From the beginning of time, citizens under rule have always had a higher power. Someone to take control and keep everyone safe. However, due to the impact of the American and French revolutions, the way society was treated, as well as the rule of Napoleon that had changed. There are multiple reasons why the French Revolution occurred. The American Revolution played a big role in the overthrowing of the French Government. It taught the French that the people could rule themselves without the help of a monarch and that a revolution could lead to social and political change. Another example would be that the people disliked the Old Regime. The Third Estate, which was most affected by the Old Regime, lacked power which angered the people. They were poor so shortages of food were common (Doc. 3 Arthur Young’s travels). Bread became a staple in their diet but buying it for their families took out half of their income, of which never rose. In 1789, due to inflation, the prices increased leaving most people facing starvation. Also, the French tax system took its toll in all of this. The First, consisting of the clergy and 0.5% of the population, and Second estate, the nobles and 1.5% of the population, had little to no taxes while the Third Estate, the middle class of common workers and peasants and 97-98% of the population, were taxed heavily (Doc. 2 The Three Estates in Pre-Revolutionary France). The King and Queen taxed the people in order to maintain a large army and the
There were many causes and events leading up to the French Revolution in 1789. Before the Revolution, France had been involved in many expensive wars, especially the American War of Independence, causing financial difficulties and debts which were increased through the expensive upkeep of the Royal Family and their courts. At this time the Age of Enlightenment was occurring and new ideas, challenging the Ancien Regime and the Absolute right to rule, were emerging. The monarch of the time, King Louis XVI, was a weak monarch who was incapable of making decisions and sticking to them. King Louis XIV was also incapable of using his powers in a way to spark fear and gain control of those under his power. As a
The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France mad many French people discontented. Most disaffected were merchants, artisans, workers, and peasants. The ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers brought new views of government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the coming of The French Revolution. Therefore, The French Revolution of 1789 had several causes not only due to political, but also due to social and economic issues and problems as well that made France ripe for revolution. The most important long-range causes of this revolution, however, were the ideas of the Enlightenment, the unfair taxes, the gap between the rich and poor, and the American Revolution
To begin with, the French Revolution was partly caused by the economic crisis. The French Revolution began in 1787, but up until 1743, France, or at least the nobles of France, was in an extremely comfortable position. From 1713 to 1743, France was in the Thirty Years’ Peace, a period during which overseas trade was extremely profitable. However, after this period, the economy slowly began to crumble. At this
This is about the American revolution and the taxes the King of England put on the American colonists and how the American colonists thought that King George was a tyrant. The reason that writing this is to show how the American colonists reacted to the Acts that the King put on them. One of the laws was the sugar act of 1764 and the imports from Britain. There was also the stamp act of 1765 that made the colonists real mad . The result of the Tea act was the Boston tea party lead by the Sons of Liberty. The quartering act was the direct cause of the Boston massacre where eleven people were shot and five of them died.
The causes of the American Revolution don’t just start at the acts that were passed, they go way back. Starting in 1763, the end of the French and Indian war. Wars are costly, so after this war Britain was in great debt, so as always they put that on the colonists, raising their taxes. Next is the Treaty of Paris 1763 when British gained land because of their win in the French and Indian War. From this gain of land, settlers began to move west making the Natives very unhappy. To save Britain from another all out war, they decided to pass the Proclamation of 1763 which stated that settlers were permitted to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains. This made the Natives happy, but us colonists felt differently. Britain should have fought for our land and our rights, instead they just gave it up to the Natives. Shows how much they care about us, right!
The revolution resulted, among other things, in the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy in France and in the establishment of the First Republic. It was generated by a vast complex of causes, the most important of which were the inability of the ruling classes of nobility, clergy, and bourgeoisie to come to grips with the problems of state, the indecisive nature of the monarch, impoverishment of the workers, the intellectual ferment of the Age of Enlightenment, and the example of the American Revolution. Recent scholarship tends to downplay the social class struggle and emphasize political, cultural, ideological, and personality factors in the advent and unfolding of the conflict. The Revolution itself produced an equally vast complex of
The American, French, Haitian, and Mexican revolutions are epitomes of responsible citizens advocating for social and political upheaval in hopes of saving and furthering their states. These revolutions, more than others, exemplify nations that rebelled against governments which maliciously abused their power. The American Revolution focused on achieving independence from Britain, as Britain abused their power by unfairly taxing colonists. The Mexican Revolution concentrated on eliminating dictatorship, as Porfirio Dίaz, a Mexican president abused his power by declaring himself the winner of several terms in office. Likewise, the French and Haitian revolutions both targeted the unfair treatment and abuse of those in lower socioeconomic
The American Revolution was of a progressive nature and had a world-historical significance. The American Revolution had several features that distinguish it from the English bourgeois revolution, and the French Revolution. The first feature of the American Revolution is that it occurred in the territory, which actually did not know feudalism as a socio-economic system. The American Society of revolutionary period did not know the hereditary aristocracy, lords and serfs, the state bureaucracy (except the British administration), shops, guilds, privileged clergy and other attributes of the feudal Europe. This society was democratic in spirit, in their sentiments and beliefs. Social contradictions in it were less severe than in the continental Europe. The second feature of the American Revolution was that it pursued the national liberation. This revolution began as a struggle - initially peaceful, and then armed - with the British colonial rule.
