ABSTRACT
The French Revolution is one of the defining events in the emergence of what people call the "modern world". A constitutional monarchy would require cooperation between an elected assembly and the king, but it was difficult to know what limitations on his power Louis would accept. By early 1791, the most immediate threats to stability came from the conservative elements intent on defending the privileges of the church, nobility, and monarchy. In April, ongoing diplomatic hostility with neighboring monarchies resulted in a French declaration of war against Austria. Napoleon Bonaparte preserved most of the Enlightenment-inspired reforms that had taken place with broad initiatives in banking, industry, and national education. Together with the economic transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution, the entire structure of European society would change dramatically during the nineteenth century. One of the most enduring effects of the Revolution was more abstract: its effect on how individuals saw themselves in relation to the larger society.
