The Unprecedented Success Of Revolution

A revolution, by definition, is the overthrow of one government followed by replacement with another. The American Revolution against the British during 1775 to 1783 and the French Revolution pitting the French people against their own government during 1789 to 1799 were both very important political and social turnovers. This movement towards the establishment of a constitutional government influenced political thought throughout the world. By closely examining three of the main causes of these revolutions, it is clear that although the two revolutions have their differences, the basis of cause for the revolutions have, overall, much stronger similarities.

Throughout history, humanity has always yearned for better. When a leader, as an individual or an entire government, ceases to fuel their nation’s drive for better, the citizens take it into their own hands. From this sovereignty of the people, the idea of revolution is born. This idea has become prominent many times. One can analyze a country like France. Due to the government’s selfish actions, the third estate revolted. In countries like Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico, the citizens were tired of strict rule from a power that is an ocean away. This caused the people in Latin America to revolt against their leader, Spain. Although the French and Latin American Revolutions both were inspired by the American Revolution and Enlightenment ideas, the French Revolution was vastly unsuccessful compared to the Latin American Revolution which brought freedom to many countries.

It was the first revolution to majorly succeed and change how people saw their countries, it was the American Revolution. The American Revolution was the first successful revolution against a European empire that provided a model for many other colonial peoples who realized that they too could break away and become self-governing nations (New world Encyclopedia, 1).The American Revolution was vital to history because ideas seen by other countries started a chain reaction. Many ideas were taken into account when the Americans revolted against Europe and all of these played important factors throughout history. Ideas about liberty, equality, representation, and natural rights were first seen as properly put into action to change old systems in the American Revolution. As the American Revolution was the first to succeed and earn freedom, it greatly affected countries all around the world on how they made freedom and equality a part of their government

Creating the United States was not easy from the start, but instead it took much sacrifice to become what it is today. There were many factors that helped this nation grow from just the original settlers that discovered America. Some of these issues were more monumental than others, such as the political problems we faced in the beginning. Political conflict could easily be named the largest problem in early colonial history. Early colonists had to learn from other governments and face the British in order to create a society and to make that society a freer place to live in. There were many sacrifices made in order to develop the colonies and then to create a new nation from these original colonies. The colonists battled Parliament until there was a Revolutionary War. The Revolution was actually one of the biggest turning points for the colonists, and these sacrifices helped shape this nation in ways that we still see today.

The British had the idea of mercantilism where a the economys wealth was judged by how much gold and silver it had, the colonies supplied the mother land with materials and then the mother country produced products to sell back to the colonies

The American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War, was a war that had raged on for eight years stemming from major political differences of opinion. Though, the fighting and the discontent between the two opposing forces, Americans and British, had been developing for years before the first shots ever had gone off to start the revolution. The reasoning for the tension between the two is traced back to one of the main catalysts being the Stamp Act that was imposed on New England colonies, then to one of the last being The Boston Tea Party that ended with British war ships being sent to Boston with attempts to keep in under control.

The American Revolution is typically looked at as a conservative movement, but it seems most of the actions taken were very radical. They were fighting to defend their rights, governed and natural. The American Revolution was as radical as any other revolution, in a special 18th century way, and this seems to hold true while looking at the new waves of thinking. It involves the Whigs and Tories, and while they are at opposite sides of the spectrum, they consecutively agreed to not address and higher-law principles so they would not have to rework their entire system.. The Revolution worked against this, and the parties chose to pretend it was not a serious movement and act, as they believed it would not take any effect. More people got involved and all aspects of life began to be questioned and revolutionized. The Revolution seems to be radical in a more definitive way as it caused segregation of beliefs, the Declaration of independence, and

After the colonists managed to drive back Britain, the country known for its military prowess, they were hoping to return back to the times where they could expand, unhindered by any obstacle. With the largest and most powerful force gone, they had finally become "Masters of the land". However with all wars, the colonists were not freed from the burdens of debt, which they not only owed the veterans of the war, but also to foreign powers that supported their cause. Originally, nobody wanted to reform the Articles of Confederation. After suffering several offenses from the tyranny of King George III, the colonists wanted anything but another king. But seeing as the

The Rite of Revolt: How Revolutions Explode Revolutions are bloody and violent. Often times, these revolutions spawn from the inequalities of people and the injustices of man. This has allowed for intellectuals to investigate and comprehend the deep rooted reasons for this social phenomena. Using sources from pre-civil war America and from the civil rights movement, these sources argue that the center of revolutionary strength comes from tensions between upper and lower classes. However, a larger question remains; Do revolutions work?

