What Was The Difference Between American And French Revolutions
I. Intro a. American and French Revolutions b. Spurred on by the Enlightenment c. Both sought to overthrow old government II. Similarities d. Both American and French revolutions drew on theories from the Enlightenment to justify their cry for Independence e. Both sought first to air their grievances by political means i. French attended the Estates General, an assembly to represent entire French population ii. Americans used local colonial legislatures to try and come to terms with the English monarchy about representation of the colonies f. Both revolutions were preceded by the ruling power wanting to or actually levying taxes to help pay off military campaigns g. Both broke out of talks and into resistance to the ruling power
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iii. The French broke the Estates General and formed the National Assembly, charged with writing a new constitution; then uner pressure from the king, stormed the Bastille. iv. The Americans placed a boycott on British goods and took part in demonstrations like the Boston Tea Party h. Both Revolutions had tension breaking battle that lead to the revolutions v. The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first clash between American and British troops and led to beginning of the Revolution vi.
The storming of the Bastille and murdering of defending troops there sparked insurrection throughout France. III. Differences i. Political Order vii. The Americans formed a Continental Congress who oversaw the progress of the revolution and set up a government to rule the United States when Independence was achieved 1. They wrote the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution at the war’s end viii. The French were very chaotic about their revolution. It went from one party to another 2. First the National Assembly put forth the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, making France a constitutional monarchy 3. Then took radical turn when Assembly declared war on multiple countries, but fearing defeat revolutionaries established the Convention which abolished the monarch and set up republic. a. Used the guillotine and executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette 4. Chaos peaked in 1793 and 1794 when Robespierre and the Jacobins dominated the Convention. Sought to eliminate control of the Church. Executed some 40,000 enemies of the
revolution 5. Group seized power and executed Robespierre and his followers and set up the Directive, which was overthrown in a coup by Napoleon. j. Causes ix. American Revolution was caused by the Colonists resentment of being taxed without representation in the legislative body. They were not being treated under the Bill of Rights. x. The French Revolution was born not from commoners being taxed and getting mad about it, but instead noble lords called for the Estates General because they were going to have taxes levied upon them. k. Effect xi. The American Revolution ended by a democratic republic being set up with a new constitution and bill of rights xii. The French Revolution ended in a new dictator, Napoleon, who was eventually overthrown and the original monarchy was reestablished. IV. Conclusion l. Both similar in promoting Enlightenment ideals of freedom, equality, and popular sovereignty m. They differed in the organization and overall goals of the governing bodies of the revolutionaries n. They differed on how they ended and how each government was set up
iii. The French broke the Estates General and formed the National Assembly, charged with writing a new constitution; then uner pressure from the king, stormed the Bastille. iv. The Americans placed a boycott on British goods and took part in demonstrations like the Boston Tea Party h. Both Revolutions had tension breaking battle that lead to the revolutions v. The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first clash between American and British troops and led to beginning of the Revolution vi.
The storming of the Bastille and murdering of defending troops there sparked insurrection throughout France. III. Differences i. Political Order vii. The Americans formed a Continental Congress who oversaw the progress of the revolution and set up a government to rule the United States when Independence was achieved 1. They wrote the Declaration of Independence and wrote the Constitution at the war’s end viii. The French were very chaotic about their revolution. It went from one party to another 2. First the National Assembly put forth the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, making France a constitutional monarchy 3. Then took radical turn when Assembly declared war on multiple countries, but fearing defeat revolutionaries established the Convention which abolished the monarch and set up republic. a. Used the guillotine and executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette 4. Chaos peaked in 1793 and 1794 when Robespierre and the Jacobins dominated the Convention. Sought to eliminate control of the Church. Executed some 40,000 enemies of the
revolution 5. Group seized power and executed Robespierre and his followers and set up the Directive, which was overthrown in a coup by Napoleon. j. Causes ix. American Revolution was caused by the Colonists resentment of being taxed without representation in the legislative body. They were not being treated under the Bill of Rights. x. The French Revolution was born not from commoners being taxed and getting mad about it, but instead noble lords called for the Estates General because they were going to have taxes levied upon them. k. Effect xi. The American Revolution ended by a democratic republic being set up with a new constitution and bill of rights xii. The French Revolution ended in a new dictator, Napoleon, who was eventually overthrown and the original monarchy was reestablished. IV. Conclusion l. Both similar in promoting Enlightenment ideals of freedom, equality, and popular sovereignty m. They differed in the organization and overall goals of the governing bodies of the revolutionaries n. They differed on how they ended and how each government was set up