Many important enlightenment thinkers were French, they attacked the French government and society because of their 'radical' beliefs. They thought that;
- All men are born equal and should have equal rights
- All people had the right to rule their own country
- People had the right to overthrow an unjust government
Because of these thinkers such as; Voltaire and Montesquieu, these idea quickly spread like wildfire.
Influence of the American War of Independence
As a result of the joint war effort between the French and the Americans, many French soldiers and people started to develop democratic ideas. Quite ironically, there were fighting for a cause which declared 'no taxation without representation' , which back at home in France they had no control over taxation, they had no parliament to represent them. They wanted reforms.
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