The French and American Revolution are considered to be some of the most significant events within the history of each of these countries. All though these are considered revolutions, are they actually? A revolution is when a group of people try to overthrow their government and then create a new government. The American Revolution was first set into motion by the Enlightenment era. The Enlightenment Era was a time where Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau embodied reason, government, religion, and no cruel death punishments. The American Revolution failed to achieve all that it was meant to. The old authority remained the same, but it did cause social change among the people. After the American Revolution …show more content…
ended in 1783, people in France heard what happened and they to were influenced by the enlightenment idea. They were especially motivated by popular sovereignty (democracy) and inalienable rights (rights not able to be taken away). The French Revolution, however also failed to achieve its goals by replacing their monarchy with pure terror among the people. In 1973 to 1974 a Reign of Terror was inflicted which caused the murders and executions for over 40,000 people. CITE BOOK HERE The American Revolution is not revolutionary because not everyone received the same equal rights. In the early years only a certain social class would receive certain rights, but after the Constitution was drafted this should have changed. The Constitution only stated that “men” receive these rights. Women and African Americans were never mentioned. All though a new Constitution was created, it did not appeal to all people. For this reason, in an effort to ratify the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was drafted. The Bill of Rights was written by James Madison a Federalist. The Bill of Rights are 10 amendments that were added to Constitution which prohibit certain powers from the government. CITE BILL OF RIGHTS A few of these rights are religion, speech, petition, press, right to speedy trial, no cruel or unusual punishments, and many more. After the revolution people began to have a much higher respect for life. Torture such as; quartering, burning at the stake, and any other cruel punishments ended. CITE BOOK HEREIn the Declaration of Independence, it says, “All men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.” This was given right; the only problem was that it only identified to the “men”. The idea and goals behind the American Revolution were good, they just needed some retouching. For example, when miners find diamonds they are not perfectly shaped. They are rough around the edges and they need polishing. After the Diamond is polished and shaped it looks great and is ready to be sold. That is similar to the revolution, although it did not grant everyone the rights at the beginning, through time the people who did not receive the rights were able to speak out for them. It did take time, but eventually it happened. The American Revolution although not perfect did get the ball rolling for the French. In the end the thirteen colonies did gain their independence from the British monarchy because of the American Revolution, creating the United States of America. The French Revolution was not at all revolutionary either.
It was less revolutionary than the American Revolution because it achieved less. One of the biggest differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution is that the the the pro American revolutionist did not kill thousands of people if they were against the revolution. CITE BOOK HERE Yes, there was a war and people died, but it did not cause a bloodshed among the civilians. Another difference is that America wanted to remain unified, while the French wanted to separate to two parts. The French fought to end the monarchy, but the ended up with a dictatorship. The Third Estate said that through the constitution people would have the right to own property. This however did not apply to the clergy or the lower class. Economically they were allowed to have free land, but this was only possible for those who had money. The working class did receive rights, but they did not have the power to petition. Unlike the American Constitution where you have the first amendment, which guarantees the right to petition. Through the French Revolution many Protestants and other non-Catholics were killed, in the end there was still no religious
freedom.
While the French and the American revolutions share some similarities, they differ in most areas involving the revolution. Enlightenment ideas would help shape politics, economics, and religion in the revolutionary nations. Although both found the importance of individual rights, they took different paths in establishing and operating their respective governments. The economic standpoints of the French would be in contrary with the American economics which roughly associate with enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith. Religion would closely be associated with principles in the United States while the French sought to secularize their nation.
Revolution is one word that summarizes complete change. To put the name of a country before the word revolution means complete change in that country's government. In some way, whether it be politically, economically, or socially, the government failed to appease the people. In France and Latin America they stopped at virtually nothing to gain their goal. Latin America literally bit the hand the fed them and France beheaded their own king. This was all done in the name of reformation and change because somehow their government severely let down their people.
