Causes of the French Revolution Between 1787 and 1789 the middle and lower class citizens of France revolted against their government, causing the French revolution. The three main causes of this revolt were unequal taxes amongst the people,the amount of land each estate held, and ideas inspired from American independence. During these years the people wanted justice for themselves. Their overall goal was to create righteousness between social classes. This revolution resulted in a constitutional government. Injustice arose when the French government started unfairly taxing the citizens of France. In the south, there was a taille (tax on the land and its produce). There was unfairness in levying the amount of tax each person should have to pay. The land owned by the nobility was taxed very little, while the common peoples taxes where outrageously priced. These High taxes ensured that the middle class wouldn’t have surplus money for necessities, such as food. The Third Estate (98% of France) at this time forced the estates general to make sure the taille be borne equally by all classes. As the middle class spoke up they were able to provide themselves with the justice they deserved. The three estates in France at the time of the revolution were the First Estate (the clergy), Second Estate (the nobles), and the Third Estate (middle and lower class citizens). The First Estate was only 1% of the French population, and they owned 10% of the land. The Second Estate which was 2% of the people owned 35% of the land. The Third estate which was made up with 97% of the people owned only 55% of the land. Third Estate members were unhappy with the land distribution at this time. They didn’t understand why the minority of the people got the majority of the land. The land of pre revolutionary France was clearly not fairly divided, and the third estate wanted to rid France of these poor conditions. The American Independence sparked the Third Estate’s ideas to revolt against their government. As these citizens learned about the American’s Declaration