A common theme of the historic French Revolution of 1790 is the bloodshed associated with a new instrument of execution, the guillotine. This negative connotation of the Revolution resides in the minds of the French and foreigners. However, although the French Revolution contained a fair amount of bloodshed, its consequences on the French were overall positive. To begin with, there were several factors that contributed to the Revolution. Although theorists have differing opinions on the factors that started the rebellion, there are three widely accepted causes: the financial state of the country, rapid overpopulation, and the relative injustice of the French political system (“French Revolution,” Colombia). The French government was heavily in debt because it had assisted America during the American Revolution in the 1770s. Furthermore, the underclass, composed mainly of farmers and manual laborers, worked longer and longer for less food. Furthermore, due to the bankruptcy of France, taxes increased, but some citizens and institutions of the upper classes were exempted (Kreis). The growing lack of food was the main cause of the overpopulation of rural communities in 1700: over 80% of the over twenty million French people were concentrated in rural areas (“social causes”). Additionally, there were a series of droughts related to the late 1700s, and one of the largest occurred in 1788, just a year before the start of the Revolution (“French Revolution,” Encyclopaedia Britannica 1). In contrast, members of the upper middle class, composed of a small national minority of nobles, clergy, merchants, and professionals, found their wealth to increase due to overall economic growth in the 18th century. Because of these tr...... middle of paper ......ol Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. October 27, 2011. Like the previous article, this article explains the birth of the revolution and its events, but with greater emphasis on the causes of the revolution. Kreis, Steven. "Lesson 11: The Origins of the French Revolution." The history guide. Steven Kreis, October 30, 2006. Web. October 30, 2011.Steven Kreis created The History Guide for high school and college students; this particular article focuses on the social factors that sparked the revolution. "Social causes of the revolution". Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, July 16, 2001. Web.October 29, 2011. This entry focuses on the negative social causes of the revolution, but with greater depth and emphasis on the lower classes in France at the end of 1700..