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How were the american and french revolutions similar
American and French revolution
American and French revolution
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Both the French and American revolution took place throughout 1750-1900, these two revolutions share a few similarities in how the revolution began. For one, in both revolutions a major cause was the dissatisfaction with government based on social inequality. For example, in the French revolution there was system of estates that was broken up into three, the first one being the clergy, second one being the nobility and the third one being the commoners who made up the majority of the population. The third estate was the poorest but the most taxed out of all the estates. The commoners grew upset with the unfairness of the higher prices of goods and increased cost of living. The estate-general met and the third estate was outvoted by the first
For starters, both revolutions were inspired by others. The French revolution was empowered by the American. News spread throughout the rest of the world that England’s American colony had overthrown their British government with a war. A period called "The Enlightenment" sparked the American Revolution. During this time, philosophers and lawmakers focused on basic human rights and creating a balanced government. Ideas from the Declaration of Independence which came from these philosophers, inspired the people of France to develop a sense of natural rights in French government. Since their current government gave the people very little natural rights, they rebelled.
The mid-1700s were undoubtedly the ultimate festival of the troubled. People around the world felt a sense of conflict as class systems developed in various countries. Beginning in the 1770s, the North American Revolution set the tone for a series of revolutions throughout the Atlantic. From France to Haiti, and from Central America to South America, people fought for a right to prosper.
Some people like Emmanuel Sieyès, middle-class writer who was taken by the Enlightenment ideas, believed that all of French Society lay on the backs of the third estate. On the contrary, Robespierre, the monarch at the time, believed that the third estate did not have the power to do anything important to society. The third estate had to pay taxes like the Gabelle and Taille while the first and seconds estates did not have to pay any taxes to the king. Also, the third estates had less of a representation in voting. The first and second estate could outvote the third estate every time and this was a huge inequality. The condition of the third estate was horrible but a good portion of this third estate was the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie had some wealth and social class, so they influenced the rest of the third estate about their rights, while also inspiring some lower clergies and provincial nobles and thus led to a group of rebellious people to fight the monarchy. This fight for political representation and political rights was only one cause of the French Revolution. Another causes lies in the French Monarchs: Louis XlV, Louis XV, and Louis XVl. When Louis XlV was ruling, the monarchy had unlimited power and was known as a
One of the main grievances of the Third Estate were the high taxes. It became very difficult for the commoners to be able to pay for taxes because taxation became excessive. For instance, recurring taxes imposed on peasants were taille, a land tax to the state; tithe, a tenth of income or produce given to the church; capitation, tax on the number of people in the family; vingtième, a property tax; and others. Responsibility to the poor tax system and the mounting debts is by numerous large wars, and more importantly, the king c...
Another aspect to keep in mind when comparing the French and American revolutions is provocation. Provocation includes such things as land war, class war, tyranny, and grievances. The American Revolution had many altercations with social classes and land. One reason the revolution began was because the British created the Proclamation of 1763, which stated that Americans couldn't move east of the Appalachian Mountains. Land was abundant in America, but the British were tired of battles amongst themselves and the Native Americans.
The first Estate was the Clergy who were extremely rich. There were about 100,000 of these people. They had control over censorship of the press and of educational institutions Their wealth came from the Roman Catholic Church, which was made up of the upper and lower Estates. The upper, Bishops and Abbots who had the authority and the lower, Priests and Monks who had a modest income and had no say in church affairs.
The American and French Revolutions took place between 1775 and 1789. Though they were closely related chronologically, the two revolutions were interrelated in several other important ways than just time itself.
The American Revolution and French Revolution were two long lasting uprisings that had great value to those battling for their rights and want they wanted to change. Yet there are a few distinctions details set them apart in a small way. The Americans wanted a change in their government, but the French wanted a huge change in everything including their government, religion, social structure (whereas American’s social system stayed the same) and economy. Other than the few differences they had, they two Revolutions were much alike, basically twin revolutions.
The French Revolution started during 1789, it allowed for the people to have a better government that actually protected the natural rights of the people. This toke a nearly a decade of rioting and violence for the Third Estate to have their way and get the rights they deserved. From all the causes like the famine of wheat, long debts because of wars, the heavy taxes, and their rights not being protected, some causes stood out more than the others. It is noted that these reasons had to play a major role in order for the French Revolution to occur. The three most important causes of the French revolution are the ideas that came from the Enlightenment, the Old Regime not being an efficient class system, and the heavy taxation.
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 out with violence and bloodshed. (American Revolution)
An immediate cause of the French Revolution was the rising price of bread. The grain harvest had been low the previous year, so the price of bread rose. Bread was usually the only thing that the poor ate, and raising prices would make them starve
During the late 18th century, both France and the British colonies in America experienced wars the opened the eyes of nations. The French Revolution and American Revolution drastically changed political thinking. In the French Revolution, monarchism was abandoned and political power was given to the people until the country became out of control, and a military dictatorship was necessary to regain control of France. In the American Revolution, a new nation was formed as the British colonies tore themselves away from the English monarchy. In the end, both France and the new United States of America moved away from absolute rule by a king or queen and wanted to put the political power in the hands of their people. However, there are many differences as well as similarities along the way to their political reformation.
In order to understand the causes of the French Revolution we must first understand the separations within the French society at the time. The population was divided into 3 states, the Clergy and the Nobility which were the first and second Estates, both of whom did not have to pay taxes and were given privileges such as high positions in the army and civil service. The Third Estate consisted of everyone else, the pheasants, farmers, landless labourers, serfs and the emerging middle class called the bourgeois. 80% of the population was rural and were very highly taxed by the king, like the rest of the ...
A small number of people said that the Third Estate, that which was drawn from the towns, should have power to equal the other Estates. Clubs of the bourgeoisie. the middle class, were formed, proclaiming, "Salus populi lex est. " It was a simple cry meaning "the welfare of the people is law." To these people, Estates General was like a pair of shoes that no longer fit.
Why there was Discontent Amongst the Members of the Third Estates by the Late 1780's