Reasons for the French Revolution
Ideas of Enlightenment
The second reason was because the of ideas of Enlightenment. Some keys ideas of Enlightenment that the French citizens wanted were to have check stops and separations of government so that the Monarch would have less power. In 1789 the Declaration of the Rights of a Man and Citizen shows that the people wanted a lot more say in the government. "Nobody nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation." (Declaration of the Rights of a Man and Citizen. Primary Source) . The people of France wanted a democracy so that they could have a say in the decisions. Many other countries were having revolutions and that gave hope to the French that maybe they could also have a revolution.
Famine
Since there was a famine, food prices sky-rocketed. That meant that all of France's money was being spent on food and not on growing the economy. The decline of the economy also contributed a lot to the huge amount of debt France had, which had to be paid through taxes. The French thought that this famine was perhaps God showing His wrath on the government. The financial stress and the thought that God was mad at the way France was run also contributed greatly to the start of the French Revolution.
Women's Rights
Women also contributed to the French Revolution in their willingness to fight. Women were treated as property and not allowed to do many things such as own land, make a will, or have a proper education. These women were fed up with being treated like this and made clubs like the Revolutionary Republic for Women. Although these women contributed differently to the Revolution they still were brave and willing to fight for what they believed in.
Taxes
The first big reason that the French revolution started was because of the incredibly high taxes that the lower class citizens were forced to pay to the King in order for the higher classes to have a lavish lifestyle. This made it so the poor people became even poorer and the rich people just kept collecting money. This was very unfair because the peasants no longer had enough money to even feed themselves while the higher class citizens partied it up. The peasants were also required to be in the low ranks of the army while the nobles could buy their way to being a General so they never actually had to fight. John Locke said "Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip."(John Locke. Inspiration to people of France. Primary source) this was what was happening in France; the poor were extremely poor while the rich were filthy rich and that doesn't help anyone. The 3rd class citizens issued a list of grievances to the government. On this document it says, "No order, corporation, or individual citizen may lay claim to any pecuniary exemptions.... All taxes should be assessed on the same system throughout the nation." (Document of grievances. Primary source)This shows that the 3rd class citizens wanted for everyone to help pay taxes, however, they were ignored.
