The French Revolution: A Success or Failure?
Once the Spring of 1789 came along, the long-coming conflict between the French monarchy and the aristocracy erupted into a revolution which would assure that neither France nor Europe would ever be the same politically or socially. At the beginning of the Revolution in France, after the calling of the Estates General, the objectives were the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, and the abolishment of all feudal codes and taxes from the Old Regime. The Third Estate also wished to be equally represented in the national assembly, and another initial objective was equal taxation and bringing France out of bankruptcy.
Throughout the course of the revolution these objectives were modified mainly due to the Girondists assuming leadership in the National Constituent Assembly. As these groups emerged, they fought to protect the Revolution, and were determined to oppose the forces of counterrevolution. As the Girondists gained power, the main objective of the French Revolution was modified from desiring a constitutional monarchy, as before, and now wishing to establish a Republic. Throughout the many years of the Revolution, it is believed that the Revolution was a success. France abolished the absolutist rule of previous monarchs, and later ended the monarchy which had orignally been its goal. The fact that the Third Estate were granted the representation which they had been seeking was in itself a great success of the Revolution. The success also came from abolishing the feudal taxes which had plagued the Old Regime, the acquisitions of the churches land, and the reestablishment of successful taxation.
Nearing the end of the eighteenth century, the government of the Directory already in place, France was a very unstable nation, and there existed a wish of stability in France. The one force which was able to lead France into a more stable nation was the army, under Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon, did manage to maintain some of the objectives from the Revolution. One of these was ending the Old Regime and abolishing hereditary privileges. During the Old Regime, due to the fact that Napoleon wasn’t of noble birth, he wouldn’t have been able to ascend to a higher position, but by abolishing the Old Regime, this was now possible for him. Likewise, Napoleon also represented the antithesis of the Revolutionary aim. This was mainly due to the fact that he created an empire, crowning himself emperor.
The French Revolution reshaped society in France, and later affected all of Western Europe, mainly through Napoleons numerous war campaigns. France, and later, much of Europe, effectively ended the Old Regime and the absolutist monarchy. From the Revolution, the figure who emerged, Napoleon, both maintained these objectives, and also repudiated them. The Revolution guaranteed that France, as well as Western Europe would not remain the same.