French revolution
...lead up to the cause of the French Revolution. In 1787, the economy experienced a bad food harvest which leads to the manufacturing depression. The depression resulted in the loss of food, which raised prices for the needs of the village, food, and the lose of jobs for many people as well within the village. As stated in the book, “On the eve of the Revolution the estimated percent of the poor population was one-third of the whole village”. (Pg.565) The near collapse of the government finances was the first signs of the start of the French Revolution. Due to all the cost of materials for war and other necessities Louis Xvi was finally forced to call a meeting of the Estate-General. The last meeting of the French parliamentary body was in 1614. The Estate-General consisted of a member from the first, second, and third estate. Due to the large number of population the government of the estate-general elected that the third estate gets double representation. Having so many people with strong and legal representation the third estate was able to, “advocate a regular constitutional government that would abolish the fiscal privileges of the church and nobility as the major way to regenerate France”. (Pg.566) With the third estate having so much power in the voting rank, the Estates-General opened at Versailles on May 5, 1789. They met because the third estate wanted the voting to be done by head, each delegate having one vote. The meeting pushed that each order would vote separately with veto power over the other two, “thus guaranteeing aristocratic control over reforms”. (Pg.566) The first estate later declared in the voting of order. So, “On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate voted to constitute itself a “National Assembly” and decided to draw up a constitution. With the force of a French constitution the first step in the French Revolution was made, because the Third Estate had no right in there act. As a result of the force, a battle of the Bastille saved the Third Estate from the king’s attempted counterrevolution. Parisians attacked Bastille on July 14, and the fall of the Bastille was the save of the National Assembly. “With the fall of the Bastille and the king’s apparent capitulation to the demands of the Third Estate, the peasants decided to take matters into their own hands”. (Pg.567) On the “night of 4 August” 1789, the National Assembly in an astonishing session voted to abolish landlords’ federal rights as well as the fiscal privileges of nobles, clergy, towns, and provinces. As a result of this the adopting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was enforced on August, 26. This went on to end the taxation, freedom and equal rights for all men. “Olympe de Gouges, a playwright and pamphlesteer, refused to accept this exclusion of women from political rights”. This lead to the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, which was ignored by the National Assembly. With that happening on October 5, crowds of Parisian women lined the streets which were the March of Women in spite of basical...