The revolutions of the mid 1700’s to the early 1800’s ranged in reasons, tactics, and countries of origin, but they share similar traits and outcomes. From Taxes and debts to murder and slavery, these colonies fight for a chance to govern themselves and so what they think is right. The passion of the oppressed fighting for their lives prove time and time again to overthrow skilled armies fighting for a king.

1850 Compromise: Henry Clay began a series of resolutions on January 29th, 1850 to try to find a good compromise in order to avoid problems between Northern and Southern Americans. The slave trade in Washington D.C. was abolished and the fugitive slave act was amended.

In 1848, gold discoveries in California triggered one of the largest migrations the world has ever seen. People from the Eastern United States and immigrants from around the world all converged on California with hopes of finding riches. When they arrived, they would make treks to mining camps in inland California. These camps were often in spaces that were relatively unpopulated before the arrival of forty-niners, and when their populations started to boom there became a growing need for law enforcement in mining camps. Law enforcement could be official police officers, but some mining camps instead had vigilante committees. These groups would often use tactics such as whippings, beatings, and hangings to enforce the law in their space. Hangings, although not common, are the most remembered of these punishments. This is because hangings at the time were popular public events, and have since been remembered and re-remembered by Californians with nostalgia as an effective way to achieve to justice in a chaotic time. Californians used these “hanging trees” both to enforce law and as a way to assert a white power structure on the minorities in gold rush spaces, but explain them to others as a mean to maintain justice in otherwise unstable areas, while downplaying racial motivations behind the hangings. Jared Farmer documents histories behind some of California’s most famous hanging trees in his article “Witness to a Hanging,” and while he does illustrate the ways Californians

Over the course of history different revolutions have come and gone, bringing along promises of social, economic, and political change. However, the price of change isn 't always smooth and effortless. Revolution doesn 't bring change at the blink of an eye, it takes time for the achievements of a revolution to come to full fruition. It is almost inevitable that a revolution will have its failures along the way, but these failures don 't overshadow the success of a revolution. It is not until the common good is met that a revolution is deemed successful. When I talk about the common good, I mean that which benefits society as a whole rather than an individual or a minority. The waves of revolution and presidents in Mexico from 1910 to 1946 aimed at achieving the common good, and some presidents succeeded more than others. This can be anything from social services such as free health care and education, to freedom of speech and free elections. When it comes to quantifying the success of a revolution, one must keep in mind the larger scope, not whether a revolution brings immediate change but rather change felt down the road. The most important outcome of a revolution is identifying whether or not it brings forth change. Did the waves of revolution bring change to Mexico or was this change just a mere illusion?

It is human nature to search for patterns. In the stars, lines of a poem, or in Crane Brinton’s case, in history. To fight for what we believe in is natural, but history has proven that while seeking an improved quality of life, a reform stage is implemented. Once it is found that the current system cannot help the cause, radical measures are taken to overthrow one structure in favor of a more effectively organized mode of leadership. Finally, the reactionary stage addresses any unexpected consequences by stepping back and evaluating what may have gotten out of hand and prioritizing, because consequential rebellions tend to take on a force of their own. France and Russia are a couple of countries who have carried out these steps, but to really analyze the model we head to the new world. The American Revolution serves as a prime example of Crane Brinton 's Anatomy of a Revolution because it consisted of reform stage of rising expectations, revolutionary ideologies and the accompanying coalitions were crucial during the radical stage, and unexpected consequences were seen during the reactionary stage, though the revolutionaries did not shy away from their cause. It is country with rich and involved history, but it has not always been so well structured.

Revolutions have occurred throughout history and continue to arise even in the present day. Many revolution happens because of the miscommunication between the government and its citizens. In the end, the outcome of revolutions are usually good but, sometimes it might not be what people want. In the following paragraphs, examples of the general causes and effects that creates a revolution will be discussed in order to illustrate how revolutions are mainly caused by the dispute between the regime and its citizen.