Question

documents
document a
\the third estate is the people, and the people are everything. what has
the third estate been until now in the political order? nothing. what does it
demand? to become something.\

• abbé sieyès, what is the third estate? (1789)

document b
\the people have taken possession of the bastille, that fortress of
despotism. the kings authority has fallen before the courage of the
citizens.\

• paris newspaper, july 14, 1789

document c
\the republic is one and indivisible. the enemies of liberty must be
crushed so that the revolution may live.\

• maximilien robespierre, speech to the national convention (1793)

using evidence from the documents and your knowledge of history,
explain how the french revolution increased equality in france and be
sure to provide specific examples.

Explanation:

The French Revolution increased equality in France in several ways. Document A shows the Third Estate (common people) demanding to be recognized. Before the revolution, France had a rigid social hierarchy with the First (clergy) and Second Estate (nobility) having privileges. The Third Estate (peasants, workers, bourgeoisie) paid most of the taxes and had few political rights. The revolution challenged this. Document B refers to the storming of the Bastille. This event symbolized the people rising against the monarchy (a symbol of the old, unequal order). After the Bastille's fall, the power of the king (who was part of the old, unequal system) was weakened. Document C talks about the Republic. The establishment of a republic replaced the monarchy. In a republic, in theory, all citizens (at least male citizens at first, later more inclusive) were supposed to have equal political rights. Laws like the abolition of feudal privileges (peasants no longer had to pay feudal dues to nobles) also increased equality. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) stated that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights", which was a foundational document for the new, more equal France.

Answer:

The French Revolution increased equality. The Third Estate's demand (Document A) led to challenging the old social hierarchy. The storming of the Bastille (Document B) weakened the monarchy (a symbol of inequality). The establishment of the Republic (Document C) and laws like the abolition of feudal privileges and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen promoted equality by giving more political rights and reducing unjust social - class - based privileges.