of the upheaval before the French Revolution. King Louis XVI took advantage of his power and, in the process, hurt the poorer people of France.

• In conclusion, we believe this is the most influential cause to the French Revolution.

The Economic Crisis• Started in debt because of the American

Revolution and the Seven Years War with Britain – These wars hurt the French badly because they

were so far in dept that they had to start to tax people more

– The ones who hurt most by this debt were the poor because they were to only ones who were taxed and the rich wanted the to pick up the debt

Economic Crisis• Another problem that contributed to the

economic crisis was the way people were taxed– The poor were taxed very high while the rich were

given almost no taxes– This created a riff between the poor and the rich

making the poor get even more mad after the monarchy raised the taxes

Economic Crisis

• One of the final problems that led to the crisis was the leaders behind the economy– One problem was that both the leaders were not

in good relations with the King which mad it hard for new tax laws to be passed

– Also the frequent switching of leaders made it hard for there to be a steady driving force in changing the way things were run in the country

Economic Crisis

• The economic crisis was also a very influential cause to the French Revolution. Without money, people had no way of supporting themselves. For many, it was a day to day struggle to stay alive.

• As a result, many people were VERY upset with the lack of help they were receiving from the French monarchy. Eventually this led to a rebellion among the people of France.

Ancien Regime• This Regime consisted of the aristocratic, social,

and political parties and started long before the problems in France ever started

• The Regime affected everyone, this system was set up to help the rich and not the poor people who actually needed the help

• Caused many poor people to die and the higher the death toll the more frustrated the poor became

Ancien Regime

• This Regime was in France in the 19th Century• It was implemented because the king spent

way too much money and got the country into debt and also the lower class was fed up with the way they were being treated

• This Regime made by the king soon caused an uproar with the lower class so later on the poor rose up starting a revolution

Ancien Regime

• The Ancien Regime also resulted in hurting the poor. The extreme wealth of the aristocracy prevented the poor from any hopes of earning a living or even supplying a sufficient amount of food for their families. This system created much tension between the upper and lower classes.

Influence of the Enlightenment• Montesquieu

– The Spirit of the Laws– The Persian Letters– Thoughts on the Causes of the Greatness and the Downfall of the Romans

• Voltaire– The Social Contract– Discourse of the Arts & Sciences– Discourse of the Political Economy

• Rousseau– Letters on England – Candide – The Friends of Voltaire– Socrates– Maid of Orleans

Influence of the Enlightenment

• Thinkers like Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau influenced the French Revolution through their various writings– Theses men wrote critically about the government

and about their ideas for a better government– These ideas spread all across Europe, and, as a

result, influenced people to want to change the French monarchy

Influence of the Enlightenment

• Also very important was the influence from writers of the Enlightenment. Many people were angry with the government, but the critical writings of these thinkers inspired many to voice their opinion as well.

Famine• A series of crop failures in the 1780’s caused

major shortages in wheat which soon lead to higher prices in bread

• The people knew the scarcity of food would be more because of small time were the weather was too cold for growing crops making the French eat more potatoes but didn’t want to because potatoes are considered a devil’s food

Famine

• Horrible living conditions on the countryside forced many to move into Paris and then the city was overcrowded which hit the peasants the hardest

• As the peasants became more and more desperate for food and later they saw how well the nobles and rich were eating and this soon led to hunger riots all over Paris

Famine

• Not only did the famine upset many French citizens, but also the lack of help they received from the government did not make things better. This eventually led to a rebellion from the people of France.

Works Cited

• “French Revolution”. Wikipedia. 7 September 2009. 8 September 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_revolution>

• “Ancien Regime”. Wikipedia. 12 July 2009. 8 September 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancien_Régime

• “Louis XVI of France”. Wikipedia. September 8 2009. September 7 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI>

• “Jean-Jaques Rousseau”. Philosophy Pages. 9 August 2006. 7 September 2009. <http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/rous.htm>