Preview

Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And Russian Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
721 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And Russian Revolution
The French and Russian Revolutions: Similar? Or Different?
Owen Sokoloff
Period 4
Ms. Repollet
1/18/11

The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution were the same in many ways, but were also different in just as many ways. A king who believed in absolutism, just as France was before the revolution, led Russia; the kings didn't accurately represent their people, nor were they close to them; the middle class (bourgeoisie, in France, Duma, in Russia) wanted recognition; and in both cases, the royal families were executed. There were even more comparisons to the two Revolutions.
Both Louis XVI and Nicholas II were absolute rulers. Neither of them wanted to be king. Louis simply wanted a quiet life where he could be tucked in and eat
…show more content…
In both cases, however, it was the starvation and the bitter winter that had taken its toll on the people. A bread riot began in both cases. In the French Revolution, the women marched to Versailles and chased after Marie Antoinette, fixed upon killing her. They then forced the royal family into the Tuilleries Palace in Paris so they could keep a good eye on them. In the Russian Revolution, the women were calmer and simply paraded down the streets on International Women's Day, merely wanting some bread to sate their hunger. Unlike in the French Revolution, soldiers were ordered to shoot at the people in the "parade." They disobeyed and instead shot their officers and joined the …show more content…
In the French Revolution, the middle-class – or bourgeoisie – was practically ignored by Louis XVI, who only gave recognition to the aristocracy. As for Tsar Nicholas, he refused to acknowledge the middle-class, whom was called the Duma. The aristocracy enjoyed their place in society and had no problems with the way things were. The Duma, on the other hand, was disgusted with the way Tsar Nicholas ruled. Their discontent, along with the poor people's, were one of the uprisings that led to the Revolution of 1917. This, too, happened in the French Revolution. The bourgeoisie planned and organized until striking at the monarch and setting up their own government. The Duma had set up what was called the Provisional Government on March 12, 1917, which "established equality before law; freedom of religion, speech, and assembly; the right of unions to organize and strike; and the rest of the classic liberal program." The government in which the bourgeoisie had set up was identical. The Provisional Government lasted only a short time before Vladimir Lenin, an extreme socialist, overthrew it, giving this

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The French revolution and the American Revolution both have some similar qualities about them. Part of the reason is that they were both planned by Marquis de Lafayette. But they are also really different in other ways, because they are two different countries with different cultures and stuff. The American Revolution had a lot of help from the country France. They helped us economically and help with military. Once the American Revolution was over they became a republic and then went to Paris to sign the treaty. When the French return to their home country they realized that they didn't have the freedoms that we had and that they helped fight for. So France started to plan a revolution of their own.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Louis XIV and Peter the great became absolutism monarchs because of different reasons. Louis XIV inherited absolutism from his father Louis XIII but not created absolutism, in another word Louis XIV was forced to become the monarch of France because of his blood.【idea: Louis was born to be the lord】…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Revolution (A.R.) and the Reconstruction were difficult at the time, yet worth the obstacles. In a few ways they were similar, but they still maintain their differences. To put it into perspective, the Reconstruction was like an “American Revolution 2.0.” Not to say that Reconstruction was better than the A.R., but it is the same car but a newer, more modern model. It is almost the same story with different characters.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Parallels may be drawn between the revolutionary movements in Mexico in 1910 and in Russia in 1917. In both Mexico and Russia, democratic rule was experimented with during the revolution. In Mexico it resulted in a democratic government, but communism ultimately prevailed in Russia. In both cases foreign involvement played a role. Mexico was trying to escape economic dependency on foreign investors and limited military involvement by the United States in the revolution had little impact, while in Russia foreign powers who favored a democratic rule of the country went so far as to send troops to undermine communist progress.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Revolution never went through the radical phases that the French Revolution did. On the same hand, the nineteenth century French government was more conservative than the nineteenth century United States government.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During the Modern Era, in the years of 1500-1800, both the 13 colonies of America and the French Empire engaged in revolution. There were multiple similarities and differences between the two revolutions. One similarity is that the citizens in both countries violently rebelled against their government. Hence the Revolutionary war in America and the beheadings of the aristocrats in France. On the other end of the spectrum, a contrast between the two is that America did not have social classes like France did.…

