The French Revolution's Reign of Terror and lasting consequences

¶ … French Revolution. There are three references used for this paper.

The French Revolution was known as a Reign of Terror. It is important to understand why it began, how it was justified, its goals and whether the goals were accomplished.

Beginning of Terror

The first stage of the Revolution was from 1787 to 1789, and was mainly a "legal debate between monarchy and aristocracy over the financing of the state and the political authority which each claimed to enjoy and exercise (www.britannia.com/history/euro/1/2_2.html)." Aristocrats known as an Assembly of Notables demanded "political authority in return for tax reform. This assembly achieved nothing but further aggravation between monarch and aristocracy (www.britannia.com/history/euro/1/2_2.html)."

The major phase began in 1789 as competing classes encountered each other, and when an extension of the nation's political base was "demanded and obtained by the bourgeoisie. This initiated an aristocratic protest against the absolute monarchy bequeathed by Louis XIV, then enlarged in scope as a bourgeois movement sought fundamental political change, and finally took on popular dimensions with working-class participation, particularly in Paris (www.britannia.com/history/euro/1/2_2.html)."

Accomplishments and Justification

The French Revolution achieved a number of things. It "unleashed new forces, destroyed old ideas, offered new promises, and restored harmony between fact and law (www.britannia.com/history/euro/1/2_2.html)." Through "revolutionary ideology and institutional change, the bourgeoisie gained a political authority not known before in any European country. The abolition of aristocratic privileges, the confiscation of church and aristocratic lands and their purchase by the bourgeoisie, and the removal of internal obstacles to trade and commerce allowed the middle class greater economic and social mobility (www.britannia.com/history/euro/1/2_2.html)."

The justification for the revolution was the formation of one of the "most creative executive bodies ever seen known as the Committee of Public Safety, the creation of policies which stabilized the French economy and the formation of a very successful army (http://history.hanover.edu/modern/FRENCHRV.html)."

Conclusion

The French Revolution began when competing classes met and the bourgeoisie demanded that France's political base be expanded. While the revolution was responsible for ideology and better conditions for the middle class, its end returned France to dictatorial rule.