Differences And Similarities Between The American And The French Revolution

A revolution is to overthrow a government and replace with another. That is what both colonial America, and France did. The American Revolution started in the year of 1775, and was set out to break away from Britain. Most of the colonist wanted to break away from British rule because of taxes, trade regulations, and power. The French revolution began in the year 1789. The French nobles, Bourgeoisie, and peasants wanted to break away because the people wanted more power, to overthrow the monarchy, or to change the tax system. The American and French Revolution both have similarities and differences. The similarities and differences come in economy, leaders, ideology, and provocation.

The American Revolution was started basically because of problems

In the 18th century, there was a lot of criticism of the French monarchy, even from the Old Regime. The king's ministers questioned his past decisions, and current ideas. The parliaments were 13 regional royal courts led by the Parliament of Paris. They decided if a law should be passed or not. They believed that the king's initiatives with the laws that he wanted to pass threatened rights and liberties of the people. There was also another group called the philosophies; they did not want a violent revolution. They argued that the people had certain natural rights, and that the government was there to guarantee these rights to them. The philosophies pointed out the Old Regimes flaws and how they abused their power. Yet another group called the Bourgeoisie influenced people with their ideas. They were respected very much because of their high education levels. It included such thinkers as Voltaire and Rousseau. They presented an idea of liberal society that benefited from commerce. The Bourgeoisie went against the absolute right to rule, they presented ideas of equal rights, and wanted to abolish the class system. Also, they said men should develop through opportunity and education, not because of they birth. The French soldiers who fought in the American Revolution came back from the war with new ideas and reason for revolution. They included: the right to take up arms against tyranny, no taxation without representation, all men should have liberal freedoms, and a republic is superior to a monarchy. The war with Napoleon was seen as a way to spread the revolutionary cause throughout Europe. It was to spread the idea of liberty, equality, and