Essay on Comparing The French Revolution and The American...

A revolution, by definition, is the overthrow of one government followed by replacement with another. The American Revolution against the British during 1775 to 1783 and the French Revolution pitting the French people against their own government during 1789 to 1799 were both very important political and social turnovers. This movement towards the establishment of a constitutional government influenced political thought throughout the world. By closely examining three of the main causes of these revolutions, it is clear that although the two revolutions have their differences, the basis of cause for the revolutions have, overall, much stronger similarities. One of the main causes for the revolution and essentially what started it†¦show more content†¦The people themselves wanted freedom but it was the influence of the philosophers at the time that drove them to believe they could get it, which resulted in the revolt. Since both France and America had the same philosophers to influence them, they were ?enlightened? with the same ideas, which are seen later in both constitutions. England also played a big part in influencing both nations but it was the famous philosophers like Montesquieu, Rousseau, John Lock and Voltaire who lead the revolution to be a fight for human rights. Voltaire, one of the most influential philosophers of his time, having been influenced himself by John Lock emphasized his ideas on reason and the natural rights of human beings and made the people in France and America realize the rights as human beings they should have. Montesquieu was a French jurist and political philosopher who advocated a ?free and balanced aristocratic government? to be established in France. One of his main ideas was his political thought on the separation of powers in where each branch of the government would limit the power of the other two branches as so no branch could become a threat to libe rty and therefore no tyranny could occur. Rousseau, a French political philosopher influenced both nations with his preachesShow MoreRelatedComparing the American and French Revolutions1488 Words   |  6 PagesStates and French right before times of revolution. It therefore, compares and contrasts the French and America revolution and looked into the similarities of some f the events just right before the revolution took place. In conclusion, we look at the perception of the people on the methods used by both countries to push for revolution. Introduction Similarities Both French and America had various similarities and differences in histories of events which resulted to their revolution. The AmericaRead MoreComparing the French Revolution and the American Revolution Essay example857 Words   |  4 Pages 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 populationRead MoreComparing and Contrasting the American and French Revolutions805 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Revolution began for two reasons: political and economic, while the French Revolution began with domination and mismanagement tha t contributed to the French society. 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What most people do not think about however, is how the Revolution affected other countries, specifically the country of England. England was affected positively and negatively by the Revolution in that there was an increase of political involvement, but there was a collapse in the economy due to war declared by France. The French Revolution created a battle of conflictingRead MoreRole of Ideas in the French and Russian Revolutions1432 Words   |  6 PagesCount: 1511 How important was the role of ideas in the outbreak of revolution? When comparing the French Revolution of 1789 and Russian October Revolution of 1917, a series of parallels become evident. Both revolutionary groups became determined with an extensive emergence of new ideas, which captured a strong majority of the respective populations. The importance of the ideas was critical to maintaining a drive for the revolutions considering they acted as a manifestation of what the public and the