French Revolution Essay

The French Revolution was an important time in French History. Watching the colonies in the US succeed in their revolution, the French were inspired and desired similar success. The French citizens, especially the peasants, were tired of the French economy and the way it was run and decided to revolt. This revolt was met with strict force and oppression from the government. The French revolution took a radical turn because of the class system, lack of a stable government and the excessive executions of people.

One of the problems within France’s government was the class system. People did not like it because the commoners had no representation in the government and people wanted the system abolished. This resulted in the poor people breaking away and forming a group called the national assembly. This led to riots in the country and utter chaos among the people and the government. The national assembly aimed at the rich such as the clergy. They removed the status of priests from the society. The system was radically changed. This quick and drastic change only caused more confusion within the government.

Another reason for all the radical movements in the French revolution was the inability to form a stable government. The national assembly failed to provide leadership while the convention and directory caused unrest among the people. The inability to set up a proper government did not satisfy the citizens and couldn’t restore power and in turn caused chaos among the people.

A huge problem during the French Revolution was the execution of protesters using the guillotine. The slightest wrongdoing would get someone executed and many times, the victims were innocent of the crimes they were accused of. The society despised people against the progress of the revolution and made radical decisions and had them executed. Many radicals even hung government officials from street lanterns to display their disgust for the government. The guillotine was the only legal way to execute people in France and played a major role in the French revolution.

The French revolution was filled with uncertainty and vicious executions by radical revolutionists. It is much for destructive and riddled with certain failures when compared with the American Revolution which succeeded due to the fact the citizens were united as opposed to the French revolution where many of the people were divided among parties who should take power. The French revolution took a radical turn greatly because of the class system, lack of stable government and mass executions using the guillotine.

Works Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution#Intrigues_and_radicalism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine#French_Revolution