French Revolution Evaluation

- The French Revolution up until Napoleon's exile in 1814 is hard to evaluate. It was both a success and a failure in different ways. The French revolutionaries in this time were not like the colonists in America. Some were extremists and radicals. Others were philosophers and intelligent thinkers who wanted the best for France. The revolution started out strong, but struggled at the very end of the reformation.


In the very beginning, the French modeled the American colonists by challenging the monarchy with action, staying united as a people, and then writing a delcaration and constitution. The storming of the Bastille was a very courageous and ambitious form of action. The revolutionists massacred the royal guards and ravaged the jail in pursuit of weapons and forms of defense. The National Assembly tried bringing the clergy together with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. They had great intentions, but they had difficulty carrying out thier ideals. A man by the name of Maximillian Robespierre took the revolution too far. He was considered to be a tyrant and a murderer. This extremist beheaded 40,000 people who were "loyalists" to the king. He also executed the king as well. Robespierre also created a "you are either with us, or against us" mantra. In turn, Robespierre was assassinated due to his radical views and agenda.

In 1794, French had some success with creating the Directory. Many improvements were made to society - fairly little violence, voting rights, and many more new laws. In spite of this, Napoleon rose to power in the 179os. He overthrew the French government in 1799. Although he completely reformed France, he also conquered an extensive amount of land. He waged wars on almost every country. He is even thought to have damaged the sphinx's face in Egypt. His rule as emperor lasted eleven long years. He was exiled because he led his army through a brutal winter across Russia. 400,000 of his troops died because of the winter. His last battle lasted one hundred days and made Louis XVIII flee his own country. After Napoleon was excommunicated, monarchy reigned. This defeated the purpose of the French revolutionaries, but in 1848 (?) they elected their first president.

It was a success in regards to progress, ideals, and the enlightenment philosophy. A declaration of independence was written very early on in the French revolution, presenting the ambitions and ideals these people had. The people had representation in the National Assembly, where all the Third Estate residents joined together. In many ways, the French Revolution mirrored the colonist' revolution in America. However, the actions that would take place are way different. When you have radical extremists, only chaos erupts. Napoleon was both a reformer and a dictator. He did indeed conquered many countries, but in doing so, helped his own people and ultimately helped France. It failed when looking at the route it took. The end result was a monarchy, something the revolutionaries tried to dissolve. It made great strides philosophically, but failed to carry it on to victory.