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Phases of the French Revolution

  • Word Count: 700
  • Approx Pages: 3

The French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799, was an accumulation of two different revolutions, or two different stages of the revolution. The first stage, from 1789 until early 1792, dealt with liberty, and new ideas and policies for government. The second stage, from later 1792 until 1799, dealt with democracy and the cry for equality for all. Both stages succeeded in some ways, and failed in others, leading to the French Revolution itself to be both a success and a failure.
From 1789 until 1799, liberty was what the masses were after: the liberty to compete, to own, and to succeed. The creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is a perfect example of what the masses were after. The key word is, of course, masses. The Third-Estate long felt that it was time they were heard and taken seriously. The first phase of the revolution became the battleground of the Third-Estate versus anyone with substantial power. The call for liberty spread into all aspects of a Frenchman’s life, the peasantry, aristocracy, and the clergy were all affected. The first phase of the revolution was mainly about discovering new ideas, mostly on the political spectrum. France slowly began to take steps towards democracy, starting with stripping the clergy of their power, condemning the ruling family, abolishing absolute monarchy and writing the Constitution of 1791.
The first phase can be viewed as both successful and unsuccessful. The constitution that was set up in 1791 failed, and when it ended the hope of many liberals disappeared as well. However, the good that came out of the first phase can be seen easily. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, and then later the one written for women, both exemplify the changes that were made during the first phase of the French Revolution. People everywhere began thinking differently, and politics became a much talked about subject by all class levels. The first phase of...

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