Rachel Bonner
DC World History
7th period
9/20/2019
Cause of the French Revolution: DBQ
Starting from the beginning of the 17th century, people all over Europe began
questioning absolutism. One by one, countries all over converted from absolute monarchy to
radical forms of government. The start of the overthrow of monarchy, began with the overthrow
of the English, the American Revolution, and finally, the French Revolution. The French
Revolution was a series of political, economic and social disorders which took place throughout
France between 1789 and 1799. The most important causes of this revolution were the unfair
taxes, the corruption of power, and the American Revolution and Declaration of Independence.
Under a monarch’s rule, France became to be taxed unfairly, and starvation spread due to
lack of food. According to the Travels in France, “. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very
little. Lands held by commoners are taxed heavily …. The price of bread has risen above
people’s ability to pay. This causes great misery. "(Document 1) This explains that peasants and
those of the third estate barely had any food or money. Peasants also paid taxes to the clergy,
nobles, and government. However, the richest estates, the clergy and nobles, paid little to no
taxes despite their excess money, and position. This unfair system angered the third estate and
prompted a revolt.
Corruption in power and the rise in inequality was another major cause of the revolution.
Unlike the other two Estates, the Third Estate generally had no position in government and very
limited political power. During the Estates General, the estates were voting on arguments about
the inequality in politics. traditionally, each estate had one vote—the first and second estates
could outvote the third estate two to one. The third estate had more representatives than the other
two combined. It demanded that all the estates be merged into one national assembly and that
each representative had one vote. The excerpt Cashiers, written by the third estate, claims,” In
order to assure the third estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers… its votes in the
assembly should be taken by head …” (Document 3) The king refused their demands. The
refusal caused the third estate to become the National Assembly and draft a constitution. The
constitution became known as the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The document states, “Men
are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions can be established only for the
common benefit... The aim of every political association is the conservation of the
imprescriptible rights of man; these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to
oppression….” (Document 8) These new laws showed a change in the government and now
everyone was equal under the law with inalienable rights.
Finally, the influence of the American Revolution helped spur the French Revolution.
Just like the Americans, the third estate was inspired by the ideas of Enlightenment. In The
French Revolution, historians claim,” The middle class…was sensitive to their inferior legal
position. The Revolution came from then-the middle class. The working classes were incapable
of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.” (Document
4) Influenced by democratic principles, the people of the third estate began to question their
government in France and demanded change. The Declaration of Independence also contributed
to the Revolution. Lord Acton stated, “The condition of France alone did not bring about the
overthrow of the monarchy…the spark that changed thought into action was supplied by the
Declaration of American Independence…. The American example caused the Revolution to
break out.” (Document 5) The success of the Americans to overthrow the powerful British rule
made the French public optimistic and encouraged them to fight for their own freedom.
In Conclusion, the French Revolution was caused by economic crisis, inequalities felt by
the common people, and the examples of other revolutionists around them.