What action by the leaders of the french revolution demonstrates that they were influenced by Enlightenment ?

Question

ideas? A.they called for the fall of the absolute monarchy B.they encouraged the conquests of Napoleon C.they fought to maintain france's colonial empire D.they supported the combination of church and state

Answer 1

The enlightenment had a massive impact on the French Revolution--in fact, some scholars such as Lynn Hunt cite the Enlightenment as being one of the three major causes of the revolution itself. Check out her book with Jack Censor "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"--there is an entire chapter on the Enlightenment's influence on the revolution.

As far as the perceived hypocrisy of the revolution when considering its outcome, the Reign of Terror, Napoleon,etc. this is a major point, especially considering how ideals changed over the 10 year period. I think the biggest point to consider is idealism vs. reality. The revolution turned on itself--they were effective in destroying the monarchy but failed in establishing a new system of government. Panic, corruption, disorganization, etc. devastated France soon after the uprooting of the Monarchy. One might argue fault within the ideals themselves vs. fault in the execution of those ideals.