As the British’s intentions to colonize the world grew, they quickly set their eyes on the Eastern coastline of North America. After decades of struggling to maintain stable colonies, the British Empire had finally established a large presence along the Eastern coast of North America. At first, many colonists perceived themselves as English, but due to many factors, the idea of independence and self-reliance developed. But as the British began to impose laws and taxes that denied colonists of those views, many sought a change in the relationship between the British and colonists. As colonists realized that change was no longer possible, the idea of independence began to develop. What really sparked the American Revolution was the parliamentary enforcement of taxes onto the colonies without proper representation, the obstruction of civil liberties that lead colonists away from British rule, English military measures that influenced settlers to feel that they were being controlled, and furthermore, the conviction that rebellion is supported which consequentially pushed settlers towards disobedience.
The development of the French Revolution was greatly influenced by the philosophies of the French Enlightenment period. Interestingly, disparate to the English and American Revolutions, the French Revolution did not evolve in a linear fashion. Instead, it progressed in a series of conflicting phases, each of which could be considered almost as a revolution in itself. Political theorists – such as Montesquieu, Rousseau and Voltaire – were sources of inspiration for key revolutionaries throughout the Revolution’s three major phases. As the revolutionists occupying the leading roles changed, the principles of the Revolution’s former phase were abandoned in favour of another policy, essentially antithetical to the previous one. Ultimately, in shifting between various Enlightenment philosophers, France was able to subject its government to massive structural change - from being an absolute monarchy (prior to the Revolution), to a constitutional monarchy (1791-1792), then a republic (1792-1804), and finally a dictatorship (under Napoleon Bonaparte).
This coursework paper is going to be on the topic of the causes of the American revolution, the thesis for this essay is that there were multiple events that transpired to to set off the chain reaction that was the american revolution but there was only a handful that really did set the reaction off that really ticked off the american settlers and the set of events that made the american settlers want to declare their freedom from britain. In this essay we will be going over these major events and what they had to do with setting off the revolutionary war of the American settlers and why they finally wanted to secede from the motherland.
The American Revolution began with armed conflict in April of 1775 when battles between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord started. The conflict started from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. The American Revolution lasted until 1783 and resulted in victory and independence for the colonies. The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1799 with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. The conflict started because of rising social and economic inequality, new political ideas emerging from the Enlightenment, economic mismanagement, environmental factors leading to agricultural failure, unmanageable national debt, and political mismanagement on the part of King Louis XVI have all been cited as laying the groundwork for the Revolution. The American and French Revolution were fundamentally similar because they both were about freedom from oppression, removing economic turmoil and new ideality.
The French Revolution was a failure because after all of the blood shed, the laws, civil rights, and codes did not get instituted effectively and did not represent the values that the citizens fought for, examples of this were the Napoleonic Code, Declaration of Rights of Man. Another reason it was a failure was because during the revolts and reforms more than 40,000 men and women died, this enormous massacre of people went against Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, all of which the national assembly declared were every man's right. Much of the killing can be related back to Robespierre and King Louis XVI. Although it was mostly a failure, some achievements can be seen through the revolution, the French revolution helped the french people become a more equal and socialist state, this showed Europe that the french
The American Revolution was a conflict between Great Britain and its colonies. During the middle of
Both the American and French Revolution were times when the people were tired o f being pushed around and rebelled against their own government to try to make it better for the people. The American revolution came before the French Revolution happened. The French Revolution was based on the American revolution. The leader of the American revolution were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin franklin, and John Adams. The leader of the French Revolution were napoleon Bonaparte.