asses were called estates. The first estate which was composed of church officials, had great power and obtained enormous salaries. Church officials obtained their salaries via taxes collected from church property. Therefore, since the officials received their salaries from the church property, they did not have to pay taxes. The second estate was mainly composed of nobility. They too were exempt from paying taxes. This left the tax burden upon the third estate. The third estate consisted of some merchants and entrepreneurs; however, the majority were peasants. Corruption of the estates was causing much frustration among the common people who composed 70 percent of the population. The monarchy tried to make an attempt to give the third estate power. The monarchy established the Estate's General. This too, was corrupted. Unlike most legislative bodies, the Estate's General did not vote by each person having a single vote. Rather, they let each estate have one vote each. Since the first two estates were always in agreement, the third estate was always out voted. This is a prime example of how the lack of a stable government had an immensely tragic effect on the people of the country. If the monarchy had tried to make some reform or if Louis XVI had more backbone to institute some tax reform to lessen the burden on the third estate, the Revolution may have been avoided. The government is the backbone of any country. Therefore, as the government goes, so does the country. Not all the blame can be placed directly on Louis XVI himself. His administrators, though they tried, could not inaugurate a sound solution to lessen their national debt. Louis XVI had not been an exceptional king either. Louis XVI had taken the throne at the age of twenty. He was not smart, but was only of average intelligence. He was not concerned with the management of the country. Louis XVI led a sheltered life for a noble and was taken by...
