THE FRENCH REVOLUTION by Matthew Elton The American Revolution was a success because most people living in the English colonies were commoners, united with the goal of independence. However, the French Revolution was not as successful. This is because in France there were many different social classes, all with different opinions and different goals. Their failure to agree on how the new French government should work left France in chaos until Napoleon managed to restore order. In May 1789, King Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General. The Estates General was made up of three estates. The first estate was the clergy. The clergy were the leaders of the Catholic Church in France. They made up a very small amount of the French population; however, they owned large amounts of land. The clergy were not taxed, and because of this, they had little representation in the French government. The clergy wanted more power in the government. However, revolution failed to achieve this goal for them. In 1789, the National Assembly was formed as the start of a new French government. The clergy hoped to finally gain more political power. However, in 1790 the National Assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy which limited the clergys power. The constitution claimed that the pope was no longer the head of the Catholic Church in France. It also stated that all land in France that was owned by the Catholic Church would be confiscated by the French government. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy even stated that all tithes given to the Catholic Church were to go directly to the French government. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a great mistake for the National Assembly because Catholics, peasants, and conservatives were angered by it, and no longer supported the National Assembly. In 1791, the National Assembly granted citizenship and civil rights to Jews and Protestants. This angered the clergy even more. The clergy had failed to reach their goals. The second estate of the Estates General was the nobles. Nobles were extremely wealthy individuals who made up a small percentage of the French population but owned large amounts of land. Like the clergy, the nobles were tax exempt, and lacked a say in the French government. Most nobles were conservative, but they saw revolution as a way to potentially increase their power in the government. Nobles wanted to establish a constitutional monarchy, in which a monarch ruled the country but the monarchs political power was limited by a parliament which represented the people. However, when King Louis XVI was executed and France was declared a republic in 1792, it was clear that the nobles would not achieve their goal of a constitutional monarchy. However, the nobles did receive more power in government. They gained the right to vote. In fact, the Constitution of 1791 stated that only wealthy men could vote. This angered the bourgeoisie, who believed that every man should have the right to vote. Together with the peasants and proletariats, the bourgeoisie made up the third estate of the Estates General. The bourgeoisie were wealthy compared to the peasants, but they lacked the privileges of the nobles. The bourgeoisie originally wanted to create a constitutional monarchy; however, they were pressured into executing the king and creating a republic by angry mobs of peasants. What the bourgeoisie wanted most was a fair say in the government. As part of the third estate, the bourgeoisie were not treated fairly in the Estates General, since the first and second estates could always vote together to outvote the bourgeoisie. However, revolution gave the bourgeoisie more power in the government. But what they did not achieve was their goal of universal male suffrage. The Constitution of 1791 only gave wealthy men the right to vote. At the time of the French Revolution, France was made up of various social classes which disagreed with other. Clergy, nobles, and bourgeoisie all had different opinions and goals. Peasants and proletariats had opinions and goals of their own. It seemed impossible to create a new government that would please everyone. In the end, each social class failed to achieve all of their goals, and

France was left in chaos for years.