History over time has maintained a cause-and-effect pattern with almost all major events; the French Revolution is no different. The philosophes influenced French society by giving all classes the opportunity to be educated by their works. Some of these works also reached the American colonies and influenced them enough to spark a revolt against England in 1775. During the battle for American independence, French aid was sent, including the leadership of Lafayette, who brought positive ideas of freedom and justice for France after America gained freedom. The monarchy of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and their incompetence led to inflated prices, population growth, declining wages, and overall a decline in French money in general. Furthermore, Marie Antoinette's spending on lavish but unnecessary items put France further into debt. The anger of the peasants arose because the social ranks and privileges of France were quite unfair. For example, the second state had no taille tax, while the third state was the largest and had the highest taxes. The Enlightenment, the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, and the political, social, and economic state of France in the years preceding the outbreak of the revolts all acted as stimuli for the anger of French citizens. This anger resulted in the three main phases of the French Revolution: peasant revolts such as the storming of the Bastille, the Red Terror which resulted in many unjust deaths, and the Thermidorian Reaction in which the Committee of Public Safety lost its power. The incompetence of the monarchs brought the French government into great desperation, and because of this desperation, France was forced to call the first meeting of the Estates General s...... middle of paper...... or mutiny , against the government and allowed Napoleon to come to power shortly thereafter. The French Revolution was an inevitable event in the history of France. The incompetence of the monarchy of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, together with the accumulated anger in French society influenced by the philosophes and the American Revolution and the tension between the states, were all key factors in the disintegration of the old French regime. The French Revolution, as gruesome as it was, brought some good to the country as a whole. Thanks to the peasant revolts, France now has a stable republic under the leadership of President Nicolas Sarkozy. France would not have been able to reach the economic, political or social position it is in now without past French citizens risking their lives, or in some cases sacrificing their lives, during the French Revolution..