The French Revolution: Liberate France from the Old Regime

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04 05 2021
The French Revolution (Liberate France from the Old Regime)
The 1789 French Revolution`s legacy was not premised on physical cenotaphs like the Bastille and the medieval fortress but the principles of justice, liberty, and equality. Borrowing from other revolutions like the American 1776, the French revolutionaries did more than demanding for their country`s independence. They wanted to institute ideals that would influence human freedom, not just in France but everywhere. Unlike the American Declaration of Independence, which just mentioned basic human rights, the French “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” took a deep dive. It spelled out the basic human rights that encompassed equality and liberty, outlining a participatory government system that would allow citizens to defend their rights. To this effect, the revolution was inspired by a culmination of oppression and atrocities committed by the French authoritarian monarchial regime. The citizens, members of the Third Estate, took it upon themselves to effect the change with the famous Bastille march that climaxed the revolution. Therefore, by analyzing the events that necessitated the revolution, the best option for the country`s future by 1789 was to liberate France from the Old Regime.
After the revolution, the National Assembly, the self-professed de facto supreme representative, and the state`s legislative organ kickstarted the constitutional reforms which it had promised. It called itself the National Constituent Assembly and comprised 745 deputies with a two-year term and unlimited powers to legislate. The king`s powers were now reduced that he could not override the Assembly`s legislation. The Assembly embarked on a raft of reforms between 1789 and 1791, effecting changes in institutions, depicting a vivid liberation from the old regime, and representing equality. In a swift move, it eliminated Old Regime`s all administrative and social foundations. Among its decrees were the eradication of feudal systems and the ending of class privilege in the country. The abolitions included church tithes and all rents, taxes, and services from peasants to nobility, seigneurial law courts, sale of offices, and an end to nobility and clergy members tax exemptions. The Assembly emphasized the equality ideal in all spheres. According to Hardman, it decreed that “All citizens without distinction of birth, are eligible for all offices, whether ecclesiastical, civil or military” (113). With the decree, there was equal opportunity for all citizens and a classless society. Consequently, the nobility lost its privileged monopoly of higher state offices.
The revolution saw numerous changes from the old regime. The Old Regime`s absolute monarchy was another front for liberal reforms. The 1789-92 period realized moderate reforms in the E...