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Compare and contrast french and american revolutions
American, French, and Russian revolutions
How to judge the storming of Bastille
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The American and French Revolutions were both very well known for many different reasons. Luckily, for the American Revolution, they were the ones that actually succeeded, the French on the other hand were not as fortunate in their success. The American Revolution was successful because they broke apart from the British; some of the ways that they did this were with the Declaration of Independence, and the constitution. The French on the other hand failed, they did not successes because of the beheading of Marie Antoinette, and the storming of the Bastille.
The American Constitution is one of the longest standing constitutions that are existing today. The Declaration of Independence helped America declare its freedom from the British.
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It all started on October 16, 1793 when the beheading of Marie Antoinette happened. She was accused for helping the enemy and producing civil war within France. On her way to getting beheaded, she spent time in many different Parisian Prisons. During the summer of 1788, France was having some very serious economic problems. Louis XVI yielded to pressure and assembled the Estates General which was a governmental body that represented France’s three Estates (nobles, the church, and then French common people). She then agreed to the granting of the third estates as many representatives as the other two estates combined. Nevertheless, after the storming of the Bastille she ended up supported the conservative court faction that insisted on keeping the royal family in …show more content…
The French peopled stormed Bastille, which is a prison that had the symbol of the absolute monarchy, and contained only seven prisoners. It all started with mob looting another prison called the Invalids prison to search for arms to fight the attack from the army that was loyal to the king. During the raid, over 32,000 rifles were taken but none of the ammunition was removed from the prison. The Bastille was a symbol of brutality and totalitarian power because of many stories of torture and brutality. The storming of the Bastille was a success and it brought freedom to seven prisoners along with the ending of a royal tyranny. It also became a symbol of despotic power to an end. This was a very big turning point in the French revolution, because this is when the people of France really took matters into their own hands and went against the government by raiding the prison and taking all of the weapons. Only one of the guards defending the base was killed and approximately 97 civilians were killed. The thing that really helped the people attacking the base was the fact that they brought in two huge cannons that really solidified their victory against the government. Robespierre was a very important character in all of this, he believed that the power of perfection was the democracy. He came up with an idea of the committee of public city is to get rid of their external and internal enemies (nobles, etc.). He
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. In addition to the economic issues, France also held an Estate System that led to heavy
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 French Revolution is arguably the bloodiest period in French history, with men such as Maximilien Robespierre leading the country into a situation of state sponsored terror. Originally being quite a liberal thinker inspired by the works of Rousseau, Robespierre quickly gained a reputation for being a radical throughout the course of the Revolution, especially during the Terror. Early on terror was justified as a means to root out foreign and domestic enemies of the Revolution, however; once the foreign threat had been taken care of it became increasingly difficult for Robespierre to rationalize his use of terror to bring about a supposed Republic of Virtue. In his speech, the “Justification of the use of Terror” which he presented to the National Convention, he attempted to defend the actions of the Terror one last time. Unfortunately it appeared that Robespierre was going to become the very type of tyrant that he had strived to abolish along with the French Monarchy at the beginning of the Revolution. As demonstrated in the speech, Robespierre had become obsessed with ridding France of her enemies, however; his fixation with the Terror, even when it had become unnecessary, eventually caused the rest of the radicals to envision a France without him – and it cost him his life.
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.
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)
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.
Both the French and Russian revolutions occurred because of two main reasons. Both of these revolutions were the direct results 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. Another difference between these two revolutions is the fact that the French turned towards a democracy while the Russian government became communist.
The French Revolution started in 1787 because the country was going through financial difficulties and there was unrest between the classes of citizens in the country. The differences between the lower class citizens and higher classes, being nobles and the monarchy were great. The citizens had heard of the revolution that went on in the colonies and they also wanted freedom and independence. The real start of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. Between 1789 1793, a constitution was written, feudalism was abolished, war had broken out, and King Louis XVI was put to death. In late 1793 and early 1794, Maximilien Robespierre became the head of the Committee of Public Safety in France. This was the new governing body in France; it could be compared to the executive branch of a government. Robespierre was a great leader, he ins...
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.
“Europe cannot conceive of life without Kings and nobles; and we cannot conceive of it with them. Europe is lavishing her blood to preserve her chains, whereas we are lavishing ours to destroy them”(Maximilien Robespierre). For centuries upon centuries, the monarchal system had dominated European life. The very nature of this method of rule incited rebellious feelings, as a definite imbalance of power was present. Understandably, people under this system had risen against authority. The glorious nation of France was no exception. The eighteenth century brought about a great deal of economic and social turmoil. By the end of this one hundred year period, rebellion had been talked about by many citizens for quite some time. However, no definitive action was taken until one man stepped to the forefront; Maximilien Robespierre. Born in Arras, France about thirty years prior to the French Revolution, Robespierre was an immensely intelligent man as is seen from his ability to read and write fluently from the age of eight (the Force of 10). Robespierre rose from fairly humble origins to become a provincial lawyer, advancing further to become a representative in the Estates General, and eventually ascending to the leader of the French Revolution itself. For its sake he sent thousands to the guillotine, overthrew a monarchy, declared a new national religion, and invigorated the will of a nation. “No individual of the French Revolutionary era, with the exception of Napolean Bonaparte, has excited more passion in his time than the…dedicated provincial lawyer, Maximilien Robespierre”(Maximilien 1). During this era, Robespierre led France’s world inspiring cry for the liberation of mankind and petrified the world with its relentle...
The American and French revolutions were the most memorable revolutions ever. Though, they are both considered revolutions, they only a few similarities compared to the many differences.
What happened during the meeting of the Estates General that set the French Revolution in motion: During the French estates general there are three estates called. The first estate involves the clergy and nobles, the second estate involves middle class citizens, and the third estate containing the lower class consisting mostly of lawyers. The third estate was sick of the estates general not being able to get anything done because if one estate tried to get more power they would be voted down by the other two. So they asked the king to make it so that the estates wouldn't matter and it would be democratic voting. It was turned down. So the third estate forms what was called the national assembly to from a constitution. Eventually the first estate joins them. And the second estate is ordered to join by the King. This deconstruction of the estates general is what really set the revolution in motion.
One of the early differences in the revolutions is the way each began. At the beginning of the French Revolution, the government was about to collapse. While at the beginning the American Revolution, the colonist felt oppressed but had a stable governing body. The French Revolution was caused by problems that can be categorized into three categories: political and social imbalance, government bankruptcy, and Enlightenment thinking. The American Revolution was caused by impeding political laws and taxation on the British colonies by England.
The Constitution is the greatest document in American history. It has pushed for progressiveness and equality. The Constitution is basically the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Before the Constitution, the nation's leaders had established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave independence to each state; the states lacked authority, the ability to work together, and to solve national problems. The U.S. Constitution established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens using five big ideas and this shaped today's America.