The French And American Revolutions

The initial impulse of the French revolution was destructive. For those who lived through all, or even part, of these vast upheavals, the shock was overwhelming. Maximilien Robespierre was a proud disciple of the enlightenment and declared that no political writer had foreseen this revolution. Robespierre (1758-1794) was one of the leaders of the Committee of Public Safety, the effective governing body of France during the most radical phase of the revolution. The leaders of this revolution attempted, perhaps more than any other revolutionary leaders before or since, to totally transform human society in every way. (Supreme Being) Although Robespierre began with patriotic intent he still was the face of the Reign of Terror and was viewed as being a radical person.

Just about any country that one can name has some history of civil unrest, class issues, rioting in the streets, and outright warfare. These patterns of behavior are common denominators for most civilization in the world. The names, faces, and places may change, but the motivations are generally the same, because of the need for change and the willingness to do whatever is necessary to achieve it. In contrast to the United States, which was in the process of freeing itself from British colonial rule, France was working to free itself from royal absolutism. This period is historically known as the French Revolution. Many scholars do not agree on the chronology of the French Revolution; some scholars suggest that the Revolution took place between 1789 to 1799 while others feel that it did not end until Napoleon lost power in 1815. To better understand the history of the French Revolution it is necessary to discuss the causes, major events, significant figures, and the outcomes associated with these political developments. Without this uprising, that changed the face of the entire country and influenced local political life in many countries in Europe, in all likelihood the France we know today would never have existed.

Trying to reform the British Empire after the Seven Years’ War was one of the causes of the American Revolution. The Seven Years’ war was fought between many people. In the war the British took control over the Northern colonies east of the Mississippi River and took control over Canada. The British won the war victoriously but they were left in a lot of debt. British wanted more money from the colonies by passing any Acts which turned the colonies against them.

The French and American Revolutions were significant revolutionary movements that essentially played a vital role in shaping modern nations. Both revolutions are known for successfully abolishing their former absolute monarchies to constitutional monarchies and democracies. The French Revolution was an important age of political and social turmoil in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. Likewise, the American Revolution was also a political and social upheaval that took place from 1765 to 1783, where the colonists in the thirteen colonies rejected the British rule and were eventually able to defeat Britain’s authority hence creating the United States of America. The French and American revolutions have similar causes such as the emphasis on

A revolution is not an event that comes around every few years. In fact, for an event to be considered a revolution that event must bring about significant political, social, ideological, religious or even technological change. Throughout history there have been some very noteworthy revolutions such as the Agricultural Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. Of all the revolutions in history, it is perhaps the French Revolution that remains the most romanticized in the minds of the people. The French Revolution was, at its core, a revolution of the masses, for the masses. It was a long, violent affair, lasting from 1787 to 1799. Like most periods of historical importance, the French Revolution was not caused by a single, specific event in history. It was rather the result of the accumulation of many events spread all through the 18th century. Some of the most important causes of the French Revolution were the economic crisis, the rising tensions between the social classes, the shortcoming of the rule of Louis XVI, and the Age of Enlightenment.

The American and French revolutions both compare and contrast in their origins and outcomes; both revolutions began due to the common peoples need to obtain independence and liberty from an oppressive government. The American Revolution was triggered by the American colonists need for financial independence from the overpowering nation of Great Britain, while the French revolution was a struggle to gain social equality among the masses. Although the American and French Revolutions were fought over the same ideas, the American Revolution is considered more “conservative” than the French. The intent of the American revolutionaries was not to initiate a revolution, but rather to gain their

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

During the late 1700's, two great revolutions occurred, the American Revolution and the French Revolution. These two historical events happened at the same time, but had a great number of differences and very little similarity. When French Revolution occurred, it turned into a very violent and bloody event, while the American Revolution was almost nonviolent, aside from the war. In 1774, King Louis XVI made a decision that could have prevented the French Revolution by breathing new life into the French economy: he appointed Physiocrat Robert Turgot as Controller General of Finance.

During this period of time from 1783 to 1800 there was a lot of financial instability among the colonies because of the debt that had been garnered from the Revolutionary War. There were also riots, i.e., the Whiskey and Shays Rebellions, which resulted from Americans who were upset about government taxation. The government was also undergoing huge amounts of change such as the change from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution as well as the development of separate political parties. Though American’s fight for independence had long since passed by the time they began to develop the system by which they would govern themselves as a sovereign country, many of the things they experienced under British rule, such as military use and

The French and American Revolutions are more similar than different due to their parallelism in their cause of revolution such as high taxation and use of Enlightenment ideas and also the impact of the legacy of the Bill of Rights and the government of Republic of each revolution that governs the people today.

The American and French revolutions continue to be two momentous events that have a multitude of similarities, along with differences. Both the Americans and the French decided to rebel because of the maltreatment which obligated them to follow unfair rules, along with having to pay a vast amount of taxes. Each revolution also came as a result of the people trying to claim their independence, along with their freedom from the government that controlled them. Once the revolutionists won, the Americans, along with the French created their own political documents. While these revolutions contain more similarities, a difference that appears would be that the Americans received outside assistance from French troops, and the French received nothing.

France and the United states are both modern countries and leaders among the nations. Both countries show similarities but their culture, history and government structures differs in many ways. It is interesting to show that the two also share a similarity by beginning a revolution that created their new governments. A revolution, by definition, is the overthrow of an established political system and replace it with another. To begin understanding both governments it’s important to know why they were created in the first place.

The Revolutions in America and France had many correlating factors and causes. Both countries began their revolts to escape the ruling powers of their King. Both countries had people inspired to begin a revolution because of unjust taxations imposed by the monarchies rule over them. Circumstances were different in America and France, their specific reasons for revolution were distinct and purposeful. Peasant workers in France were upset about not being represented in the French Parliament, as it was traditionally controlled by middle and upper-class citizens. In America, revolutionary ideas began when the colonists from Great Britain were not given representation in British Parliament, and were forced to pay taxes to the British Kingdom

Revolution- A fundamental change that requires a goal that wants to be achieved, a leader or leaders follower and supporters of the cause. There are many different types of revolutions.

An important similarity between the revolutions in France and America was their stressing of the Enlightenment understanding. The Enlightenment, started in France and is joined with the writers Rousseau and Voltaire, caused those under the monarchies to begin to realize the discrimination rooted in these systems. People of all social classes (specifically the lower classes) began to use these ideas to develop a culture of defiance and insist on the application of new lengths that would assure the rights of all people. These big ideas molded the American Revolution and the benefit of it went on to also affect/cause the French revolution as well. In France the war was an subjective war anyone who tried to see it as battle between Revolution