Effects of The French Revolution on France

“The vast majority of people in France lived in destitution, with little chance of escaping their condition,” said Jonah Walters. Before the revolution if you weren’t born rich, there was no way that you could become it, the rich stayed rich, and the poor stayed poor. Some of the working class (peasants) was so poor that the died of starvation. Then to top it off the rich (first class) were so wealthy they flaunted their wealth especially King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette; the rich also they didn’t have to pay taxes while the poor did. For many, years the working-class people were oppressed by the rich, this event and others are one of the reasons the working class choose to start the revolution.

Like most revolutions and/or wars there are good and there are bad effects, but there is no doubt that the good results outweighed the bad ones during the French Revolution and even after when Napoleon became the dictator of France. The French Revolution had a ton of success and positive outcomes for the working class of France. “The Revolution brought a turning point in French agrarian history by favoring the large peasant-proprietors,” said Isser Woloch.

When the revolution first began most of the control was held by the rich but that soon changed and one of the greatest triumphs that the working class achieved during the revolution was the creation of a constitution which helped put an end to absolute monarch. Another area in which the French revolution was also rewarding was in its fight to attain rights and freedom for the working-class population of France, which also happened to be the largest. The French Revolution also help but an end to the country’s social discriminative class system and helped build social reform for the lower class. The lower class now had power and rights which then allowed them to control their destiny in the government.

When the revolution ended Napoleon came to power and the working class supported his ideas and beliefs. He was supported because he supported the revolution by providing education for all and creating structured schools and colleges, he reorganized the military and he made peace with the Catholics. He was also supported because he created a set of laws which eliminated many inequalities. Although many revolutionaries felt deceived by Napoleon because of his dictatorship, the fact remains that no can deny all the good he did for the French and for the revolution.

Like I mentioned, the French revolution experienced many successes as well as many failures, but I have no doubt in my mind that the French Revolution also made France better despite the revolution not accomplishing some of its goals. In fact, the revolution made it so much better that even until present day the changes that were made are still being used. The French Revolution opened the door for equality, future progress and a better France.