The Brief Overview Of American And French Revolution

Before providing comparisons and contrasts among these two influential wars, here is a brief overview separately presented regarding the reasons these events began and how they followed through. The American Revolution started in 1775 and lasted till the year 1783. What led up to this significant event was primarily due to the tension among the colonists and British authorities. Taxes rose significantly and protesters began invading the streets and causing chaos. What Americans wanted was the equal rights all men deserve, not only the high authority. Uprisings such as the Boston Massacre, and massive shootings occurred, marking the beginning of an official Revolutionary war on April 19th, 1775.

The French Revolution instead occurred six years after the American Revolution ended. It began in 1789 and ended ten years later on November 9th, 1799. Causes that sparked the beginning of the Revolution were due to the following: inequality, ideas of Enlightenment, economic crisis, and lastly the immense impact a series of cold winters had on the crop and food storage. France in this time period was in debt basically to itself. The high and reckless spending of money on the King’s part brought extreme taxation unfairness to the commoners. Due to this, the commoners followed the wise words of John Locke stating: “if the government becomes tyrannical then the people have a right to change it”. The French then revolted and marked the beginning of the French Revolution on July 14th, 1789.

The first fact the American and French Revolution have in common is that they are both influential and important wars in History. While comparing these two historic events, we see that they have a variety of things in common including the causes of war and similar beliefs. The ideas of the Enlightenment Era influenced both Americans and French. The famous thinkers of that era, including John Locke, were greatly against the idea of an absolute power with limitless power, such as a monarchy; they believed that rulers should not have the right to take away personal rights from anyone under their rule. These ideas greatly impacted both countries and encouraged many people to revolt. Due to this, both wars started out with an outburst based on the issue of inequality. Inequality in this case was based on the unfairness of how the citizens were treated and especially the incredible amount of tax in both America and France. Once the wars broke out, roles for commanders were needed to lead the people. George Washington was the leader of the American army, later becoming the first American President. The French also had an influential leader named Napoleon Bonaparte that led them in their bloody journey. Both were very successful and crucial people in History who are remembered and honored to this day. Last but not least, all fought for one sole purpose: independence.

The first diversity that can be found between these two events is the different “classes” of people that fought. The French Revolution began with the lowest class of people, known as the third estate (made up 98% of France’s population). They were unhappy regarding how they were being treated unequally compared to the higher level of commoners, also known as the second and first estate. On the other hand, when the American Revolution broke out there was no division of any type. Young and old, black and white, poor and rich, all fought for independence. Another difference is also the fact that the French war stayed between the third estate and the government. Instead, in the American war, the French also joined to help the Americans against the British. A minor difference found is that the French Revolution involved many more deaths and more shedding of blood. An individual to the minor extent of supporting the king would be immediately killed. The Americans instead rarely were violent with the British, apart from battles and massacres.

According to my studies on this topic, I’d have to go with more similarities. Both wars began with the same basic issue of inequality and the unbalanced system imposed by the authorities and Kings on the people. Also, they both were led by very influential Historical characters that left their mark in the world. The most important detail about the similarities between the American and French Revolution were their main objectives from the start: fairness, equality, and independence.