The American Revolution and the French Revolution were both big turning points in history, that led to change. The American Revolution helped America declare its independence from Britain, and the right to govern themselves (pg. 521). The French Revolution helped get men equal rights and freedom (pg. 528). Some consider the 18th century the last phase of an old Europe, that would be changed forever by the French Revolution (pg. 508), just like the American Revolution marked a new time for Americans. In the mid 18th century, the trading industry began to grow, this led more people of the middle class that approved expansion of the trade and world empire (pg. 521). All the new supporters of the expansion found themselves a spokesman named …show more content…
525). Before the French Revolution, France had a lot of inequality and privilege (pg. 526). The French population was divided into 3 separate parts, the first consisted of the clergy, there were about 130,000 people in this group who owned about 10% of the land (pg. 526). The second group was made up of the nobility, it had about 350,000 people who owned in the range of 25-39% of the land, and the third group that made up about 75-80% of the entire population, the peasants (pg. 526). Many believed that the Revolution was a turning point for all Europe, and that it was responsible for the changes that would continue to happen in Europe (pg. 508). The French Revolution was an attempt at changing both the political and social order of Europe (pg. 526). During the Revolution, the peasants rebelled, they had an effect on the National Assembly that was meeting in Versailles (pg. 528). The National Assembly decided to abolish the rights of landlords, and fiscal exceptions of the nobles, clergy, towns, and provinces (pg. 528). About a week after this, the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, this gave men freedom and equal rights, although some had difficulty understanding what the document meant by “all men” (pg.