Faculty Mentor
Amir Selmanovic
Presentation Type
Poster
Primary Discipline of Presentation
History
Abstract
In the late 18th century France experienced its first revolution under the rule of King Louis XVI transforming its political and social climate. The revolution created immediate and lasting effects on France specifically up to the Reign of Terror. The Age of Enlightenment, Frances’s politics, financial decisions, food scarcity, its war against Europe, and the Reign of Terror that took over France for almost a year made it such a profound point in Europe’s history. France went from being a well-developed, respected country to a place subsumed by the Reign of Terror all within a span of four years. Utilizing legal documents, speeches, contemporary accounts, along with secondary sources, this paper will analyze how the French Revolution was predicated on prolonged grievances the third estate had with the monarchy. However, this paper argues it was the short-term problems France faced that ultimately pushed them to revolt against its own monarchy and put an end to feudalism in France.
Recommended Citation
Scothorne, Scothorne, "The Immediate and Lasting Causes of French Revolution" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 5.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/works_2026/works_2026/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Immediate and Lasting Causes of French Revolution
In the late 18th century France experienced its first revolution under the rule of King Louis XVI transforming its political and social climate. The revolution created immediate and lasting effects on France specifically up to the Reign of Terror. The Age of Enlightenment, Frances’s politics, financial decisions, food scarcity, its war against Europe, and the Reign of Terror that took over France for almost a year made it such a profound point in Europe’s history. France went from being a well-developed, respected country to a place subsumed by the Reign of Terror all within a span of four years. Utilizing legal documents, speeches, contemporary accounts, along with secondary sources, this paper will analyze how the French Revolution was predicated on prolonged grievances the third estate had with the monarchy. However, this paper argues it was the short-term problems France faced that ultimately pushed them to revolt against its own monarchy and put an end to feudalism in France.
