Causes Of The American Revolution

In history, there have been upheavals that have led to revolutions. A revolution is a forcible overthrow of government or social order in favor of a new system. Two of the most infamous revolutions in the world were the American and French Revolutions. The American Revolution began in 1775, and intended to achieve national rights for Americans. The causes of the American Revolution were the aristocracy of the British, and taxes. The Americans felt that their English rights had been violated, and many refused to bow to parliamentary pressure, despite the threat of military interference. Even though some disliked armed resistance against Britain, and others disliked British interference in colonial matters, these colonists remained loyal subjects.
They fought against their enemy, King George III. The effects of religion, and philosophy with the American Revolution is that some Christians believed that they should be loyal to their elected representatives in the colonial legislatures. However, when the elected representatives called for opposition to the edict of Parliament and king, those Christians could support the colonial cause in good conscience.
Other Christians had their differences. They believed that their first loyalty lay with the British government in London. When war began, many of them sided with Britain. Also, when some framers of the Constitution talked about popular sovereignty with the American Revolution, they reflected on the influence of the Enlightenment. Even though Enlightenment philosophy taught that man was essentially good, the constitutional fathers had a healthy fear of human nature, and the power of government. Some of the framers were of Protestant-Puritan heritage. The Protestant-Puritan heritage teaches that man could not be trusted. Despite all the controversy with all the causes, and fighting of the American Revolution, in 1783, the revolution ended, and the Americans won. There was internal peace, relative peace with other nations, a peaceful transfer of power, and a lasting constitution. Today, Americans owe all the accolades to our brave men, women, and first President of the United States, George Washington. He was also the leader of the American forces during the revolution. After all, Galatians 5:13 says, “You, my brothers and sisters were called to be free.
But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. This applies to the American Revolution because the Americans were trying to fight for their freedom from British aristocracy. However, violence was not the answer. Even though they achieved this task with having independence, many lives were lost by bloodshed. The French Revolution began in 1788, and intended to achieve the economic problems, and civil reform.
The causes of the French Revolution were the calling of the Estates-General, the forming of the National Assembly, and the storming of the Bastille. The king, Louis XVI, were trying to help with the finances of France, but the finance ministers told him that no money remained in the treasury, and urged him to tax those who were paying no taxes. The economic proposals of the finance ministers were unpopular, and Louis XVI told the people to give their deputies cahiers. Cahiers were lists of grievances. All the estates gave their cahiers. In France, there was a caste system called the Estates. The caste system was like India’s when the most powerful ruler was at the top. The First Estate consisted of the Roman Catholic clergy, the Second Estate consisted of the nobility, and the Third Estate consisted of peasants. Each Estate received one vote at the meeting of Versailles on May 5, 1789. However, the votes were unfair. The disagreement continued, and members of the Third Estate formed the famous Tennis Court Oath. The Tennis Court Oath was an oath of the Third Estate declaring that they would not disband until a written constitution was established. The Third Estate continued to say that the king’s orders were still unfair, and he ordered troops to Versailles, and Paris. The Parisians were angry by both high prices for bread, and rumors that Louis’s troops intended to murder
them. They began searching for weapons to defend themselves. On July 14, 1789, most of the mob stormed the Hotel de Invalides (a hospital for soldiers); others laid siege to and captured the Bastille (a royal prison for political prisoners). When Louis heard of the incident, he said, “This is a revolt.” His aide replied, “No, Sire. This is a revolution.” They fought against the Old Regime. The Old Regime was the political, and social order in France before the French Revolution. The effects of religion, and philosophy with the French Revolution is that some philosophes, such as Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau considered that with man-centered human reasoning, the National Assembly should list in the Declaration of the Rights of Man what they considered to be the natural rights of all people, and the rights that they possessed as citizens. One of these rights were that “Man are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be based only on public utility.” However, some people thought that the King Louis XVI needed to understand this concept. Because people were upset with him, and he tried to escape, King Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793. In 1799, the French Revolution ended. Sadly, there was social chaos, civil disorder, and internal violence; war with nations; many short-lived constitutions; and takeover by Napoleon, a military strategist, and dictator. His military style, and dictatorship that resembled King Louis XVI caused France to continue being in a state of anarchy. After all, Hebrews 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” This applies to the French Revolution because the French were always fighting, and everything was chaotic. They did not build consensus, and God says that we should live peacefully, so that relations will be good. However, the French failed to achieve this task.
Overall, what we can learn from the American, and French Revolutions is that Americans should live peacefully with their freedom, so our country will not be in disarray.