“The influence of the French Revolution on the foundations of sociology in France is a fact which has received a little less attention than it deserves” (Nisbet ). By the mid-1700s, France was extremely in debt due to past wars and the Three States were created, which ultimately led to the rise of the French against their monarchical government. The social tensions between the First, Second and Third Estate prove that the French Revolution had a political cause and brought about social change and these sociological theories are important in understanding both the political cause and social change. Hierarchical power, prestige and wealth within the French government was divided into three groups of the General Estate: the First, the clergy of the Catholic Church, and the Second Estate, the Nobility. The first and second estates represented approximately 1% of the French population. The first estate included bishops and priests, and the second estate included large and wealthy landowners. These two groups were placed above the third estate due to their social status and are an excellent example of sociology's concept of social stratification. Sociology textbook author, Nijole V. Benokraitis, “Social stratification is the hierarchical ranking of people in a society who have different access to valued resources, such as property, prestige, power, and status” (Nijole ). The government was part of this prestigious social class and was one of the main reasons for the Estates General and the French Revolution. Because the government was heavily in debt, it taxed the poor instead of imposing taxes on the upper social classes, the first and second estates. Thus, this creates greater economic problems in the country because the rich expect the poor to pass middle of paper ......tes and global. "SOC3. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2013. .137-55. Craig, Albert M. "Chapter 21: European Society Under the Ancien Régime." The Heritage of World Civilizations, 6th ed., Culture and origins of the French RevolutionSarah MazaThe Journal of Modern History, Vol. 61, No. 4 (Dec. 1989), pp. 704-723Published by: The University of Chicago PressArticle Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable /1881465The French Revolution and the rise of sociology in FranceRobert A. NisbetAmerican Journal of Sociology, Vol. 49, No. 2 (September 1943), pp. 156-164Published by: The University of Chicago PressArticle stable URL: http:/ /www.jstor.org/stable/2770361 “The One Percent.” YouTube, November 1, 2011. Web, April 17, 2014. < http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=HmlX3fLQrEc.>.