French_Revolution

Many things contributed to the French Revolution. To begin, the power in France began to shift from the monarchy to the legislative bodies. Resentment for royal absolutism was growing among all areas of society. The right to govern needed to come from the people, and not from the monarchy. Discontent began to grow, and it was becoming more and more vocal. At this time, many pamphlets addressing these issues were printed and distributed. Again, it wasn’t only in one section of society, all sections were growing more upset with the monarchy. The Aristocrats or the Nobility was fed up with the monarchy from their loss of rights. For many years the Nobility worked hard at attaining positions that surrounded the monarchy, and now they wanted more political power. In turn, the Bourgeoisie began to despise the Aristocrats. The peasants however, began to support the Bourgeoisie. They were able to relate to the peasants grievances, and the Bourgeoisies was also the only class that the peasants associated with. The peasants saw tax reform and equality as the only way to dismantle the feudal system. A disorder of finances had occurred, and now an unmanageable debt was on France. Aristocrats had been exempt from taxes, and King Louis XVI used loan schemes that only made public debt rise more each year. France sending troops as aid to the American Revolutionary War increased the problem of debt. (1776-1783) France was already in debt, and this increased their debt even more. The main reason France sent troops to help was in the name of revenge against the British after the Seven Year’s War. After the American Revolutionary War, the ideas of revolution from that war helped spread discontent as the troops returned home. New schools of thought began to form, and this held the attention of the Bourgeoisie. It promised free commerce and more liberal freedom. There were also challenging the idea of absolutism. They believed reason to be a higher power than the monarch’s claim to divine right. Question 2: The other countries of Europe, especially the monarchial countries were now terrified by what the French had done. They were aware, that what had happened in France, could now also happen in their own country. The countries decided to stay neutral to the cause. They were afraid that if they openly opposed the revolution, that their own people would rise up and revolt against them. They also could not support the revolution; due to the fact its main goal was to get rid of the monarchial system. Being monarchs themselves, there was no way they would support such a cause. Other countries were well aware of the power that the French public had acquired. As a result of this, other countries governments were never able to feel confident in their rule after 1799. The revolution that occurred in France empowered citizens of all countries and lead to the considerable leap towards the end of European oppression. It’s a bit odd that this revolution took place in France, given the condition of the country at the time. The country was broken, and how could anything new be established as a result of that state' On top of that, if they were to need to resort to violence in order to overthrow the monarchy, how would they do so' France had just gotten over sending troops to America to help in the American Revolutionary War. Beyond that, the Nobility was upset with the Monarchy, and the Bourgeoisie was now identifying with the peasants. All areas of society were undergoing major changes in their actions and their views. In the views of the revolutionaries, the republic had been corrupted for a long time with conspiracy, and the government was undoubtedly doing things against its own country, the government was doing nothing to stop the growing evil. How could there be enough organization and unity among all this disjointed function to rally such an occurrence' Question 3: The first time the word terrorism was used; it was linked to a positive context. Terrorism was meant to establish order in the government among times of trouble. It was designed to consolidate the government’s power. The terror would intimidate any “enemies of the people” who were against the revolution. Terror was closely associated with ideas of virtue and democracy. Robespierre believed that virtue was a direct result of a government at peace. He also stated that in times of revolution, virtue and terror must be applied together in order to maintain democracy. The Terror was a period of violence that was happening after the start of the French Revolution. There was conflict between two rival political factions; The Girondins and The Jacobins. This time was also marked with executions of “enemies of the revolution.” The guillotine became a symbol during these times of executions. Robespierre was insistent upon associating terror with virtue. This eventually led the people to think that if they were to have a united community of people, that they would also have endless bloodshed as a result. Robespierre was overthrown by a conspiracy among members of the convention. Question 4: David played many parts actively in the revolution. Artistically he was the main creator of art for the French Republic. Politically, he was a supporter of Robespierre. Many people believed that David was such an influential character in the revolution due to his personality. He had incredible artistic sensibility, emotions, and enthusiasm. His independence may have been the cause of turning against established order. During the revolution, David began to work on propaganda for the party. Eventually David made a painting to commemorate an important time of the revolution, The Oath of the Tennis Court. The Oath of the Tennis Court was significant, as this was the first time the French citizens formally stood against Louis XVI. The oath also caused other revolutionary acts in the months afterwards. Rioting in the French countryside and citizens calling for a written French constitution were among the results. David’s role in the revolution is a bit odd. At first he was in support of the constitutional monarchy, and then later joined and supported the reign of Terror. Soon after that, the Thermidorian reaction came, which was a reaction to the excesses of the Terror. During this reaction, the Committee of Public Safety voted to execute Robespierre, Saint-Just, and other members that were leading the Terror. In the end David ended up being the court painter for Napoleon Bonaparte. The artist plays in important role in revolutionary acts, as the mind of the artist is often fiercely independent. The artist won’t make hasty decisions, and will desire communication to be open, and benefit a larger whole. These qualities can revolve around equality and respect, which is often what is sought after in a revolution. Although David had some varying views on who and what he was supporting, he kept a consistent view in regards to art. David viewed art as “an exercise of moral integrity.” That sums up exactly why the artist role is important.