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Explain the effects of the French revolution on society
Explain the effects of the French revolution on society
Social effects of the french revolution
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During the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, the colonies of the New World, and countries of the Old World, were undergoing revolutions and reforms. In North America, the United States created an economic and political powerhouse; the modern world’s first major nation to become a democracy. The Haitian Rebellion dramatically inspired other slaves and people to rise above government and be given the rights to freedom. The French Revolution practically destroyed its earlier absolute monarchy and caused the people to fight for social and political systems that treated them fairly and gave them more voice in government. The ideas and responses to the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions illustrate political uprisings in each government, change in social autonomy and a newfound sense of pride, along with intellectual shift and innovations. An additional document that would help analyze these revolutions would be a written document about a person’s account and emotional insight to what it was like living during a revolution.
A major thought for these revolutions was that the people of these regions wanted to formulate a new government in which it would grant more people freedom and would be actually able to listen to the people. In British periodicals, illustrations display British Officials being tarred and feathered; a humiliating event for anyone (Doc 2). This represents the Americans’ public opinion towards political leaders of Britain and their demand for liberty and justice. The Declaration of Independence states that the United States wants a just government that listens to the voice of the people, and is made up of the people (Doc 3). The Declaration of Independence displays how the ideas of the p...
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...people into joining the revolt and other countries thinking about rebellions and revolutions (Doc 6). The political uprisings, national pride and change in social statues, along with intellectual innovations were all ideas and responses to the revolutions.
The ideas and the responses to these ideas were important factors in the outcome of these revolutions. Political up rise and search for liberty caused governments to be overthrown and fought against. A sense of equality, shift in social autonomy, and nationalism led to revolutions in France, America, and Haiti. The influences of intellectual ideas led to more people being involved in the revolutions of these regions. These revolutions change the world, causing the United States to become the world’s largest power, Haitian people to gain liberty, and absolute monarchy in France to be completely overthrown.
The American Revolution has too often been dominated by the narrative of the founding fathers and has since been remembered as a “glorified cause.” However, the American Revolution was not a unified war but a civil war with many internal disputes that wreaked havoc and chaos throughout America. In his book, The Unknown American Resvolution, Gary B. Nash attempts to unveil the chaos that the American Revolution really was through the eyes of the people not in power, including women, African American slaves, and Native Americans. In his book, Gary B. Nash emphasizes their significance in history to recount the tale of the American Revolution not through the eyes of the privileged elite but through the eyes of the people who sacrificed and struggled the most, but were left forgotten, in their endeavors to reinvent America.
Gordon Wood’s Radicalism of the American Revolution is a book that extensively covers the origin and ideas preceding the American Revolution. Wood’s account of the Revolution goes beyond the history and timeline of the war and offers a new encompassing look inside the social ideology and economic forces of the war. Wood explains in his book that America went through a two-stage progression to break away from the Monarchical rule of the English. He believes the pioneering revolutionaries were rooted in the belief of an American Republic. However, it was the radical acceptance of democracy that was the final step toward independence. The transformation between becoming a Republic, to ultimately becoming a democracy, is where Wood’s evaluation of the revolution differs from other historians. He contributes such a transformation to the social and economic factors that faced the colonists. While Gordon Wood creates a persuasive argument in his book, he does however neglect to consider other contributing factors of the revolution. It is these neglected factors that provide opportunity for criticism of his book.
The American Revolution holds a very prominent place in the history of this country, as it was the longest and the most painful war Americans ever encountered. It took many years and numerous conflicts to finally gain independence in 1776 from British domination, which had been subjugating its colonies with laws of an unwritten constitution. It must be understood that though Americans were fighting for the right of democracy and each state wanted self-government, later that same issue turned into a big problem. Soon after America became independent, the former British colonies decided to form their own governments. It was then that the real battle began. The task of forming separate constitutions for each state, along with the formation of governmental institutions, turned in to a huge task -- a task so gigantic that it forced some states to rethink the matter and soon the rumors of a central government started circulating.
