Historians have many different perspectives on how the American Revolution may have impacted the French Revolution. In the essay “French Revolution: Was there a Causal Relationship Between the American and French Revolutions?” The author goes in depth about the different perspectives the historians had with much evidence to support both claims. The two claims are... Yes, the American Revolution did contribute to the uprising of the French Revolution by impacting the monetary crisis and the dissatisfaction of the people in France by providing the people with a model for political reform. And no, the American Revolution did not contribute to the uprising of the French Revolution because the revolution was issued due to government debt, harvesting …show more content…
The idea of a constitutional republic arose through the American Revolution and influenced many policymakers and political thinkers in France (French Revolution). The French helped America abundantly. The monetary support towards America during the American Revolution fueled the fiscal crisis that France would grow to have (French Revolution). In the essay “French Revolution: Was there a Causal Relationship Between the American and French Revolutions?” it states “This enormous financial expenditure greatly added to the enormous debt and contributed to rapid inflation and increased cost of living, factors that were critical in the coming of the French Revolution”. This indicates the contribution the American Revolution had on some of the main issues that led to the French Revolution. Not only did the French monetarily support America, but the French Monarch also even sought to relax the government censorship which allowed French intellectuals to write hundreds of books, pamphlets, and articles that analyzed the American institution (French Revolution). This fueled French aristocrats' and commoners' desire for social and political reforms. Though the books alone did not fuel the desire for reform, but also the French military officers who had engaged in the …show more content…
France had already been dealing with government debt, harvesting issues, class distinction, and opposition to the king long before the American Revolution was in the picture. From this point of view, France was bound to have a revolution. King Louis XIV (Reigned 1643 – 1715) had gained lots of debt when building the Palace of Versailles, the debt then fell onto King Louis XV (Reigned 1715 – 1774), and not just that, the defeat in the Seven Years war against Britain left France ashamed and in a pile of debt, leading them to declare bankruptcy (French Revolution). By the time that King Louis XVI reigned, the country was on the brink of financial collapse, and aside from that, he did not try hard to restore the economic structure of France (French Revolution). Because of the way King Louis XVI handled monetary issues, the popularity of the royal family decreased and public complaints against the fiscal system increased, promoting revolutionary thoughts amongst the people of France (French Revolution). Aside from monetary issues, agricultural issues arose as well. Between 1770 – 1788, France experienced disastrous harvests and a drought in 1785 that led to a decrease in livestock, and in 1786 France and Britain signed a treaty that only benefited Britain and left France with many losses (French Revolution). In addition to this,
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 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 revolutionary War and the French revolution took place in the 18th Century but in different continents. The two revolutionary wars are considered very similar struggles by majority of the people that have studied and looked at them with a keen eye. It is important to note that the American Revolution and the French Revolution came about as a direct result of subscription to enlightenment ideas that emphasized equality and respect to human rights. It was from this ideological basis that it becomes clear to compare the American Revolution and the French Revolution. It should be noted that similarities and differences exist between the American Revolution and the French revolution. The scope of this comparative essay is to explore the similarities as well as the differences between the American Revolution and the French revolution.
The American revolution lasted from 1775-1783 and the French revolution from 1789-1799, making them the first two large scale revolutions. America’s revolution coming beforehand has the largest significance. It created a domino effect that would knock down old ways of thinking and pave the for new ones,opening the eyes of people all around the world later on .
The American Revolution and French Revolution have many similarities and differences. The American Revolution happened in 1765. It was when the colonist rebelled against the British because they didn’t like how they were getting treated. The French Revolution was in 1799. It was when the lower class people rebelled against the government because they also didn’t like how they were getting treated.
The French Revolution and the American Revolution were both monumental events in history that we still examine today. Both revolutions started when their kings violated the standards in place during that time period. The citizens of each country wanted to rid the king from his position and rebel against his orders. They were pushed to rebel because of the new ideas that were recently introduced. They were intrigued by the modern Enlightenment ideas from Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau.
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
Both the American and French Revolution occurred at the same time and the citizens were both fighting for freedom from a monarchy, there are many important similarities and differences that are seen throughout the war’s history.
The American Revolution of the 1770’s was fueled by the ideas of social equality and political liberty as well as the desire for justice and the creation of democratic institutions. This movement as well as the writings of authors, such as Rousseau and Voltaire, speaking human rights, led way to the French Revolution. With King Louis XVI reign there was much careless spending and overindulgence leaving France in a very poor financial state when he passed away. His rule had caused the majority of French people to have distinct and feelings of resentment towards the monarchy when Louis XVI came into rule. At the time, France had three basic social classes. At the top were the royals’
Both the American and French Revolutions were the products of Enlightenment ideals, ideas of natural rights and equality. With such a basis, it becomes clear in both revolutions that people felt the need to be free from oppressive or tyrannical rule of monarchs and have the ability to live independent from such forces. Both suffered social and economic hardships that led to the realization that something must be done to topple the hierarchy and put power into the hands of the people. Between the immediate impact on the rest of the world and the ideas that were debated, the French Revolution had a much larger impact than America’s own. The American Revolution was
The American Revolution gave a profound effect to Europe. During that time, America signed the Declaration of Independence, disseminated the ideas of Enlightenment, and formed the U.S constitution. From this, America has shown that it is achievable to eliminate the political system, such as ‘ancien regime’. Also, the formation of the U.S constitution raised the idea of Enlightenment, which included intellectual and rational thoughts like freedom, and equality. People involved in this formation created their own system of democracy and this made Europe to think about their political system again. All of there factors gave an enormous impact to French revolutionaries. It brought the idea of Enlightenment and helped creating the phrase, “Liberty,
The American Revolution and the French Revolution marked a change in history for both nations. The American Revolution led to freedom and also their rise to power as their own nation. However the French Revolution marked a change in their government for the worse. Both nations fought to remove the corruption of the monarchy. With the same general idea both nations sought to better themselves. Though both were revolutions one nation really captured what they were fighting for.
In a Revolution, there are many reasons why it starts and how it starts. According to document 3, it states, “-the people have a right to dissolve (overthrow) that government” which means that the people can overthrow their government when they fail to protect the rights of their people. The Revolutions consist of a variety of positive and negative causes and effects of the Revolutions. These Revolutions have also majorly impacted the world. In this essay I will discuss the causes and effects of the American and French Revolution and how it affected the world today.
The French ended up being in debt because of supporting American Patriots during their revolution. So, the French King at the time demanded more texts which real angered the people of France. The American Revolution also fed the French the idea creating a revolution. Louis XVI This an effective leader was very timid and weak,
The French Revolution was started because of King Louis XVI mismanagement of the kingdom. He did not know how to manage, and decide on what benefited his people; he only cared about himself, thus leading into the French Revolution. France has been always divided into Three Estates the First Estate being the nobles who were rich land owning people, the Second Estate being the clergy who were the people working in the church, and the Third Estate the common people. The First and Second Estate never had to pay taxes, leaving the Third Estate basically financially maintaining France, and since King Louis XVI gave all the money they had to the American Revolution, they got financially bankrupted. Then to add more to the problem at hand, a horrible