With absolute monarchs and rulers dominating Europe, Enlightenment thinkers began to question why the power lied in so few hands. The French Revolution was an attempt to put the power in the hands of the many. The success of the American Revolution inspired the French (some even participated in it supporting the American revolutionaries). The gap between the rich and poor got even more dramatically wide as France's economy continued to weaken. This was in part because of the wars they had recently participated in - the American Revolution and the Seven Years War. It was also because of the lavish lifestyles the nobility had built for themselves, rather than budgeting the nation's money to feed the people. The peasants and people of France were outraged with this and eventually caused them to revolt.
Watch Khan Academy videos below to learn/review the French Revolution through images, text and audio:
Watch Khan Academy videos below to learn/review the French Revolution through images, text and audio:
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