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 * 1789 summer
 * law-abiding French ppl started a revolution
 * used violence to change their life
 * destroyed the old system of law and government at last
 * transform society, religion and economy

French people and their society
 * The three estates
 * Four social classes
 * the peasantry
 * the town working class
 * middle class (bourgeoisie)
 * nobility
 * people belong to **estates**
 * clergy
 * nobility
 * everybody else
 * first and second estates had privileges, rights + advantages
 * middle ages,
 * nobles worked as soldiers fighting for France.
 * clergy ran the education and religious life.
 * by 1789, became less important
 * nobles can't have the sole responsibility for war
 * people thought the system of estates was outdated and unfair.
 * Poverty
 * a gap between the rich and the poor
 * millions of people were too poor
 * rely on charity to stay alive
 * In 1790, government committee provided 435 pounds for basic needs.
 * it was still hard for the poor to eat
 * Unequal taxation
 * tax types
 * paid directly to the government
 * indirect taxes that people paid when they bought goods
 * average family paid btw 10% & 15% of yearly earnings to government
 * exempts
 * nobles & clergy were exempt from many taxes
 * when paying, they got a discount
 * peasants had to pay money to their landlords
 * most nobles&clergy were landords (seigneur)
 * feudal dues
 * give Church a tithe

Critics of French society
 * philosophes did question the organization of society
 * believed that to know the truth of something, observations and tests should be made.
 * refused to accept the truth without questions
 * A philosophe at work
 * scientist Lavoisier[[image:AntoineLavoisier.jpg width="90" height="132"]]
 * discovered how things burn
 * things burned when burning material combined with a recently-discovered gas (oxygen)
 * involved himself in social & political issues
 * built an experimental farm on his estate to try new farming methods
 * In 1878, proposed many reforms to help the poor
 * abolishing the taille
 * old age pensions
 * building new hospitals
 * writer Voltaire
 * questioned the power and beliefs of the French Church
 * Calas affair
 * religious intolerance
 * refusal to allow non-Catholics to follow their own religion
 * cruelty of the law
 * allowing Calas to be tortured to death
 * Changes in public opinion
 * the writings of philosophes gave an impact on public
 * by the 1780s, educated people agreed on basic ideas and values
 * wanted a more humane, torture-free system of law
 * favored toleration of non-Catholics (Protestants and Jews)

In this chapter, it mostly talks about the differences in social ranks. The rich people had more advantages such as an exempt from a taxation. In the other hand, the poor people had to work and pay for taxes and other money to the landlords which led to a suffering from a poverty. When the philosophes have raised their voices by writing a book questioning whether the society is fair or not, public also started to think over on the problem. This led to the start of revolution.
 * Main Ideas**

The nobles and clergy had more advantages than other estates, however why were they not satisfied with the society?
 * Questions**