Similarities Between The French Revolution And The American Revolutions

The Atlantic Revolutions consisted of the American, French, Haitian, and Spanish revolutions. Many similarities can be found between the revolutions, but there are also many differences. Each revolution influenced the other. They shared the same ideas and grew out of the European Enlightenment. These revolutions would soon abolish slavery, extend suffrage, develop constitutions, and secure equality for women and much more. The Enlightenment was a time when new ideas sprang to life. Some of these ideas included liberty, equality, free trade, religious tolerance, and popular sovereignty. The Enlightenment started in Britain, which had a very advanced government. Britain had space in their government to implement the education of people. During …show more content…
The French Revolution began because of reasons that were similar to the North American revolution. The French were on the verge of going bankrupt, and they searched for a way to make the tax system better for the people; however, the higher classes opposed the ideas. In France there were three classes of people, the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. Only two percent of the population was clergy and nobility , the rest were commoners. In 1789, members of the Third Estate, or the commoners, created a new order called the National Assembly. The commoners said that they should have the authority to make laws for the people. A few days later they wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which declared, “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” These events spurred the French Revolution. The French Revolution, as stated before, was inspired from American ideas. However, the American Revolution was a war that was fought because of tensions with a country that was across the ocean. The French Revolution was fought within the country because French people conflicted with their own government. During the first five years, the French Revolution was very violent, more violent than the American Revolution. Also, it changed many things in society. Slavery was abolished for a short while, and it ended feudalism in the country. They raised revenue by selling church lands. The king and queen were executed which started a new era in the violence, the Terror. France now under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, who led committee called the Committee of Public Safety, made arrests and executed thousands on the guillotine. The Americans only wanted a change in liberty and freedom for their country, whereas France wanted a new start, a completely different society. The country of France became a republic and created the