The Revolution was based on these foundations. Most of the revolutionaries had the best intentions, and truly hoped for revolutionary change for the better. Much of Europe still followed a semi-feudal way of life, and the revolutionaries recognized this was the way of the past, rather than the way of the future. Religious intolerance was also the order of the day, and since many Enlightenment proponents were also atheists, this is something they also wanted to change. Their ideals included happiness and fulfillment in this life, not the next, and they were optimistic and enthusiastic, perhaps to a fault.

In fact, the age of Enlightenment and its proponents were not the only participants in the French Revolution and Reign of Terror. The age of Enlightenment simply created a foundation...

The atmosphere was ripe for change, and the French people were desperate for change. The ideals of the Enlightenment supported change and growth, and so, they were the perfect ideals to base a Revolution on.
However, most historians see the French Revolution as the death knell of the Enlightenment. The revolutionaries had high ideals, but they also used bloody tactics to gain their way. The beheading of so many Frenchmen who opposed the Revolution is just one of the tactics used during the Reign of Terror, and it turned many people away from the ideals and ideologies of the Enlightenment. Thus, while the leaders of the Revolution had the best intentions, they became carried away when they gained power, and turned the Revolution into a nightmare.