The American Revolution was the beginning of a new era—one which showed other countries under foreign rule that they didn’t have to support a monarchy that wasn’t putting their best interests at heart. It brought a new idea that everyone, including the common man, should have a voice. They wanted their own ideas to influence their government. It also introduced a new governmental conception; from monarchy, to a democracy.
The French Revolution, like many other revolutions, was inspired by the Americans. The Americans had done the impossible; they separated from the monarchy, something that the French wanted to accomplish as well.
One thing both revolutions had in common was that the wars were fought by dissatisfied lower classes. In France,
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they rose against the nobles that ruled over them. In America, the colonists rose against the British monarchy. Both were successful in their revolutions.
They both got what they wanted—freedom, and the ability to govern themselves as they chose. They created new states. The French monarchy became a republic, and in America the colonies merged to become the United States.
The contrasts between the two revolutions when are on the opposite end of the spectrum. After the monarchy was overthrown in France, the country entered chaos. What was called The Reign of Terror truly affected the country. A mobocracy ruled the nation. France became an extremely aggressive state. The French even tried to circulate republicanism to other parts of Europe.
However, post-revolution America did not have the same complications. The type of chaos and strife in France never existed. Only aristocrats were allowed to vote at the time. America remained isolated from Europe, not getting into any political affairs. They wanted a fresh start, and wanted to continue to build up their new-found government.
In France, after the Reign of Terror, a new constitution was adopted. The new constitution established a five-man body, The Directory, to run the government. The Directory faced many enemies. Foreign armies surrounded their borders. The economy was in ruins, and food shortages began to turn into
famine. Rioters filled the streets, and the Directory became desperate. They placed their trust in the army, and turned to a young officer, Napoleon Bonaparte. The directors thought that they could control the young general. Consequently, Napoleon took part in a coup d’etat—a sudden overthrow of the government. All of the work of the French to get away from the monarchy was ruined. When Napoleon seized power, he wielded the power as the mightiest king. All the change that the French Revolution had brought was now back to square one. In conclusion, the two revolutions, while similar, had completely different outcomes. The American Revolution accomplished what it was set out to do. They wanted to be free from the British monarchy, and they did just that. The freedom to govern themselves was something they valued highly. Their determination to have a voice, and succeed in doing so, inspired so many people. They had the ability to govern themselves fairly, and justly. While the French Revolution succeeded in their original plans, they lost focus in the end. After the got the freedom they thought they could handle, everything began to decimate. They tried to govern themselves better than the French monarchy. They didn’t want to be ruled by a king, but in the end they were. Napoleon Bonaparte took the power away, and in the end, brought the monarchy back to France. The ability to handle governing themselves was of the utmost importance. The difference between the two revolutions came down to one thing; making good decisions. Both revolutions set out to do something insurmountable for their nation and beneficial to everyone.
...on, Enlightenment ideas permeated the politics, economics, and religion of the French Revolution and the American Revolution. While both show several similarities, they predominantly differ on most things. Politically, American conservatives respected the individual and property rights of a citizen, while French politics respected the individual rights, took property rights in some cases, and used terror to influence people. Economically, the American free market idea left the economy alone, while the French input socialist ideas such as price ceilings. Religiously, the America closely associated itself with religion in the revolution, while the French public mostly despised the church.
The late 18th century and early 19th century was a prominent time period in which the French Revolution and Haitian revolution occurred. Both revolutions were connected to each other such that they shared similar causes and consequences. Together, France and Haiti were angered by the inequality and unfair privileges that continued to appear in their societies. At the same time, they were inspired and hopeful of bringing the Enlightenment ideas into reality. Although they were able to accomplish most of what they fought for, such as the abolition of slavery, they still took part in bloody revolutions.
The American Revolution and French Revolution were two long lasting uprisings that had great value to those battling for their rights and want they wanted to change. Yet there are a few distinctions details set them apart in a small way. The Americans wanted a change in their government, but the French wanted a huge change in everything including their government, religion, social structure (whereas American’s social system stayed the same) and economy. Other than the few differences they had, they two Revolutions were much alike, basically twin revolutions.
For starters, both revolutions were inspired by others. The French revolution was empowered by the American. News spread throughout the rest of the world that England’s American colony had overthrown their British government with a war. A period called "The Enlightenment" sparked the American Revolution. During this time, philosophers and lawmakers focused on basic human rights and creating a balanced government. Ideas from the Declaration of Independence which came from these philosophers, inspired the people of France to develop a sense of natural rights in French government. Since their current government gave the people very little natural rights, they rebelled.
The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England. When the King of England began to infringe on the colonists’ liberties, leaders inspired by the enlightenment grouped together to defend the rights of the American colonies. As Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence, “History of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries ad usurpations,
Analyzing the post-revolutionary governments of America and France will prove that the French Revolution was far more revolutionary than the American Revolution, due to the radical change that took place, the type of government implemented after, as well as the Napoleonic Code brought forth by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Finally, the biggest contrast between the American and French Revolution was the difference in the outcomes of the two. The American Revolution brought liberty and justice for all. It created the first Republic since Rome. The French rev...
Another aspect to keep in mind when comparing the French and American revolutions is provocation. Provocation includes such things as land war, class war, tyranny, and grievances. The American Revolution had many altercations with social classes and land. One reason the revolution began was because the British created the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that Americans couldn't move east of the Appalachian Mountains. Land was abundant in America, but the British were tired of battles amongst themselves and the Native Americans.
The Glorious Revolution took place in England in 1688. They wanted to overthrow King James because people in the English parliament didn’t want to have a dynasty of Catholic monarchs. They were tired of Catholics and wanted a protestant monarch. William of Orange then came to power to. They changed the system of the Parliament having power over the monarch. This was first form of parliament democracy in the world. The American revolution started on a similar idea, freedom. Americans were tired of paying taxes from the Tea act of
One cause of both Revolutions was that people from all social classes were discontented. Each social class in France had its own reasons for wanting a change in government. The aristocracy was upset by the king’s power while the Bourgeoisie was upset by the privileges of the aristocracy. The peasants and urban workers were upset by their burdensome existence. The rigid, unjust social structure meant that citizens were looking for change because “all social classes…had become uncomfortable and unhappy with the status quo.” (Nardo, 13) Many believed that a more just system was long overdue in France.
French and Russian Revolutions Both the French and Russian revolutions occurred for two main reasons. Both of these revolutions were the direct result of bad leadership and a bad economy. These two reasons, along with other factors, caused both of these revolutions. Although they were both similar, they also had differences. A difference between the two is that the Russians had an unsuccessful "pre-revolution" in 1905.
The American Revolution was the beginning of the revolutionary era, and Americans were seen as rebels for causing such an ordeal, that is until they were successful in defeating the British and establishing themselves as an independent country. Then in 1789 France, the leading and most influential country in Europe became the newest revolutionary nation.
The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.
War causes a lot of turmoil and drama between regions. The American and French Revolutions both have their similarities and their differences. The American Revolution was because they did not like how Britain was ruling them and the French Revolution was because the third class, commoners, wanted there to be more quality between the estates. There was also the fact that the French Revolution was way more violent than the American Revolution. But they were alike in that they didn’t like how the government ruled them.
The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).