Throughout class this week, we have looked the French Revolution and how the revolution shaped French culture and politics.\u00a0 Yet before looking at how the revolution shaped this new France, one must understand the reasons why people started to believe in the revolution in the first place.\u00a0 One of these reasons was Maximilien Robespierre, author of The Cult of the Supreme Being<\/i>.\u00a0 In this piece, Robespierre justifies the revolution for he claims that the Supreme Being \u201cdid not create kings to devour the human race\u201d (Robespierre 1), which was what the Crown was doing to the native French people.\u00a0 Furthermore, Robespierre claims, \u201cO generous People, would you triumph over all your enemies? Practice justice, and render the Divinity the only worship worthy of Him,\u201d (Robespierre 1) and \u201cFrenchmen, you war against kings; you are therefore worthy to honor Divinity,\u201d (Robespierre 1).\u00a0 Here, Robespierre is trying to fire up the native peoples and explain to them that the Supreme Being would want them to overthrow the King, for if they did they would be found \u201cworthy to honor divinity.\u201d\u00a0 Lastly, Robespierre does a tremendous job because he is purposefully ambiguous by never mentioning God; for he appeals to both believers (for they think the Supreme being is God) and atheists (for he claims that all people are meant to help one another).\u00a0 By appealing to both believers and non-believers, Robespierre is able to unite the people of France through his work, firing everyone up about fighting back against the Crown.<\/p>\n
Once the revolution was under way, the French experienced many changes involving their culture and politics.\u00a0 In order to change their culture, frenchmen and women deemed it necessary to eliminate their past and start over.\u00a0 In order to eliminate their past, one can argue that they took extreme measures.\u00a0 For instance, children would not be named Louis, Henry or Francis, for those represented old France and the evil rule known as the Crown (this can be seen as both cultural and political change).\u00a0 Continuing this pattern, the French eliminated bishops, kings and queens as chess pieces and playing cards; for it brought them back to the Crown and their rule.\u00a0 Furthermore, the French changed their salutations all together and vowed to never say the words, \u201cobedient and humble servant,\u201d for the believed that they were not subject to the King and his rule anymore.\u00a0 While these actions may be considered somewhat radical of the French, it was deemed necessary for the fact that they have lived under the Crown for so long and this was a way in which they could start over, forgetting about their troubled past with the Crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Throughout class this week, we have looked the French Revolution and how the revolution shaped French culture and politics.\u00a0 Yet before looking at how the revolution shaped this new France, one must understand the reasons why people started to believe … Continue reading