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Thesis Statement
The Enlightenment, a time of philosophical ideas like the three natural rights of life, liberty, and property and the belief of a social contract between the people and government results in the leading causes that started the French Revolution; similar to how these ideas are still used today as we are given these three rights and how the social contract still holds true to present day. -
John Locke and Democracy
“Locke favored a representative government such as the English Parliament, which had a hereditary House of Lords and an elected House of Commons" (GKToday). This philosophy showed John Locke’s passion for a more democratic government. He did not wish for complete democracy but more of a democratic monarchy. -
Rousseau and Democracy
“He believed in a direct democracy in which everyone voted to express the general will and to make the laws of the land. Thus, Rousseau had in mind a democracy on a small scale, a city-state like his native Geneva” (GKToday). Rousseau believed in a direct democracy but not completely. He wished for the idea of everyone being able to vote for leaders but nothing much more than that. -
Rousseau and Direct Democracy
“In Rousseau’s democracy, anyone who disobeyed the general will of the people “will be forced to be free.” He believed that citizens must obey the laws or be forced to do so as long as they remained a resident of the state" (GKToday). Rousseau was a fan of democracy at the point where he made the statement that people “will be forced to be free”. This is similar to his idea of a social contract where all people should be free and if the government violates it then the people can revolt -
Voltaire and Tyrannical Governments
“In Brutus, he has vividly depicted the horror of a tyrannical government of an ancient Roman King Brutus. This play had a profound effect upon the revolution and some of the most common slogans of the revolution were borrowed from Brutus" (GKToday) This piece of evidence shows how Voltaire was not a good fan of tyrannical governments. It was not his main philosophy but it was definitely one that he believed in. -
Rousseau and Social Contract
“He gave a solution to this problem and asked the people to enter into a social contract. They would give up all their rights, not to a king, but to “the whole community,” all the people. Then, he called all the people the “sovereign,” a term so far used only for the king."(GKToday). This shows that Rousseau believed that the people had more of a right to rule than the king. That did not mean he did not believe in a king, but that the king should have less power in this social contract. -
New Ideas In France
“ A revolution seemed necessary to apply the ideas of Montesquieu, Voltaire, or Jean-Jacques Rousseau" (Britannica) At this time there was poorness and hunger. When this started to occur the people started to revolt asking for higher living conditions. Highly inspired by the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment they wished to make their government similar to their ideas. Voltaire did not like the idea of a tyrannical government which was one of his not as known theories. -
French Monarch Loses Divine Power
“the French monarchy, no longer seen as divinely ordained, was unable to adapt to the political and societal pressures that were being exerted on it” (Britannica). As time went on the idea of divine right seemed to go away. The people started to question why these people were ruling if they did not even have their power given by god. They began to put pressure on the government and they could not hold well under that pressure. -
French Monarchy Loses Divine Power (2)
This is similar to Rousseau's idea of a democracy where if the government could not withhold itself then they could revolt. -
French Bourgeoisies Anger
“the bourgeoisie resented its exclusion from political power and positions of honour” (Britannica). The bourgeoisie is also known as the middle class. At this time they were a big group and they wished to have a say in government but were rejected. After hearing so they revolted back in means to change the government so that they could be heard. Rousseau had an idea of direct democracy so the non-inclusion of other people went against his ideas. -
French Structure Crumbling
“ The first of the general causes was the social structure of the West. The feudal regime had been weakened step-by-step and had already disappeared in parts of Europe" (Britannica) The government at this time was in an already weakened state. Over time their power just did not seem to have the same authority as it had used to. Locke had more of a favorable idea of Parliament which would be a perfect thing to put in at this time. -
France Economic Failures
“France was the most populous country in Europe, and crop failures in much of the country in 1788, coming on top of a long period of economic difficulties, compounded existing restlessness” (Britannica) Starvation was a leading cause of the revolution. If crops did not grow that would mean that the people would starve and that they would not be able to trade. This meant that the economy also got heavily impacted by the shortage of crops. -
France Economic Failures (2)
This relates to the social contract Rousseau had in mind where if the contract was violated then the people had the right to revolt. -
Work Cited 1
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "French Revolution". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Sep. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution. Accessed 15 February 2022. -
Work Cited 2
GKToday. “Role of John Locke in French Revolution.” GKToday, GKToday, 28 Aug. 2016, www.gktoday.in/topic/role-of-john-locke-in-french-revolution/#:~:text=Locke%20argued%20that%20individuals%20would,their%20right%20of%20self%2Ddefense%20. -
Work Cited 3
GKToday. “Role of Voltaire in French Revolution.” GKToday, GKToday, 28 Aug. 2016, www.gktoday.in/topic/role-of-voltaire-in-french-revolution/#:~:text=Voltaire%20(1694%20%E2%80%93%201778)%20was,separation%20of%20church%20and%20state. -
Work Cited 4
GKToday. “Role of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in French Revolution” GKToday, GKToday, 28 Aug. 2016, www.gktoday.in/topic/role-of-jean-jacques-rousseau-in-french-revolution/.