The French Revolution was a period of political upheaval that occurred in France during the latter half of the 18th century. This revolution marked an end to the system of feudalism and the monarchy in France and a rise to democracy and new Enlightenment ideas. By 1789, when the revolution began, France was in a deep financial crisis due to the debt they had obtained over many years of reckless spending and France was nearly bankrupt. These financial issues fell almost completely on the bottom social class or the Third Estate which made up a majority of the country. Because of this financial trouble, the common people were heavily taxed, leaving many of them in poverty.
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.
The American Revolution, also known as the War for Independence began from 1785-1783. The primary cause for the war was because of a conflict between the 13 British colonies and England. The American Revolution resulted in a victory for the 13 British colonies who would declare themselves as the United States of America. However, there are many questions on whether or not the American Revolution was really revolutionary and if there were revolutionary changes being made to society. The American Revolution was not revolutionary because separation between African-Americans and Whites still existed, no change in women's representation or their voices being valued as high as men, and the Indians were promised the “Utmost Good Faith” but the result
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)
Revolution is briefly described as an attempt to overthrow a government to start a new one. The American Revolution took place between 1775 and 1783 and was a fight for American Independence from England. In 1764, the first of many “Intolerable Acts” were passed. The British Parliament began to excise tax on the American colonies without representation, sparking the great conflict. The British were continuing to incorporate new ways to make more money. England was the most powerful country at the time with an intimidating military, so this wasn’t a hard task to complete. The American Revolution was very Revolutionary because, it jump started the abolition of slavery, it brought about many political and social advances, and served as a stepping stone towards a democracy and a strong centralized government.
The French Revolution, also known as the revolution of 1789, was a movement that helped shape France into what it is today. The Revolution may have started in 1787 but it wasn’t till 1789 when the revolution actually started to become worse. The Revolution had many reasons for why it started, but it was only a few major things that really made it happen.
The French Revolution and the English Civil War were arguably two of the biggest events in English and French history. The English Civil War spanned from 1642 to 1651, while the French Revolution occurred from 1789 to 1799. During these times monarchies were running on thin ice as the people began to lose faith in their rulers. The monarchies lack of social reliance was a cause of both of these events to occur. Both of these events occurred due to multiple political and economic problems in each of their time periods.
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 American and French Revolutions took place between 1775 and 1789. Though they were closely related chronologically, the two revolutions were interrelated in several other important ways than just time itself.
The French Revolution compares to the Haitian and American Revolutions by having similar phases throughout. All seemingly influenced by Enlightenment ideas, went on a different route to completion. Each revolution achieved a varied degree of their goals they sought out with in the establishment of their revolution. The length of these revolutions also varied. These revolutions all had people who stood behind them or against them.
The French and American Revolutions were both revolutionary then and still today. There are still lasting effects from both the French and American Revolutions. The French Revolution had lasting effects such as the birth of Nationalism and making a huge move away from Monarchism. To us Americans the lasting effects are obvious from the American Revolution. We still live in freedom with the same system of government set up by our early political leaders.
The French Revolution was caused by the Third Estate paying taxes and having fewer rights than the Second and First Estate. After helping the colonists in the Revolutionary War and the royal family spending too much money, France went into debt. This caused the Third Estate to start paying more taxes, which they revolted for. They created the National Assembly, which later created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. “The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancien régime with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and representative government” (www.history.com). These were all ideas from the Enlightenment, Locke gave the ideas of equal opportunity and freedom of speech, Rousseau gave the ideas of popular sovereignty and a representative government. The French Revolution did not turn out well, but the ideas they stood up for were all the same ideas French philosophers had in the Enlightenment, and colonists had used to help fight for their
...s on who should have power. Rebellions broke out across France and turned the nation against itself. The major revolutionary revolt was The Storming of Bastille. The third estate demanded for a republic. King Louis was killed, along with his wife Marie Antoinette to pursue the ideas of changing society. Maximilien Robespierre ordered their deaths by the violent and horrific machine, the guillotine. He was also killed shortly after, but provided the Jacobins a leader in his efforts to overthrow the monarchy. Napoleon was the last to save the revolution as it came to a close. The French Revolution has changed history and the lives of everyone in France up to today. Many people sacrificed themselves to change the country for others today. This revolution was life changing and inspired many others around the world to stand up for their beliefs and fight for a democracy.