What caused the French Revolution? - Tom Mullaney
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-caused-the-french-revolution-tom-mullaney What rights do people have, and where do they come from?
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What rights do people have, and where do they come from? Who gets to make decisions for others and on what authority? And how can we organize society to meet people's needs? These questions challenged an entire nation during the upheaval of the French Revolution. By the end of the 18th century, Europe had undergone a profound intellectual and cultural shift known as the Enlightenment. Philosophers and artists promoted reason and human freedom over tradition and religion. The rise of a middle class and printed materials encouraged political awareness, and the American Revolution had turned a former English colony into an independent republic. Yet France, one of the largest and richest countries in Europe was still governed by an ancient regime of three rigid social classes called Estates. Th...
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What rights do people have, and where do they come from? Who gets to make decisions for others and on what authority? And how can we organize society to meet people's needs? These questions challenged an entire nation during the upheaval of the French Revolution. By the end of the 18th century, Europe had undergone a profound intellectual and cultural shift known as the Enlightenment. Philosophers and artists promoted reason and human freedom over tradition and religion. The rise of a middle class and printed materials encouraged political awareness, and the American Revolution had turned a former English colony into an independent republic. Yet France, one of the largest and richest countries in Europe was still governed by an ancient regime of three rigid social classes called Estates. Th...
