Comparing the American and French Revolutions

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The American and the French revolutions had many similarities and differences. One similarity being is that they both wanted to escape the rule of their King. Second, they both started by an uprising of people against unfair taxation by the monarchy. The French peasants were not represented by the Parliament. It was mainly composed of middle and upper class people. Now, the American colonists were not represented in England because of their lack of presence. Both wanted to set up a Republic, which provided liberty and justice to all classes of citizens. Just like France, the American colonists were composed up mainly middle and lower class citizens. The American Revolution started out by not wanting bloodshed and violence. France started out with violence and bloodshed. (American Revolution)

Now, even though they started out similarly, they also did have some differences from each other. The American Revolution was the first significant revolution of the century, and it was also the first to be successful. The main reason it was successful was that it did not start out being “rebellious” in nature, but rather conservative. In another words, it was not a rebellion against the Government, but rather against having too much government controlling them. (American Revolution) The French revolution was a true rebellion against the King and the government in general. The French were the ones on the offensive, fighting to gain new freedom starting with the Storming of the Bastille. (French Revolution)

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...

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...cally it was “unfair”. Their goals were to gain independence from their monarchy and set up a Republic of equality and liberty.

They started out similarly, but they ended very differently. The American Revolution ended in a newly formed independent government. The French revolution overthrew their government and killed their king. The French Revolution resulted in dictatorship that lasted for years.

Works Cited

[Kagan, Donald. The Western Heritage Volume 2, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2006]

Internet

The American Revolution the History, November 1, 2007, american revolution.com

Encarta, French Revolution, November 1, 2007, Encarta.msn.com/French_revolution

Paul Halsall, Modern Western Civilization class 10: The French Revolution Origins

November 1, 2007. forham.edu

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