Compare the development of the French and American revolutions.

Why did they

develop so differently?

When I contemplate the natural dignity of man; when I feel (for Nature has not been
kind enough to me to blunt my feelings) for the honour and happiness of his
character, I become irritated by the attempt to govern mankind by force and fraud as
if they were all knaves and fools and can scarcely avoid disgust at those who are
thus imposed upon (Thomas Paine, Rights of Man). The French and American
revolutions, though separate epochs in different parts of the world, had many
similarities between them. They were first and foremost ideological wars. The ideas
of Locke on natural rights and freedom were of great influence to the American
people. These ideas were a product of the Enlightenment. The influence of the
Enlightenment of the American Revolution is not to be understated. It was massive.
The declaration of independence, which was a monumental point in the revolution,
was founded on the basic ideals of Enlightenment philosophers such as Locke.

By the year 1763, the British economy was at an all time low. The Seven Years’ War
had just ended and it was a time of economic hardship. Taxes had to be raised,
commerce was restricted and the responsibilities of the upkeep of British troops fell
to the colonies. This economic ‘slavery’ increased the tensions between the colonial
masters and their colonies.

The French and American Revolutions both arose in opposition to the absolute
monarchies that dominated at the time and its participants were largely of the same
or similar demographics. There are many large differences that need to be taken into
account. The French Revolution sought to change the entire political, social and
economic structure, the American Revolution on the other hand simple wanted a
change of government so to say. The French Revolution was about the monarchy
being overthrown and power being in the hands of the people. France was a feudal
state at the time and there was a huge discrepancy between the nobility and the poor
lower class. The nobility were not happy though; while they were indeed rich they
were little more than figureheads. The nobles, landowners and the aristocrats
consolidated as much power as possible. This was the state of things and had been
the state of things for a long time. It wasn’t till the massive economic downturn fuelled
by a lot of things, most notably by wars, tax-exempt aristocracy and general
disorganisation that things began to change. Europe had entered a new era of
thought. Fresh of the Enlightenment, ideas like freedom from oppression and
individuality had begun to take hold. King Louis was a wreck of a king; unable to
command respect anymore he had led France into economical hell.

King Louis’s XVI attempted to solve France’s economic unrest in 1789 by creating a
Parliament made up of representatives from the different social classes. This didn’t
work out very well because each of the class’s received one vote each so it was
impossible to resolve any issues. The representatives of the working class were
called the Third Estate. They then decided to break off from the others and form their
own assembly, which they called the National Assembly. The ‘National Assembly’
then began to make decision without informing the other estates. In July the King and
the others Estates supported the reforms however he went on to dismiss one of he
primary speakers of the Third Estate. This led to the storming of the Bastille prison.

Finding the exact causes of the French Revolution have proved very difficult, so
much so that historians still debate its origins. French society was divided into three
Estates. The first Estate consisted of the clergy, the second consisted of the nobility
and the third was the proletariat or basically everybody else. The clergy were the
most privileged in society, the French Catholic Church was a seat of enormous
power. The clergy itself was divided into two, the upper and lower clergy. The upper
clergy was mostly made up of bishops and abbots. These were men who had high
positions in office but didn’t really do much. They commissioned marriages, births,
deaths etc. The lower clergy were resentful of the conceited self-important wealthy
upper clergy. The lower clergy were usually village priests. The second Estate
consisted of another privileged group of people: the Nobility. They didn’t have to pay
tax and collected rent from the peasants who worked on their land. The third Estate
was made up of approximately everyone else. That is the bourgeoisie, the peasants
and the urban artisans. It is important to understand that certain members of the
bourgeoisie had large amounts of wealth but it did not mean much in terms of
political influence or status. Even acquiring land did nothing to increase their status,
their ‘progress’ up the social ladder was essentially blocked by an ageing aristocracy
who was only interested in keeping everyone in their place. By 1789, the bourgeoisie
who now controlled 20% of the land wanted positions in places such as the Church,
the army and the government to be open to anyone (basically them) who had the
skills. They wanted to reduce the amount of power the king had by putting in place a
parliament. The peasants were still living in abject poverty mind you. They couldn’t
really own land, as it was a feudal state. Yet they were still the victims of tax
increases of astronomical proportions.

France is the eighteenth century was an absolute monarchy. The kings had absolute
power; the nobility were nothing more that figureheads. Due to an inflated and
corrupt bureaucracy, and inefficient running of the state, France had become
bankrupt by the year 1789. It was in so much debt; mostly due to war of course and
yet it was only the peasants who continued to be taxed. Now this is where the
Enlightenment comes into play, it would silly to say that is was the cause of the
revolution. No, instead it gave a platform for dissent. Its ideals were in direct
opposition to the then current state of affairs in France.

The events that led up to the American Revolution could not have been more
different. The colonies in America were essentially extensions of the British Empire
who effectively ruled themselves. And it seemed that things would continue this way
however the ‘arrogance’ of the British Empire reared its ugly head and brought about
its own downfall. The colonies were unrepresented which meant that when acts and
laws were passed, the American people had no choice but to comply. This bred
feelings of resentment and injustice that would eventually blossom into a
revolutionary state of affairs. “No taxation without representation” sums it up nicely.

For over a decade there had been tensions between colonies and the British Empire.
However mere tension does a revolution make. There were significant social, political
and intellectual changes that were happening at the time. “The Revolution was
affected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of
the people…This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and
affections of the people was the real American Revolution” (John Adams). The war
was essentially a culmination of the radical change in ideals of the people. The then
current state of affairs was no longer ideal. A change was needed.

No matter how legitimate (or illegitimate) the acts that the British tried to impose on
the colonies were, it did nothing to alleviate the feeling of injustice felt by the
American peoples. Exemplified by the famous Boston Tea Party; a people who would
defy authority and destroy the tea as opposed to paying tax for it. The British tried to
punish Boston for its insolence; this however led to only more rebellion by the people.
It did not help at all. On the 5th of September, the Continental Congress was formed.
This was a troop of British soldiers designed to capture the insurgents and resolve
the mutiny. This backfired catastrophically and created the backdrop for the infamous
“shot heard around the world”. This on the 19th of April was the start of the American
Revolutionary War.
The American Revolution sparked a new era of political thought and experimentation.
It exemplified the rational man breaking free from the bonds of tyranny (British
tyranny to be exact). It in a ways it acted as a beacon of light to Europe and to
France in particular. The French saw the Americans and felt sorry for themselves,
and rightly so. The French had a lot to feel sorry about, the American didn’t. Both
revolutions however were victories for nobles ideals of liberty, reason and
democracy.

REFERENCES

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect.lecture11a.html

John Ferling, Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the
American Revolution (2002) p.282