What defines a “revolution”? According to Merriam-Webster, a “revolution” is a fundamental change in a political organization. In certain situations, a revolution is considered to be the renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed. Many places around the globe have been subjected to revolutions, including countries such as Iran, Greece, and Haiti. However, the American Revolution and the French Revolution are arguably the two most significant revolutions in world history. But what makes them so comparable, and what makes them so contrasting?
The main similarity between the two revolutions was their overall purpose. The American Revolution occurred with the intention of severing ties with a “foreign” nation and establishing a new government that would enact policies and taxes that were more actively responsive to the current conditions of the colonies. Most Americans did not desire complete autonomy from
…show more content…
Whereas the American Revolution was fairly organized and sympathetic to the upper classes in that the Revolution greatly benefited those in the trading business as they were then allowed to do business with other countries which originally had been forbidden. A final major difference between the French and American Revolution is the distance between the ruling government and its citizens. Simply put, the French Revolution was a domestic revolt against a usurper, while the American Revolution was a foreign rebellion against a king whose seat of power was separated from them by an entire ocean. In the American colonies, the king’s power was mostly superficial and not viewed as absolute. This is in comparison to the French monarchy in which the king was believed to have been granted the right to absolute rule by