HIS 120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: French Revolution, Revolutionary Terror, Girondins
Document Summary
Revolutions in general: do not arise from increasing tension/explosion, bad governments are very easy to overthrow, most dangerous time is when the government tries to reform, seizure of power by groups that come together that oppose previous regime. Increasing competing political and social pressures create violence. The old regime (france before the revolution: privileged society, top 5% was subsidized by the bottom 95, too much wealth/power excluded, unfair, irrational, inefficient, unenlightened, there are better alternative systems. The masses role: active push from below drives revolution, revolutionaries see themselves as acting in society"s name. In debt: tax nobility nobles did not want to pay (one of the causes of the revolution) 1614 : clergy high, prayed, important, nobles fight, privilege, important, peasants worked, mass, unimportant, medieval economic/political institution. 1789: praying not important anymore because no religion, nobles don"t fight anymore, commoners are important, bourgeoisie middle class, educated, wealthy, influential, not privileged, no place in society.
