American and the French revolution caused a lot of chaos in both countries. Both the revolutions were for a cause, the American Revolution took place because the Americans wanted to free themselves from the enslavement of the British and similarly the French revolution took place because the rich were dominating France at the expense of the poor people in the country. Both these Revolutions had a common aim and that was to bring justice and peace in America and France respectively. This paper will throw light upon the American and the French Revolution. A comprehensive analysis of the causes and consequences of the two revolutions will be presented in this paper.
The consequences of both these Revolutions were very different because of the different value systems that the leading men in these Revolutions had. The French Revolution took shape because the government of France was very biased towards the rich people and ignored the interest of the poor people. The people who owned land in France back then had all the authority and were capable of doing anything. On the contrary, the people who had no land had no other option but to work on the farm of rich people. This monopolized the whole government and the rich started exploiting the poor. Slowly the whole scenario changed and a middle-class society developed in France, a society that would disapprove of the rule of the rich and that would rebel against the unjust policies of the French government. This signaled the beginning of the French Revolution that changed the outlook of France once and for all.
“America, on the other hand, had been colonized by English settlers starting in 1620. All types of classes from England came to the United States to make a new life for themselves. But as time progressed, England seemed to forget that the colonists in America were just as much British citizens like themselves. The English began to impose heavy taxes on the colonists, and the colonists protested, calling on the injustice of “No Taxation without Representation”. The stage was set for a revolution.” (Reasons for the American and the French Revolutions).
When the American Revolution began, the people involved in it constantly asked for God’s help and guidance. On the contrary, the people involved in the French Revolution decided to take the matter into their own hands and left out the idea of seeking any guidance from God. This also shows the belief system that existed in the people back then. The Americans were God-fearing and the Frenchmen were not as God-fearing as the Americans were.
The consequences of both the Revolutions were devastating. It caused the massacring of people in large numbers and there was bloodshed which was easily the highlight of both these Revolutions. Human beings were slaughtered like chickens and both these countries witnessed a tremendous change after these Revolutions. The French government started functioning efficiently after the Revolutions and America got freedom from British reign. The efficient working of the French government to date is very largely because of the French Revolution and America would not have witnessed positive change had the American Revolution not taken place. In terms of similarity, both the Revolutions took place to eliminate injustice and in terms of difference, both the Revolutions brought different changes in America as well as France prior to the respective Revolutions experienced by both the countries.
References
Reasons for the American and the French Revolutions. In Comparative Essay.