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Comparing the french and american revolution
Comparison contrast french versus american revolution
The influence of enlightenment
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What is “mirror struggles”? That is some people initially consider French revolution and American revolution because they feature enough similarities. Both of French revolution and American revolution are the most important developments in the 18 century. Their causes are similar in be driven by Enlightenment and dire economic conditions, but different in political conflicts, one is absolute monarchy another is colonial system. First and foremost, French revolution and American revolution are the products of Enlightenment ideals that emphasized the idea of natural rights and equality. After a growing number of the French citizenry had absorbed the ideas of equality and freedom of the individual as presented by Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot and other philosophers, the Enlightenment philosophy promoted a new society based on reason instead of traditions. Besides, Common Sense by Thomas Paine galvanized the American public and condemn the monarchy in England. At the same time, there were many American Revolutionary leader gleaned the concepts of the social contract limited government and separation of power from Enlightenment. …show more content…
The high taxation system made the French population live on the edge of starvation, but the monarchy and aristocrats still kept their sumptuous and gluttonous life style. Because of France’s debt, Louis XVI implemented new taxation and to reduce privileges. Peasants were required to pay one tenth of their income or produce to the church and also paid a tax to the state. The taxes were burdensome even devastating, people would starve to death during the winter after a less-than-fulsome harvest. Indeed, in order to pay off debt that incurred during war, British government decided to tax American colonies. Several taxes acts such as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Act were levied. Americans started protests including boycotting
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.
...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.
1789 was a year that would be imprinted on the minds of Western Europeans for the rest of history. The beginning of a new country who had fought for their rights… the United States of America. Spielvogel states, “To many Europeans it proved that the liberal political ideas of the Enlightenment were not the vapid utterances of intellectuals… The premises of the Enlightenment seemed confirmed; a new age and a better world would be achieved.” (Spielvogel 567). The Revolution embodied the living aspect of the Enlightenment Ideals in Western Europeans minds. They seen what the ideals looked like in action, and they started to build upon that idea to implement in their own lives When the Continental Congress drafted the Declaration of Independence, they took some of the core ideals from the great Enlightenment thinkers to create the living embodiment in the United States. The American Revolution may not have influenced Western Europe physically, however, it has influenced them in ways such as the French Revolution. The origins of the French Revolution can be traced back from two different areas. The Estates (classes), and a wave of bad agricultural years that led to a rise in the poor. However, according to Spielvogel, “The actual influence of the ideas of the philosophes is difficult to prove… but once the Revolution began, the
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
Before the American Revolution there was the Enlightenment and Great Awakening period. The Enlightenment and Great Awakening period were different from each other but in similarities they both challenged the way society thoughts of situations in life. They both had a big impact leading towards the American Revolution and how the colonist were thinking differently from before. They were able to think outside the box and become more of a personality than a group. The Enlightenment was a philosophical, social movement that challenged the ideals of reality. They wanted reasons over faith, to establish an authoritative system. The Enlightenment gave a way for a new perspective into the world and take a scientific approach to questioning situations.
The Enlightenment period in Europe was a shift in the way that society thought about power and liberty. The ideals of this period helped to inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired liberty from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation for the millions of slaves on their island. While the ideas of the enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought the nations closer to a fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power. The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England.
After the Revolutionary War the United States had a massive debt to deal with, but because of the Articles of Confederation the federal government could not raise taxes to pay off the debt (Blake). States were responsible for helping to pay off the federal government’s debt along with any of their own debt, so Massachusetts decided to institute heavy taxes that had to be paid in cash. According to historian Leonard Richards, “Taxes levied by the state [Massachusetts] were now much more oppressive—indeed many times more oppressive—than those that had been levied by the British on the eve of the American Revolution” (Richards 88).Ninety percent of all taxes collected were for property or poll taxes (Smith). Each family had to pay a tax for every male that was older than sixteen in the household under the poll tax, leaving the farmer who had grown sons very venerable. Many were unable to pay taxes and were thrown into prison. The farmers who could pay the taxes were left with very little cash to pay for necessities like food or clothing, to be able to acquire these items farmers had to trade their agricultural products. After British investors stopped giving credit to American merchants and demanded cash, the mer...
The American Revolution began due to problems within the British economy. The most prevalent issue of the time was "taxation without representation". Unlike the leaders of America, the leaders of the French did not turn out to be as positive for the country. In fact, some of these leaders have caused much more harm than good.
The Enlightenment period can be accredited to having an impact on the radicalism of the American Revolution. “During the eighteenth century, many educated Americans began to be influenced by the outlook of the European Enlightenment.” Enlightenment thinkers were particularly fond of rationalism and reasoning as a government of human life. John Locke, a philosopher and author of this period, brought up in Two Treatises on Government the idea that the government and the governed should have a mutual agreement. This agreement, known as Locke’s “social contract” held that men should surrender themselves to be governed, and in turn, the government would recognize the natural rights of men. Life, liberty, an...
Throughout time individuals have rebelled against corrupt policies within society in order to obtain their autonomy as well as their rights as an individual. King Louis XIV of France, for instance, taxed the lower class of France, in order to construct his palace, the Palace of Versailles, which depicted his power and authority. If individuals refused to pay their taxes to Louis XIV, then as a result, they would be placed in prison or be executed, as a penalty. The lower class individuals of France began to question King Louis XIV’s authority, ultimately leading to numerous rebellions against his position as King of France. Likewise, between 1750 to 1914 numerous revolutions to alter certain aspects within society occurred in diverse regions
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
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 Enlightenment was a major influence of the French Revolution. The Enlightenment caused the revolution in three ways. First of all, the Enlightenment made people see how France was not a perfect society. It opened their eyes to the fact that France was helping other countries more. For example, the French government gave money to support the American Revolution while the people in their own country need money. Also, Voltaire who was an Enlightenment thinker caused uproar by the peasants upon his return to France when he announced that England was superior to France (Voltaire 7). Second, it made people skeptical about whether the government was there to fulfill their duty of protecting the people’s natural rights. The Enlightenment encouraged people to question divine right, the God-given authority rulers claimed to have (Enlightenment, Its Origins and the French Revolution 15). Finally, it made the third estate realize how the taxation was simply greed. It made their eyes open to the fact that...
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)
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.