Comparison of the American and French Revolutions
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
…show more content…
The British found that they could no longer afford to keep fighting to remain control of the American colonies; the British surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781.
American independency was finally recognized in 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was drawn up as a result of two years of negotiations. The American colonies had been so deprived of their natural rights from the British government that the only viable solution was to have a revolution. However, the American revolutionaries were able to maintain a conservative approach to the revolution due to non-violent tactics used by the American colonists.
In 1787, a few years after the British recognized American independency, the Revolution in France was beginning to unravel. France was desperately in need of financial assistance; it lacked a National Bank and National Treasury system. France had supported the American colonists in the American Revolution, and also gave financial support in the War of Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years War. A combination of the financial support given in these wars, maintaining their military, and the fact that France spent more then it collected in taxes each year, resulted in a substantial debt crisis for France.
The French Revolution was also a result of the discontentment of the social structure in France. King Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were very unpopular among the French because they did not care about their subjects.
The British were the first to take action against the rebellious Americans, with the mindset that they would cripple a few towns, and that will make the Americans become loyal again, however they faced with colonial retaliation, which began the Revolutionary War, and began a series of major battles between the two nations, and as the British continuously proclaimed rebellion and war, the colonies were soon closed to all commerce, and though many colonies didn’t considered it, independence was the best option.
The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1965 and 1783. During the early 1700s, the thirteen colonies basically governed themselves. British officials utilized little authority in daily colonial affairs. However, this began to change following the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). By the end of the fighting, the British treasury had been depleted. To pay off Britain's war debts, Parliament passed a series of acts in the colonies that taxed imported goods. They also tried to assert greater control over American business. Many Americans tried to remain loyal to Britain, yet, the situation became unbearable. At this time, many colonists came to believe that it was time to break away and establish their own nation. During
American Independence takes place right after the Seven Years War, which was between French and Indians. During the same year, Pontiac rebellion also took place led by chief pontiac towards the colonist stating that colonies could no longer settle west towards the Appalachian Mountains. There was also signing of Treaty of paris, in which britain recognized American independence and put a stop on all revolutionary wars between them. This also puts the an end an salutary neglect and Britain was left with a huge war debt that was impossible for them to pay it off by themselves. Which led them passing Sugar act, Currency act and other acts to raise revenue by using colonists as their main source of income.
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.
The French Revolution began as a result of the French monarchy not caring about its citizens. The monarchy taxed the third estate 50% of their income and letting them starve as they give them little food and the food they do give them was expensive. While the second and first estates paid little to no taxes and lived a lavish life. When the French citizens learned that the king was going to send his army to Paris the citizens were done with their unjust government and attacked the bastille, starting the
The French and American revolution were going on during the 18th century and they had some similarities and differences. The American revolution and the french revolution has some similarities effects of government, social and economic structure such as fighting in a civil war which gave them independence, both were under monarchy government, and they were all about money. The difference between both is that the French wanted to tax people a lot while the american paid the taxes,the american wanted to be a democracy while the french still wanted to be monarchy, and also the american didn’t care about the person’s religion while the french did.
The American revolution and the French revolution were very similar to each other. During this time period both revolutions has problems with debt. The countries were in trouble, Britain had debt from the war going on and they had to pay for their war debts, the French had to pay off their debt caused by financial crisis. When both of their governments were in debt they took from those that had nothing to do with how they wounded up in debt in the first place. For example, when Britain needed money they taxed the colonies. They taxed tea and any paper that was printed. Similarly, the French took money from the lowest class when they didn’t have money to support themselves in the first place Instead of taxing the middle and upper class 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
The American Revolution began for two reasons: political and economic, while the French Revolution began with domination and mismanagement that contributed to the French society. During the Revolution many events occurred having a major effect, such as the sugar act, currency act, and the Townshend act. The French began the Tennis Court Oath, the Storming of the Bastille, and the overthrown of Monarchy. The French Revolution followed in suit with the American Revolution, because the French were in favor for what the American Revolution was fighting for.
The French and American revolutions are both very significant in the world’s history. The American Revolution happened first, around the last half of the 18th century where the Thirteen Colonies became the United States of America, and gained independence from the British Empire. The French revolution on the other hand, was from 1789 until the turn of the century 1799. For the French people this was a period of political and social turmoil. The idea of Enlightenment stuck a large population of the French people and led to many changes in society. These two individual revolutions have many comparisons and although they are not identical they become intertwined with separate philosophies on politics and economic expansion.
The Americans dominated the British through unconventional war tactics, leading to General Burgoyne’s surrender (History.com Staff, 2009c). This event convinced the French to join in the fight against Great Britain. In October 1781, with the help of the French, American forces defeated the British at the Battle of Yorktown. The victory would prove to be paramount. It would take almost two years before Britain accepted defeat but by this point, the war was essentially over. On 3 September 1783, the “Treaty of Paris” would formally recognize the independence of the thirteen North American colonies. The treaty put an official end to the war (History.com Staff,
Suppressing a rebellion in America also posed other problems. Since the colonies covered a large area and had not been united before the war, there was no central area of strategic importance. In Europe, the capture of a capital often meantthe end of a war; in America, when the British seized cities such as New York and Philadelphia, the war continued unabated. Furthermore, the large size of the colonies meant that the British lacked the manpower to control them by force. Once any area had been occupied, troops had to be kept there or the Revolutionaries would regain control, and these troops were thus unavailable for further offensive operations. The British had sufficient troops to defeat the Americans on the battlefield but not enough to simultaneously occupy the colonies.This manpower shortage became critical after French and Spanish entry into the war, because British troops had to be dispersed in several theaters, where previously they had been concentrated in America.The British also had the difficult task of
Also, at the opposite side of the world, the American colonists successfully securing their freedom, by numerous cases of rebellious behavior, from a similar tyrannical monarch contributed to the citizens of France desire for a revolution. By declaring independence, America had demonstrated that possibility of overthrowing the Ancient Regime. The first to be successful, the American Revolution lead the first significant revolution of the century. France could empathize with the emotions and difficulties of the American colonists before the revolution, wishing to escape the yolk of the king and against the unfair taxation by the monarchs.
1.) Why does the United States come out its revolution with a republic instead of a monarchy? Why do the French wind up with an Emperor Napoleon but the United States does not have a King George of the House of Washington?
The French Revolution was driven for the most part by conflicts and issues inside French society as opposed to managing outside forces, similar to the American Revolution. These issues were caused by financial crisis, social disparity, and the impact the American Revolution had on France. Because of French mediation all through the American Revolution against the British, poor harvests, and imprudent spending of the French government, France started to run low on funds and introduced heavy taxes that would be utilized to pay debts from