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The Lasting Influence of the Bourgeoisie
First French Revolution
Katie Harrison
Professor Kathleen Walkner: History 104
April 2, 2020
One thing we can be sure of when reading history is that the middle class is always rising.
The France of the late 18th century was no different. As technology advanced, intelligent
workers were needed to manage the labor force and transportation of goods. these advancements
gave rise to the Bourgeoisie; A class all its own that emerged from the Third Estate as a group
that was wealthier than the peasants but did not have a claim to the title of Noble or Clergy. With
their increase in wealth came the desire for an increase in power. The Bourgeoisie wanted more
say in government and, when the king wouldn’t give it to them, they revolted and created their
own national assembly and constitution. When the king tried to stop them, the peasants rose to
defend the assembly and overthrew the king. After that, there was a time of terror where the
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Committee of Public Safety (created by the national assembly) killed many who opposed them
and, some who did not, and formed an army that saved France from foreign powers but caused
economic chaos internally. In the end, power was given to the military which, was led by
Napoleon Bonaparte and the country went from an authoritarian regime to an authoritarian
regime. Even though it seemed as if nothing changed, the ideas that the revolution uncovered
still had a lasting impact on the world thanks to the efforts of the Bourgeoisie. The Bourgeoisie
played a major role in the outcome revolution and flow of new ideas that came with it because of
three actions; They instigated change in the government, created a sense of nationalism, and
saved France from invasion by foreign powers.
The first reason why the Bourgeoisie were so influential was that they instigated change
in the government by forcing the monarchy to call the National Assembly of the Estates-General.
By 1783, taxes were crippling the Third Estate peasants, since devasting famines had destroyed
the land, the desperate poor farmers, labor workers, lawyers, and merchants of the 3rd estate
started to cry out 1 . Evidentially, it was not until 1786 when, in trying to quench the rising spirit
of revolution, the king called to order the National Assembly. However, when the First and
Second Estates elected in favor of voting by group rather than by head, it became clear that the
nobles and clergy had no intention of relinquishing their power or privileges. Knowing that what
they were about to do was a direct and public revolt against the king, the Third Estate
representatives, made up almost entirely of Bourgeoisie, left to form their own National
Assembly2 . At this assembly, the constitution, known as the Cahier of the Third Estate of
Versailles was penned. An eloquent script that spoke out against the privileges held by the other
1
“THE MODERN PERIOD, 1789-1914 - THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND EUROPE, 1789-1914 - THE FRENCH
REVOLUTION, 1789-1799 - CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION..”
2 Fitzsimmons, “Privilege and the Polity in France, 1786-1791.”
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two Estates, the Cahier called for a just system of voting, and more importantly for the
advancement of the revolution, served as a rallying call for the common people 3 . Without this
rallying point, the leaderless, peasants would probably never have stormed the Bastille, an event
that caused the king to surrender and relinquish power to the new National Assembly4 .
The second reason why the Bourgeoisie were so influential in the outcome of the
revolution and aftermath was that they created a sense of nationalism that emphasized a
government by the people and for the people. Before, nationalism was tied to the class a person
was in and extended little in the way of social interaction between individuals, of differing
incomes. This was in part, due to the lack of a common language and social distancing practiced
at the time. In a way, it was hard to look in the face of someone who paid twice as many taxes as
you even though their income was half the size of yours. Until the National Assembly, there was
no common ground between the people. The people needed a cause to fight for that put all on an
equal playing field 5 .
This great equaling came about on August 26th 1789 when the members of the National
Assembly published the “the declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” a document that laid the
foundation for the idea that a person has rights because he/she for no other reason than that
he/she is a person6 . This, combined with the Cahier of The Third Estate of Versailles,
did more than just rile up the people. Talk of equal taxation and the tearing down of social
privileges, placed within its readers a nearly physical yearning to be a part of the new nation
3
Whitcombe et al., “Cahier of 1789, The Third Estate of Versailles.”
Alpaugh, “A Self-Defining ‘Bourgeoisie’ in the Early French Revolution: The Milice Bourgeoise, the Bastille Days of
1789, and Their Aftermath..”
5 Alpaugh, “A Self-Defining ‘Bourgeoisie’ in the Early French Revolution: The Milice Bourgeoise, the Bastille Days of
1789, and Their Aftermath..”
6 Warman, “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, 1789.”
4
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envisioned by the Bourgeoisie7 . It was this sense of unity that saved the revolution when the
other countries started to invade because the people who fought felt as if they were fighting for
their brothers and not some lord their parents pledged fielty to. This leads to the third and final
reason why the Bourgeoisie played a major role in the revolution.
Finally, we see that the Bourgeoisie were instrumental in the saving of France from
invasion by foreign powers8 . As stated by Goldstone, author of Revolutions; A Very Short
Introduction, one of the near essential ingredients to a successful revolution is favorable
international relations since, it is almost impossible to fight two battles, foreign and domestic, at
the same time and win both9 . And yet, the Bourgeoisie were able to do just that. However, they
did not succeed because France had a strong ruling family for every else to hide behind, not
because they had the funds to pay an army-- although they did have quite a bit of wealth after
they took the land from the clergy and nobles, soon after August 11, 1789 the day the national
Assembly completely abolished feudalism in all it’s forms. But, because the Bourgeoisie
managed to unify the people and land that once was held under the nobles' and clergy's
controlling hand 10 . The tipping point in France’s history was on April 20th , 1792 when after
months of heated debate, the National assembly declared war on Austria. Napoleon was ready to
begin his conquest; volunteers were flooding the ranks and citizens- turned- soldiers were the
norm and the grip of the new regime became implacable. Without the French army, formed by
the Bourgeoisie near the end of the revolution, tumultuous France would have been crushes by
7
Warman, “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, 1789.”
Daly, “War in the Revolutionary-Napoleonic Age:”
9 Goldstone A, A Very Short Introduction.
10 Robinson, “The Decree Abolishing the Feudal System.”
8
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foreign enemies such as Austria and Prussia. The revolutionists would have been smothered and
the old regime reinstated, leaving little chance of redemption for the Third Estate peasants11 .
As we can see, the Bourgeoisie left a lasting impact on the revolution and world because
they instigated and succeeded in changing the government, they created a sense of nationalism
within the people of France and saved France from invasion by foreign powers by building an
army for and by the people.
11
Daly, “War in the Revolutionary-Napoleonic Age:”
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