Causes Of The French Revolution

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Throughout history, revolutions have started in order to cause change. Two major revolutions took place in France and Russia in hopes of creating better political, economic, and social conditions. These revolutions were driven by issues concerning the governments in power and the incompetence of the leader. Both nations looked to better their situation politically, economically, and socially. As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s problems were very evident. A major problem that caused a desire for change in France was that Absolute Monarchy was being challenged by ideas of the Enlightenment. These ideas suggested that an ideal government would rule in the best interest of the people while absolutism kept many people under arbitrary…show more content…
The Enlightenment ideas used to spark the desire for change in France continued to influence change throughout Europe and the rest of the world. It also created a document in France known as the Declaration of Right of Man and of the Citizen which defined the principles of government and made people dissatisfied with Absolute Monarchy, thus marking the end of absolutism. Although one of the causes for change was the the price of bread rising and inflation, the revolution caused it to rise even more due to the Napoleonic Wars following the revolution. France was unable to stabilize its economy and became bankrupt because of the wars. Napoleon’s 17 years of war following his rise to power after the French Revolution also affected Europe socially because 6 million people died in result of the battles. Furthermore, the French Revolution ended a thousand years of feudalism in France which made it a profound social…show more content…
The revolution began in 1917, removing Russia from WWI. Many of the people in Russia were poor and hungry and wanting change. Factory workers were unhappy and striking for shorter hours and better wages. Czar Nicholas II lost his support from the people following his actions on Bloody Sunday. The people of Russia lost all hope in their country after their defeat against the Japanese in which was a humiliating loss for Russia. Along with these causes, WWI was the direct catalyst for the Russian Revolution. Russia’s poor performance in the war, along with the stress and cost of war put on Russian society drove the Russian people to want to rebel. The Russians were very unhappy with the government’s ineptitude and lack of concern for its people’s needs. As Nicholas II ignored the needs of the people during difficult times, Vladimir Lenin rose to prominence as the most powerful figure in Russia and the leader of the Bolsheviks which was a Marxist political
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