The French and American Revolutions were started all because of one thing, The Enlightenment, The Enlightenment was a time where people were thinking about the corrupted government in their countries. Monarchs were becoming way too powerful, they were taxing the third class people so much they could barely afford to eat. Even when the topic was brought up to the King nothing ever changed. The Declaration of Independence was another thing that brought the American Revolution to life, the whole thing was telling about how America wanted freedom from England, and it angered the King George greatly. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was the French document that told about all the changes that needed to be made to the French government. The …show more content…
Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” The document was not created to get independence from the King, or even to have him executed, which was the result of the revolution, but it was only to give the third estate some rights. The reason the third estate even created the document was because King Louis was taxing them so heavily, many of them were starving. They finally got him to sign it during something called the “Tennis Court Oath” where the third estate camped out in King Louis’ tennis court until he signed the document, but he was not sincere about it when he did. Two very important documents, similar but different in many ways, changed the way three of todays countries functioned. The Declaration of Independence made it so the 13 Colonies could become the United States of America and was separated from England. and The Declaration of the Rights of Man got France’s King and Queen executed and threw them into the Reign of Terror. One of the main differences between the two documents is that The Declaration of Independence was written to have Americas ties completely cut from Britain as their mother country, and The Declaration of the Rights of Man was written to change the way the
In comparing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, The Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, it is evident that the basis of all three documents is the idea that all human beings possess God-given fundamental rights and that government is created to protect those rights. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is the first of the three documents penned. This is important because it defined the rights of liberty and equality of all American citizens as outlined in John Locke’s natural law thesis (Martin, page 113). In addition to providing an itemized account of the grievances colonist’s held against King George III of England, it served to justify the colonist’s quest for independence and separation from British rule. The Declaration of Independence conveyed to the crown that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Founders’ of the New World understood that their pursuit of liberties and autonomy specified in the Declaration of Independence could not come to fruition without instituting decrees. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution, was written to replace the Articles of Confederation with a better defined series of stringent laws that would legally uphold the freedoms and privileges established in the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in
On July 4th of 1776, a document was written to change the future of the American Colonists. The Declaration of Independence was compiled with a list of grievances against the king of England to illustrate the separation from British rule to foreign nations. This document was a means to rid themselves of a dictator and his rule, ensuring constitutional rights for all. The constitution included the Bill of Rights which protected the rights of people so powers are not in the hands of government. (Buhle, Faragher, Czitrom, and Armitage 2015, 159)
The Declaration of Independence The American Revolution came before the French Revolution by a few years. The American Revolution had influenced the French Revolution in many ways. One similarity is their declaration of Independence: the American Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789). Both documents are creations of common ideas of the eighteenth century and shows evidence of a strong relationship between these ideas and revolutionary activities in Western civilization.
The Declaration of Independence written on July 4, 1776, was the first of the three documents written. When reading this document it is hard to ignore the emotion it exudes of a people not just longing for independence, but rather who’ve grown tiresome of the lack of equality compared to that of those on the motherland. The Declaration of Independence is the autonomous stance of a people declaring not just independence, but claiming their right to disassociate themselves from under the leadership from whom they consider a tyrant and therefore, “unfit” to be a leader of the free land. Unlike the US Constitution, this document discusses and/or lists in depth the atrocities and unconstitutional acts displayed by the ruler of England, the King and its theme is more so a grievance.
On June of 1776, the Declaration of Independence was born. Drawn up by Thomas Jefferson and based on the works of John Locke, the general purpose of the document was to clarify that governments have conditional, not absolute authority over the people; that human beings possess natural rights that can’t be taken from them and government is created to protect those rights. The phrases “unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “all men are created equal” were the main theme of the social contract written for the small colonies of what would be the basis of the United States of America to declare independence from Great Britain and its tyrannical king. However, “unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “all men are created equal” did not apply to African Americans, enslaved or free for the coming years.
The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, outlines the wrongdoings of the British government onto the thirteen colonies, and declares independence from Britain, and an important document from the American Revolution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man, written thirteen years after in 1789, is an important document from the French Revolution. The government, broken down in three estates, treated the third estate, and the largest, poorly compared to the privileged first and second estates. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was written to imply that citizens have natural born rights and they should be treated equally. Although both Declarations have the themes of equality and natural rights outlined in them and many other similarities,
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most remarkable documents of the United States of America. The elaborate document contains almost fourteen-hundred words including a basic structure divided into two parts and within the two divided parts contains four main ideas within seven components. The declaration is not just any standard written document; it is a work of art painted by colonists who are driven by rage because of King George III of Great Britain injustices’ toward the colonies. This exemplifies that colonists took control and took part in creating the Declaration of Independence by voicing their opinions, hoping to acquire the freedom they deserve, “through time, to come together in one place, in one time, and in one
How far do you agree that the cause of the American Revolution was the introduction of the Tea Act in 1773?
The Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen were both written to ensure the rights of the people. Before these documents were written, people were opposed to certain aspects of their government. For example, the British were too controlling of American citizens and were also unrightfully taxing American goods. This made the American colonists very unhappy. The anger of these people led to many protests and revolts against the British. Sooner or later, the founding fathers decided to send a declaration to the King of Britain, King George III, declaring their freedom and independence. This document is what led to the American Revolutionary War/American Revolution. In France, the people were treated very
France’s, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, played an integral role in the development of democracy and the pursuit of liberty throughout Europe. This document was written and introduced by General Lafayette as a result of the French Revolution. The French Constituent Assembly passed it in August of 1789. Influenced by Thomas Jefferson, the American Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, and the ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers, the document reiterates the values of the French Revolution. Declaring that the rights of man should be universal and remain valid no matter the time or place. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was a very purposeful document expressing many of the ideas of the French Revolution and the Declaration of Independence.
Likewise, in France, the citizens were also being subjugated by the French government. The French people had been through many years of a “deteriorate[ing] economy, poor harvest, and pressure from the Nobility,” and quite frankly had had enough. The French economy was in an immense debt from helping the Americans win their freedom from England, and now Louis XVI was heavily taxing the people. To make matter worse, the past year’s harvest had been a failure resulting in famine and even more aggravated citizens. The third estate—made up by the peasants—formed the National Assembly because they believed that their political ignorance was why bad things kept happening. Therefore, in 1789, the French people drafted The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen to rid their oppressors.
It was the model constitution for the rule of the bourgeoisie as the non noble section of the property owning class within the society. Its preamble proclaimed in revolutionary terms, the complete abolition of the aristocracy. The abolition of a distinction between the noble and non noble property owners and provision for a constitutional government responsible to the assembly of property owners elected on a restricted franchise was objective of the revolution.
The French Revolution began with a corrupt monarch, and ended with the death of thousands. In 1789 the bourgeoisie (middle class) and peasants revolted against King Louis XVI and nobility, citing various reasons as cause: including corruption and a poor economy. These people, making up 97% of the population, were known as the third estate. The original purpose of the revolution was to create a constitutional monarchy, but this idea quickly became lost in the radical ideas of the revolution. However, the revolution, despite best efforts, failed. France once again had a complete monarchy. Many factors contributed in causing the unrest, and ultimately full blown revolution among the people of France. But, arguably, the three main causes of
the French Revolution was a time wherein specific the third estate, or the common people, were treated poorly. The king barely noticed the displeasure of the French people. Even when they tried to grab his attention, by offering up alternate ideas he ignored them. The third estate didn't want to stand for what the king was doing, so they revolted. The French Revolution was all over the place with economy, social, and political problems racing through everybody’s minds
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.