Voltaire
Voltaire
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his writings criticized the King and the Church
He was inspired to write about social reform from John Locke and Isaac Newton.
Due to this fact, he lived in constant fear of being jailed.
He did believe in the monarchy system, but he felt that the
King should act kindly to his subjects.
When writing about the controversial topics, such as the injustice of the King’s reign, Voltaire mostly wrote
anonymously.
Most of his works were banned because of the strict censorship laws.
Examples:
• “All people are equal, it is not birth, it is virtue alone that makes the difference.”
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"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.”
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Candide
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Satirized the philosophy of optimism
Due to the strict regulations of the King, Candide was subjected to censorship
"All I presume is that there are millions of men on earth a hundred times more to be pitied than King
Charles Edward, the Emperor Ivan, and the Sultan Achmet.”
"If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others?"
Rousseau
The Social Contract explains that liberty comes to man from nature, it is an inalienable right.
• -Rousseau states that there is the “general will” and the “will of all”
-The “general will” is the expression of humanity that is universal in all people.
-The “will of all” is egoism, or an expression of particular interests
- According to Rousseau, liberty is a assortment of both “general will” and “will of all.”
“Emile”
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Rousseau’s philosophy of education is that it should work in accordance with nature. Since nature
is good, education will work well with the guidelines of nature.
Rousseau makes clear in “Emile” that the teacher should not force his will onto his students.
In other words, the teacher is simply there to prepare the fittest conditions so that
the activities of the student will be supported.
Culture and Sciences cause evil and corruption.
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This work was an example of rebellion against the strict rules and regulations of society and therefore
assisted in provoking the rebellious attitude of the French Revolution.
American revolution
• The American revolution Showed the French
that the Enlightenment ideals about
governmental organization could be put into
practice
• Some American revolutionaries stayed in
France where they spread revolutionary
ideals
• The success of the American overthrowing
Britain encouraged France to fight for their
freedom
Famine
• There was a great scarcity of food in the 1780’s
• Prices began to rise as much as eighty- eighty percent
• Most peasants were relying on charities and donations to survive
• Two years previous to the revolution of France, a small ice age
occurred that greatly affected agriculture in this region.
• Mass urbanization along with the beginning of the industrial
revolution led residents of the countryside to move into French
cities seeking employment.
MORE FAMINE
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(hungry people)
The cities in the region became overcrowded
– They were filled with the hungry and poor
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Bad harvests
– created a shortage of grain and
– Left the peasants desperate for food
– Starving commoners created many riots because of this shortage of food.
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Europe had adopted potatoes as their main crop
The French mostly refused it as a dirty food
(potato)
– Because of this a family of four would need about 2 loaves of bread a day to
survive.
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The 'bread riot' evolved into a central cause of the French Revolution.
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Lower classes such as peasants tried to stop social injustices and put an
end to the food shortages & starvation.
(Bread)
Works Cited
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Andress, David. "Economic Dislocation and Social Discontent." The French Revolution. Oxford Journals, 1996. Web. 8 Sept. 2009.
<http://fh.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/10/1/30>.
Hirst, Robert. "The Causes." The French Revolution. 2001. Web. 8 Sept. 2009. http://www.geocities.com/thefrenchrevolution/causes.html.
Bennett, Jessica. “The Age of Reason, Voltaire, Locke, Jefferson and the French Revolution .” Introduction to Enlightenment Thought and
the French Revolution. Associated Content. 26 Dec. 2005. Web. 8 Sept. 2009.
"Jean Jacques Rousseau." The Philosophy of Jean Jacques Rousseau. The Radical Academy. 2003. Web. 8 Sept. 2009.
http://www.radicalacademy.com/philenlightenment.htm#rousseau.
“Themes, Motifs and Symbols.” Candide. Sparknotes, 2009. Web. 8 Sept. 2009. <http:www.sparknotes.com/lit/candide/themes.html>.
“Voltaire.” Wikipedia, 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 8 Sept. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire>.
"Jspivey - Famine MJ." Jspivey - home. Web. 08 Sept. 2009. <https://jspivey.wikispaces.com/Famine+MJ>.
"Causes of the French Revolution -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 23 Aug. 2009. Web. 08 Sept. 2009.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution>.
Halsall, Paul. “The French Revolution: Origins.” Jan. 1998. 3 September 2009
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/lect/mod10.html.
Nosotro, Rit. “Reasons for American and French Revolutions.” 15 April 2008. 3 September 2009
http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw22frenchamericanrev32100512.htm.
Kreis, Steven. “The Origins of the French Revolution.” 30 October 2006. 3 September 2009 http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture11a.html.
“Causes of the French Revolution.” Wikipedia. 23 August 2009. 3 September 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution>.
Primary source:
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"Social Causes of the French Revolution." Liberty, Equality, Fraternity Exploring the French Revolution.
George Mason University. 8 Sept. 2009. <http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap1a.html>.