    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    AP Essay

    • 561 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Social tensions were very different within the two revolutions. The American Revolution was a war against the outside force, Great Britain. The French Revolution was a war within its own country. In the French Revolution, the third estate rebelled within their society against the first and second estate. While in America there was an absence in the class systems. The French class system was differentiated into three separate estates. The first estate included the clergy. The second estate contained the wealthy or aristocrats. The third estate was made up of the rest of the society, the peasants. The legal distinctions lacking in America brought everyone on the same social status with equal rights. In France rights varied between social classes. The top estates had no taxes and many other privileges that were inaccessible to the third estate. Before the American Revolution the British had been so lenient and tolerant to the colonies, that it was a sudden change when they began to be strict with their controls over the colonies. Socially, the French and the American Revolution were unique.…

    • 561 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Economic challenges had an effect to both revolutions. Each nation’s money problems were unique. The American Revolution had the financial pressure from Britain, that they placed on the New World. Tho they did not hate the taxation itself, it was the fact that they felt as if they got nothing back. France was…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although the American and French Revolutions were similar in many ways, the American Revolution still managed to experience greater success. The American Revolution started in 1776 and was fought by the American colonies and the British. The British heavily taxed the colonies, which made the colonists upset. This resulted in a war between the two, which the colonists ultimately won. The French Revolution started in 1789 and was a series of riots consisting of the French population in protest of the monarchy’s actions. France was in debt because of a war, and this created taxes which the citizens could not pay, so the population was in high poverty. The king did not take any action, however, so the citizens…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French Revolution was very different from the American Revolution from how they handled everything and with what was going on. “During the course of the Reign Of Terror, close to 40,000 people were killed” (339). This quote tells me that the French Revolution was different…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    derived from, and in defense of one minority group. As the Colonists built their own societies and settlements in the New America, issues of contentions arose separating themselves from the rest of the British empire. The Revolution became a fight for themselves and their well being not the well being of anyone else. As ideas of Civil War arose around 1860-1861 the cause was for the black minority although not yet announced by Abraham Lincoln. Both the American Revolution and Civil War were powered through the desires of one minority group to rise up and fight against the traditional normalities.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nobody knows what specifically could've have caused the corruption of many head on battles towards others. Both the US and France have had conflicts towards each other. The thing is what caused them to have conflicts towards each other. The US is a strong federal republic country with 50 states, a federal district, territories, and possessions. It holds the most greatest battles that were ever created back then and still live on. France is a place that's full of medieval cities, villages, mountains, and beaches. Their known capital is Paris, which is worldwide for its classical artworks. Both the United States and France have many differences and possibly some similarities between each other, but nobody quite knows nor understand what they…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Two of the greatest revolutions in history were the, American Revolution and the French Revolution. The American Revolution was a big turning point in American History, and the French Revolution was a major event that impacted the history of the world. The American Revolution was the struggle to get liberty and independence from Great Britain. The French Revolution was fought to overthrow the oppressive government, they wanted justice and to be treated equally. Both revolutions have many similarities, which include unfair treatment by their government and a series of riots.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While there are quite a few striking similarities between the French and American Revolutions, there are equally as many differences. Both the French and the American Revolution stem from ideals of Enlightenment, wherein the public wanted to be free from oppressive and tyrannical rulers, and put power back into the hands of the people.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French Revolution, one of the most popular revolutions in history, is one that resembles the American Revolution in many ways. In the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was overthrown and replaced with a new constitution, as was King George III in the American Revolution. Both of the new constitutions established an up to date government that was different than the previous one. The French Revolution and the American Revolution both involved a change in power but also both resisted a powerful monarchical government who was controlling them at the time. Both revolutions were a struggle for independence and the nation's identity, but the French were not forced to rebel against their own government as the Americans were and there revolution was very different as the fighting was not as prolonged. Since the American Revolution and the French Revolution were very much the same, with America having the tougher time, it can be concluded that the American Revolution was infact a…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays