Essay on French Revolution - Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

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French Revolution Essay

The ideals of the French Revolution, Equality, Liberty and Fraternity,
were supported by proponents of the Revolution during its course,
leading a transition from the old regime to the new liberal order.

The ideal of Equality was shown on the night of August 4, with the 
elimination of feudal rights.  With the elimination of their hereditary
privilege, the aristocracy was subject to the same laws as all other
French citizens, creating legal equality.  This equality was further
manifested in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, making
admission to public offices based on capacity, virtue and talent rather
than heredity or status.  This granted equality marked a shift in power
from the privileged aristocracy of the old regime to the growing bourgeoisie
class.

The ideal of Liberty was also shown in the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen.  The Declaration declared that all men were born and remain free, 
and had natural rights to liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.
These constitutional rights of freedom and defense of that freedom were the death
of the old regime.  They gave the bourgeoisie entry to the propertied class, and 
power in their government, previously controlled by the aristocracy and the monarch
alone.  

The ideal of Fraternity was also exhibited in the Declaration of Rights of Man and
Citizen.  With the abolition of aristocratic privilege and the rights granted by the
Declaration, equality was granted to all citizens.  The loyalty of this brotherhood
had shifted from the monarch to the state, shown by the use of the word "citizen" 
when referring to fellow residents.  This shift of loyalty was yet another example 
of the transition from the old order to the new.

The ideals of Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity, were the driving forces of the 
French Revolution, and the collapse of the era of aristocratic privilege and power, 
to the new age with the rise of the bourgeoisie to power.