The Difference Between France and Britain
Scholars from Aristotle onward have proposed that the characteristics
of society directly affect the nature of government. If we apply this
to Britain and France, we shall see that this proposal is definitely
true. The difference between the British and French cultures becomes
obvious when an assessment looks at their political systems, and each
of the 6 structures, and the full range of the political culture's
influence on each structure is understood.
Political socialization is the learning of your political culture; it
is the process of acquiring the values and beliefs of the political
system. Older generations pass on values and beliefs to the younger
generations, thus political socialization starts in the family. After
the family, it advances to the educational system, and it is the basis
of acquiring political culture. In Britain, the two most important
means of socialization are family and education. The family teaches
civic responsibility and class differences, although, unlike France,
these are moderated by British politics. The educational system
reiterates the class differences, but is not as elitist as in France.
As for France, the family, and education are the most important tools
of socialization. The French see the family as a haven, a refuge from
the outside world. It is the family that teaches religious and class
identity, but not a political party identity. However, they do learn
to mistrust outside authority such as the government. The educational
system helps separate classes and promotes a conflictual working class
consciousness, and lets society be divided, thus contr...
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...he executive branch appears to
maintain considerable power.
In analyzing the political cultures and institutions of France and
Britain, nothing became more evident that these two countries, due to
their unique political culture, have some similarities, but mainly
many differences in the 6 political institutions. To fully understand
the significance, and why it is necessary that every political system
must have each political structure, it's necessary to compare and
contrast the elements which create the different structures. Political
Culture defines each country's political institutions differently,
because no political culture is the same. This is necessary to
understand, because it shows us, that perception is everything in
politics. Politics is not just about structures and procedures, it is
about perception.
Feudalist France was a rich, powerful, and respected nation for hundreds of years- until it appeared to collapse like house of cards in the breeze. The catalyst for this change could be attributed to several causes, but ultimately it was the actions of one group that furthered the revolution most. Maturity enabled the bourgeoisie to dispute their position in society, seeing their lack of political voice as an irrefutable issue. Furthermore, they put their goals of change into effect by shifting France’s sovereignty. In short, the bourgeoisie were most influential in furthering the French Revolution because of their drive for political participation.
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.
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 with Great Britain. Taxes, trade regulations, and overarchingly, 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 down spiraling economies, selfish, money wealth-thirsty leaders, ideologies, and provocation.
Before the French Revolution that occurred during the late 18th century, France was considered one of the most advanced and opulent countries in Europe. It was in the center of the Enlightenment era, a period of time from the 1600s to the 1800s that is considered today as one of the most significant intellectual movements in history by encouraging a new view of life. The age sparked hundreds of important thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, Thomas Paine, and Adam Smith. The Enlightenment was the fuel that sparked a worldwide desire to reshape and reconsider the ways that countries were governed. Limited monarchies, direct democracies, limited democracies, and absolute monarchies, among others, were many forms of government that were disputed by these thinkers. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one the many significant Enlightenment thinkers, believed in a direct democracy, a system in which a country is governed by many, and where no one person has a considerable amount of power. This idea that citizens should receive independence and a voice would later stimulate the French and result in what is now k...
Throughout time individuals have rebelled against corrupt policies within society in order to obtain their autonomy as well as their rights as an individual. King Louis XIV of France, for instance, taxed the lower class of France, in order to construct his palace, the Palace of Versailles, which depicted his power and authority. If individuals refused to pay their taxes to Louis XIV, then as a result, they would be placed in prison or be executed, as a penalty. The lower class individuals of France began to question King Louis XIV’s authority, ultimately leading to numerous rebellions against his position as King of France. Likewise, between 1750 to 1914 numerous revolutions to alter certain aspects within society occurred in diverse regions
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 and American Revolution are considered to be some of the most significant events within the history of each of these countries. All though these are considered revolutions, are they actually? A revolution is when a group of people try to overthrow their government and then create a new government. The American Revolution was first set into motion by the Enlightenment era. The Enlightenment Era was a time where Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau embodied reason, government, religion, and no cruel death punishments. The American Revolution failed to achieve all that it was meant to. The old authority remained the same, but it did cause social change among the people. After the American Revolution
John Locke expressed that “All mankind…being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions” Locke’s view, which also was the idea of Enlightenment ideals, enlightened both American people and French people fought for their freedoms from absolute monarchs, and sought ways to firm their equality and natural right to life, liberty, and property during the eighteenth century. American revolution began as a conflict between thirteen colonies in the North America and the British Empire, and ended as the creation of the United State of America. French revolution was unleashed by the risk of France’s old regime and ended in 1799 when Napoleon staged a coup and seized power. Both American Revolution and French Revolution began with the same goals, which was the creation of a new government, but these were achieved in different ways: the American Revolution was a revolt that affirming the independence of the American to against Britain, while the French Revolution was civic wars among the people who turning France into a constitutional monarchy. In this paper, I will argue though the strategy of two revolutions might have been different, the outcome of their successful revolutions led to the creation of their Declarations, which defined the future of their government. A close look of their similarities and differences shows what led to their creation.
...on, Enlightenment ideas permeated the politics, economics, and religion of the French Revolution and the American Revolution. While both show several similarities, they predominantly differ on most things. Politically, American conservatives respected the individual and property rights of a citizen, while French politics respected the individual rights, took property rights in some cases, and used terror to influence people. Economically, the American free market idea left the economy alone, while the French input socialist ideas such as price ceilings. Religiously, the America closely associated itself with religion in the revolution, while the French public mostly despised the church.
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)
As almost anyone with the slightest knowledge of European history can tell you, the French and the British do not like each other. Some French and British people still hate each other today for issues that occurred 100 of years ago. So on top of the conflict that is already present between France and Great Britain there is a new one in the pursuit of gaining more land and power for one’s cou...
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.
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 social differences in France were very unreasonable. People openly argued that “social differences should not be defined by law, as they were in the old regimes order” (2). In France, much of the inequality came from the social class system. It led to angry peasants and tons of revolting. This could have been avoided if France maintained equality for all estates, as it would have been rational. In addition, the clergy and nobles were given many rights which “included top jobs in government, the army, the courts, and the Church” (109). This was very biased as they were able to get the highest jobs, not because they earned it, but because of their social stature. Meanwhile, commoners or bourgeoisie, were not granted those jobs even if they had the ability to do them. This caused much of the third estate to become mad which led to uncivilized manner in France. If the government had just given equal rights and granted jobs by merit opposed to social class rankings, there would have been less drama between the estates and everything would have been
France and England, for several reasons, were usually on opposite ends of the historical spectrum. Although each suffered from some of the same political, philosophical and Ideological symptoms, the same could be said concerning their growth and accomplishments. While France evolved from a country ruled and driven by a monarchy handcuffed with religious restrictions, England, with similar components in place, transformed into a completely different state. I believe, because of England’s geographical location and not being invaded or conquered, the isolation shaped its foreign policies to reflect a free and pure state of mind; however, I think proximity dictated foreign policy for all of the countries of that time and place. Which begs the question: If England and France were to switch their locations on the continent, would the English try to conquer Central Europe, North Africa and Russia? I will compare the two countries by listing historically significant events and how internal and external forces influenced each countries foreign policy.