In the late 18th century the Third Estate faced many grievances prior to the French Revolution which would bring many changes to society. Before the changes occurred the third estate was looked down on by others and that forced them to go through certain hardships. It did not matter that they made up the ninety seven percent of the population.If you were not part of the nobility or the clergy you were not a high concern. The people went through problems in all parts of life; political, social and cultural.
The Third Estate was not seen as a threat nor as a priority when it came to money and the law. “We can not hide, sire, that the nobility consumes the major part of the State income.” (Doc 3) This was one grievance listed by the Third Estate at the Estates General in 1789. The people are trying to get the nobility to see how much their taxes are crippling them. “A noble man, who knows how to dance well, ride a horse well, and handle a sword, thinks he deserves everything, and, nonetheless, he pretends that he does not owe anything to the State.” (Doc 3) The nobility were not paying their dues to society. The people were just trying to say that the system of taxes should be fair and equal. The Third Estate normally strived for equal rights it is stated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions can be established only for the common benefit.” (Doc 4) In other words, everyone should have to pay, work, and owe the same amount. Living should be completely equal.
Social grievances were often dealt with by the women of the time. They were especially mistreated by the higher estates. In a petition to try and help these problems the women wrote in protest asking that men not be allowed to exercise trades that are the prerogative of women. (Doc 10) The women were trying to have exclusive rights to sell certain goods that only women would need. Women also participated in a march to Versailles in 1789 and in the Petition of Women wrote,“The women of the Third Estate are almost all born without fortune; their education is neglected or very defective.” (Doc 10) in hopes of having the other estates see
1789 Louis XVI summons Estates-General for its first meeting since 1614 June 17 Third Estate breaks away from Estates-General, establishes itself as National Assembly Key people Jacques Necker - Director general of finance who returned to office after Calonne’s dismissal Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès - Author of influential “What Is the Third Estate?” pamphlet, which influenced the Third Estate to break off from the Estates-General Necker and the Estates-General In the wake of…
political upheaval, the 1st and 2nd estates had absolute power over the 3rd estate. They treated the third estate as unequal’s and very unfairly. Therefore after the fall of Bastille the French Revolution began. The third estate revolted against the 1st and 2nd estates due to the heavy taxes placed on them, the lack of rights and voice they had in the government, and the horrible condition in which they lived compared to the monarchs. Heavy taxes placed on the 3rd estate were a big factor leading to their…
of the third estate. Factors such as high taxes, gaps between social classes and absolute monarchy and lack of rights lead to the Revolution. During the eighteen century, France suffered under an absolute monarchy and people were denied basic rights. Document 5, written by Arthur Young, stated that the issue of bankruptcy and whether it would cause a civil war. Young is politically commentating on what he, as a third person, sees happening in France. Documents 8 and 18 showed that the third estate…
Each Estate had its own grievances they that were handled during the French Revolution. The Tennis Court Oath was probably the utmost famous riot during the French Revolution according to my speculation. The first estate or clergy was in a state of panic when the Cahiers came and proclaimed that the clergy give up its state of dominance, the second estate otherwise known as nobility also had its own problems, the Cahiers stated that they give up their statuses, and the third estate or peasants were…
Revolution, firstly, the economy was so bad that buying a loaf of bread took up 75% of the money that was earned by the people of France. Secondly, in society, the three estates were completely separate and the people divided. You were either a peasant, nobility or part of the clergy. There was no chance of moving between those estates as long as the absolute monarchy was ruling France. These other two components contribute much less to the French Revolution and other problems in France at that time…
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…
were three estates in France. There were the peasants in the third estate, the nobles in the second estate, and the clergy in the first estate. Close to all of the people in France at the time were part of the third estate, so they were peasants. These peasants made up about 97% of France’s population. These people had close to nothing, and didn’t really get to live their lives. They had little food, and their living conditions were extremely harsh. The upper two estates, being the…
Revolution, France was divided into three groups, or estates with their own status and role to play in the country. The First Estate involved religious people in the country. The Second Estate involved all the nobles. These two estates had many privileges, and were the wealthiest group, but were only a small piece of the entire population. The Third Estate was everyone else in the country: the peasants, poor city dwellers, and the “middle class”. The Third Estate was the largest group, and had little to no…
The old regime included the Estates system, or the French social class system. The First and Second Estates dominated over the Third Esate, often hurting the members of the Third Estate. (Document 7) The First Estate was composed of clergy who were wealthy and owned land. The Second Estate was made up of wealthy noblemen. Only members of the First and Second Estates were allowed to hold government jobs. Members of the Third Estate lacked all of the privileges that the other Estates had. This angered the Third Estate…
causes. As told in (Doc 2) the Third Estate thought that there was an unfair social structure. 2% of the nobles owned more than half percent of the land than 90% of the middle class. The old Regime , France clung to old social systems. The Clergy were against the Enlightenment. Another social cause was that there was a rise of ,middle class which was the bourgeoisie. “the working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution.” (Doc 4) The third estate sent elected officials to this…
