"What is the goal for which we strive? A peaceful enjoyment of liberty and equality, the rule of that eternal justice whose laws are engraved, not upon marble or stone, but in the hearts of all men."(1) . There was much debate in revolutionary France about what the revolution should achieve, and indeed with such a diversity of objectives a similarly mixed response among historians as to whether the objectives of the revolution were achieved. The main influence on the creation of the principles and the driving force behind which objectives were met were the people of France, the revolutionists as a whole, who demanded "liberty, equality, fraternity." Secondly there were the Jacobins, a political party led by a few influential figureheads that would eventually gain absolute power.

At the beginning of the revolution there was a general consensus of the main groups as to the main principles and...