Final Essays:

Question: Assess the importance of 2 causes of the French Revolution.

Although the causes of the French Revolution are many, there are two causes
that are two things that were extremely instrumental in the French revolution. One
is the meeting of the Estates General in 1789, and the other is the Political and
Social inequality in France during the time of the Revolution. These are important
causes because without them, the revolution wouldn’t have been legalized nor had
a general goal.
The Estates General met in 1789 for the first time since 1614. In this
meeting, Louis XVI had the goal strengthening his power and increasing taxes.
However, things did not go according to his plan; in fact, he lost power and the
Estates General fueled the French Revolution. First of all, the meeting of the Estates
General showed the incompetence of Louis XVI, and people began to mistrust him
due to his unfair treatment of the 3rd Estate. This led to the formation of the
National Assembly, a group made up mostly of the 3rd Estate that called themselves
the “real” representatives of France. This National Assembly created the
constitution which forced the king to share power with the people, and it was this
government that later executed the king. This was critical in the legalization of the
French Revolution.
Before the French Revolution, the Old Regime ruled with an iron fist over the
general population. The Nobility and Clergy were the only ones that had true power,
and the Nobility and Clergy made up the 1st and 2nd Estates. The middle class, which
was about 80% of the population, only gained the 3rd Estate, which was only a 3rd of
the representation in the government. Furthermore, the Nobility and Clergy did not
have to pay taxes while the middle class had to pay taxes. All of this enabled the
French Revolution by providing a “goal” that everyone shared and united the
people underneath the goal.
The French Revolution was the culmination of a variety of causes; however,
two main causes can be identified; the meeting of the Estates General and the
inequalities that the general population suffered underneath the government. These
two were extremely important in the legalization of the French Revolution and the
unification of the people under a goal to get rid of the political and social injustices.
One might question the importance of finding out the important causes of the
French Revolution, but it is important to do so because in doing so, we may be able
to recognize the signs of a future Revolution and be able to prevent it if necessary.