Ari Gilder, 2-406!

 

Homework #6 (cont’d)

 

Page 429, Section Review

 

5. How were the terms “liberty” and “equality” interpreted by the:

a.       peasants?

b.      burgeoisie?

 

Liberty and equality, according the the peasants, meant the right to have food to eat and the right to receive some small wages for the work the do. According to the burgeoisie, they meant the right to trade freely, without restriction, as well as the right to advance to the higher levels of society on a merit-only basis.

 

6. a. Why did Louis XVI call a meeting of the Estates-General?

b. Why did representatives of the Third Estate insist that all three groups of the           Estates-General meet and vote together?

 

Louis XVI was forced to call the meeting of the Estates-General because of the financial disaster France faced. Inflation was high, as was unemployment. Food prices increased dramatically, due to the poor harvest of 1788. This meant that peasants and laborers had to spend up to 60% of their income just for bread.

The Third Estate insisted that all three groups meet together, because in the past when they had met separately, the majority of the people were easily outvoted by the other two estates. However, if they met together, the Third Estate would has as many representatives as the First and Second Estates combined, which would produce a more fair outcome for the majority of the people.