After enduring “a long train of abuses and usurpations” the colonists decided to declare themselves free of British rule (para 2). Jefferson writes that given their “unalienable rights . . . Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”, “it is the Right of the People . . . to institute new Government”, one that will fairly represent them, to reestablish order (para 2). The Declaration of Independence does not seek to convince or even encourage action; rather, it aims to declare. There are no mistaking Jefferson’s words. The Colonists are tired of the mistreatment and they are effectively severing all “Allegiance to the British Crown, and . . . political connection” (para 23). The audience of The Declaration of Independence, the world, is specifically addressed twice. The first
The American revolution was a reaction to unfavorable tax policies from the King of England. When the King of England began to infringe on the colonists’ liberties, leaders inspired by the enlightenment grouped together to defend the rights of the American colonies. As Thomas Jefferson writes in the Declaration of Independence, “History of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries ad usurpations,
The start of the American Revolution, described by Edmund Morgan as, “the shot heard around the world,” was the “Americans’ search for principles” (Bender 63). Although the world’s colonies did not necessarily seek independence much like the Americans, the world’s colonies were nonetheless tired of the “administrative tyranny” being carried out by their colonizers (Bender 75). The American Revolution set a new standard in the colonies, proclaiming that the “rights of Englishmen” should and must be the “rights of man,” which established a new set foundation for the universal rights of man (Bender 63). This revolution spread new ideas of democracy for the colonized world, reshaping people’s expectations on how they should be governed. Bender emphasizes America as challenging “the old, imperial social forms and cultural values” and embracing modern individualism” (Bender 74). Bender shapes the American Revolution as a turning point for national governments. The American Revolution commenced a new trend of pushing out the old and introducing new self-reliant systems of government for the former
A revolution is a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. In 1775, America was ready for dramatic change, freedom, and a disconnection from Great Britain. Taxes, trade regulations, and overarching, power, made all colonists, aside from the loyalists, more than ready to detach from Great Britain’s rule. The American Revolution portrays many similarities and qualities of the French revolution, due to the inspiration of one to another. The similarities and qualities lie within their spiraling economies, selfish, money-worship-thirsty leaders, ideologies, and provocation.
French and Russian Revolutions Both the French and Russian revolutions occurred for two main reasons. Both of these revolutions were the direct result of bad leadership and a bad economy. These two reasons, along with other factors, caused both of these revolutions. Although they were both similar, they also had differences. A difference between the two is that the Russians had an unsuccessful "pre-revolution" in 1905.
The Age of Revolutions was a period of time in which many global revolutions took place, especially within America and Europe. A revolution is an overthrow of government or social order in favour of political change. There were many revolutions that took place between 1760 and 1840, most notable being the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, and the French Revolution beginning in 1789 and ending in 1799. These, along with the Napoleonic Empire, which carried on from the French Revolution and lasted until 1815; all greatly transformed the Atlantic world. This occurred through these global revolutions, which inspired another revolution within the slave island of Haiti. The focus of this essay will be on the aforementioned revolutions,
The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.
The first is David Ramsey and the Causes of the American Revolution by Page Smith. The article focuses on the decade following the treaty of peace in 1783, concluding that the American Revolution was inevitable due to the nourishing spirit of independence throughout the colonies. The second is by Page Smith and the analysis of David Ramsey’s work, who was alive during the Revolution and wrote books in attempts to awaken Americans as citizens with new responsibilities of a new country. The second is Causes of Revolution, by Louis Gottschalk that was published in the American Journal of Sociology. This work examines all revolutions and attempts to understand how and why they
The late 18th century and early 19th century was a prominent time period in which the French Revolution and Haitian revolution occurred. Both revolutions were connected to each other such that they shared similar causes and consequences. Together, France and Haiti were angered by the inequality and unfair privileges that continued to appear in their societies. At the same time, they were inspired and hopeful of bringing the Enlightenment ideas into reality. Although they were able to accomplish most of what they fought for, such as the abolition of slavery, they still took part in bloody revolutions.
Throughout history, countless uprisings have occurred. Historians classify any forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system as a revolution. The success or failure of a revolution is directly related to the revolution’s causes and consequences. The French Revolution was more successful than the Nicaraguan Revolution, because the Nicaraguan Revolution left the country in social and financial ruin, foreign powers had much greater interference, and it precipitated a period of political unrest with multiple leadership changes. One cause of both revolutions was that people from all social classes were discontented.
Revolutions start in oppression and injustice, in the weakening of political authorities, in new ideas and in the activities of small groups of determined activist. For example, oppression and injustice was the reason for the start of the Haitian Revolution. The weakening of political authorities in the Latin American and French revolutions, and the new ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the American, French, Haitian, and Latin American revolutions. Finally, the activities of small groups of determined people were especially influential to the feminist revolution. Revolutions that occur because of oppression and injustice are mostly in a societies in countries where there is a lot of social and economic injustices which lead to uprisings
The French Revolution was based a single feeling. This feeling was injustice and the commoners were sick of being persecuted by the higher monarchies. They stood up to the “big guys” and fought for what they believed in and ended up changing History. Throughout all periods of History, there have been many revolutions. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a revolution is a sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people lived or worked. There are many different reasons why a revolution might happen. Some revolutions were caused due to politics, and others were caused by the economics of a country. There were even social and cultural revolutions. France experienced a revolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth century because