The French Revolution: A New Beginning

After Louis XVI was successfully overthrown by the French revolutionists, it was up to the Third Estate of the Estates General to write a new code of law. Representing the French poor, the Third Estate produced the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" which contained the principles of the future Constitution. Prior to its creation, 80% of the french population, who lived in poverty, severely suffered in the living conditions of Monarchial France. Imposing taxes limited the poor's ability to find the proper nutrition or put food on the table at all. France itself was not a poor country, its wealth was however horribly distributed, reaching only the upper classes. Because wealth was scarce and long working hours refused a significant pay, much of the population turned to crime as an attempt to liberate their lives of poverty. Such hardships were the exact problems the new constitution sought out to solve. It directly addressed the oppression of the poor by establishing equality and security as a human right, essentially disassembling the social structure of Europe at the time, which was predominantly hierarchical. The old political structure was also uprooted, as the new constitution granted everyone a role to play in the function of the government. This idea represented the basis of democracy, which the people adopted in a hope that exclusive and absolute governments would fail to return to France. This Constitution is very similar to that of the United States and parallelly started a new beginning for the people of France by including basic human rights to ensure that every voice in the country was heard.