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Voltaire believed that the church and the government shouldn’t be above the people living in a country. "He believed social progress could be achieved through reason and that no authority—religious or political or otherwise—should be immune to challenge by reason.” (Brittanica) He's basically trying to say that the rulers don't really have power over -
Rousseau said, “Man is born free yet everywhere he is in chains” (AlphaHistory). In a more in-depth definition, he is trying to say people are always being controlled by people superior to them. For example, when they are young they are controlled by their parents, they have to listen to them. And when they're grown-ups they are controlled by the government/monarchy, maybe not controlled entirely, but more like being told what you can and cannot do. -
Montesquieu’s biggest philosophy or belief was the separation of powers. "Government is most effective when divided into three discrete branches: executive, legislative and judicial. Each should have constitutionally separated powers that prevent one branch from gaining dominance over the other two, thus preventing any prospect of tyranny” (AlphaHistory). -
What he was trying to say is that Government or a ruler by themselves cannot handle much power, therefore it is better if the power was separated into three brances. -
John Locke’s biggest idea or philosophy was that people are born with natural rights. “Men are naturally free and equal as part of the justification for understanding legitimate political government as the result of a social contract where people in the state of nature conditionally transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better ensure the stable, comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property. -
Since governments exist by the consent of the people in order to protect the rights of the people and promote the public good, governments that fail to do so can be resisted and replaced with new governments.” (Stanford) Basically what he is trying to say is that people should have natural rights and that no form of power can strip them of their rights. And that yes government has a higher power but they can’t really be powerful without the help of the people. -
Voltaire said and wrote a lot of things, his most "famous" or known phrase was, “écrasez l’infâme” (Lumen). That phrase translates to crush the infamous. Volatire is trying to say get rid of the monarchy, we don't need them, they don't help us in any way, rather they bring us down. Crush them, get rid of them. -
“The assembly refused to take responsibility for the reforms and suggested the calling of the Estates-General, which represented the clergy, the aristocracy, and the Third Estate (the commoners) and which had not met since 1614. The efforts made by Calonne’s successors to enforce fiscal reforms in spite of resistance by the privileged classes led to the so-called revolt…” (Britannica). -
The government paid more attention to the higher class rich people, this angered the lower classes because their issues weren't addressed, their issues were not important to the government. So they felt the need to revolt against the injustices. -
“Medieval European absolute monarchs included the practice of the divine right of kings, meaning that the monarch derived his or her power from god. This furthered the power of a monarch because it ensured that the king or queen did not get their power from the people, and therefore the people had no control or say over the monarch’s rule” (History Crunch). -
This is a clear example of why people fought for their rights. The people wanted liberty to do what they should be able to do with their rights as humans but are punished by the king if they don’t do what they ask. They believed the same idea that John Locke believed, which was that people are born with natural rights. This idea sparked people’s desire for freedom, and strength to fight for something they wanted. -
“Every head of a household was required to purchase annually seven pounds of salt for each member of his family at a price fixed by the government; if he failed to consume all the salt purchased during the previous year and, therefore, attempted to buy less than the quota in the new year he was charged a special fine by the State. The punishments for smuggling and selling salt on the black market were stiff and inhumane.” -
The people of France having to buy salt annually for the king to be rich and be able to afford his lifestyle is an abuse of power. And the different punishments that they would get for not complying were inhumane. Voltaire’s idea is that no matter how much power someone has, they should not be able to do something without just the reason, like punishing someone for not buying enough salt to pay for the king's expenses. -
“While the peasants made up the vast majority of the people in French society, over 96%, They lacked any political or economic power” (History Crunch). -
The monarchy/government didn’t care that peasants made up the majority of their population, they cared more for the elite. The peasants did not have the same rights as the elite, they had no say in what they wanted for their government. They were just puppets in the king’s eyes, the people would do things for him just because he was king, and the king did things for himself rather than for the people. This is where Rouseeus idea that men are born free, yet they are prisoners, comes in. -
“Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of poor harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among peasants and the urban poor” (History). Their king was not a good leader. He took care of himself more than he should, he didn’t pay any attention to the lower class people. It was the king’s own fault that the people rebelled against him. -
Ebeling, Richard M., et al. “Economic Ideas: Inflation, Price Controls and Collectivism during the French Revolution.” The Future of Freedom Foundation, 8 June 2020, https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/economic-ideas-inflation-price-controls-collectivism-french-revolution/#:~:text=Before%20the%20revolution%20of%201789,without%20government%20approval%20and%20regulation.
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“French Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution. “France before the French Revolution.” HISTORY CRUNCH - History Articles, Biographies, Infographics, Resources and More, https://www.historycrunch.com/france-before-the-french-revolution.html#/.
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“France before the French Revolution.” HISTORY CRUNCH - History Articles, Biographies, Infographics, Resources and More, https://www.historycrunch.com/france-before-the-french-revolution.html#/. History.com Editors. “French Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution#section_1.
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History.com Editors. “French Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/france/french-revolution#section_1. “Voltaire.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Voltaire. “Jean-Jacques Rousseau.” French Revolution, 23 May 2019, https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/jean-jacques-rousseau/.
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“Baron De Montesquieu.” French Revolution, 23 May 2019, https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/baron-montesquieu/#:~:text=Charles%2DLouis%20de%20Secondat%2C%20better,figures%20of%20the%20French%20Enlightenment.&text=Montesquieu%20was%20born%20into%20a,significantly%20involved%20in%20provincial%20government. Boundless. “Boundless World History.” Lumen, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/enlightenment-thinkers/.
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Tuckness, Alex. “Locke's Political Philosophy.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 6 Oct. 2020, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-political/. “Baron De Montesquieu.” French Revolution, 23 May 2019, https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/baron-montesquieu/#:~:text=Charles%2DLouis%20de%20Secondat%2C%20better,figures%20of%20the%20French%20Enlightenment.&text=Montesquieu%20was%20born%20into%20a,significantly%20involved%20in%20provincial%20government.