How Did Haiti Start An American Revolution

If you are an American, you are aware of the infamous revolution which was the start of the creation of our country. This revolution, however, was only one of three major events which took place during the end of the 18th century. The people of France and Haiti also decided to start a revolution against their government. Revolutionary can be defined as a complete change. Each country established their own objectives to help them win their independence from their oppressive government. Haiti accomplished the most objectives and changed the most from their original government. After analyzing each revolution, it is clear that Haiti was the most revolutionary. The first of the three revolutions started in 1775 in the American colonies. England

The citizens were split into three estates: the clergy, the noblemen, and the commoners. There was widespread unemployment, making the third estate the largest of the three classes. The commoners decided they wanted equal rights and set forth to write their own declaration as the National Assembly. They formed a list of objectives, “All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents,” (Rights of Man, pg. 1). They spoke strongly about the rights between social classes by introducing new laws and forms of government. What came next was a social upheaval from the constitution of 1792. The country ended feudalism, but thousands were executed in suspicion of being enemies of the state. The guillotine, a death trap, became a part of everyday life. It took years before Napoleon Bonaparte effectively ended the revolution. Ultimately the French’s use of the guillotine distracted them from reaching their objectives of equal rights. Their biggest accomplishment was ending Feudalism. Nonetheless, the French was not the most revolutionary of the three countries. The French revolution did not top that of

At the time, Haiti was a colony, known as Saint Domingue, made up of plantations producing sugarcane and coffee (Ways of the World, pg. 709). The majority of the population were slaves or people of color. When tensions rose between the Europeans, it triggered the Haitian revolution. Their objective was to ensure freedom from their enslavement under France. Their revolt started with much violence from the burning down of the plantations to the killing of hundreds. All white men living in Haiti either fled or were killed. The Haitians felt strongly towards their revolt and would not let anything get in their way. Afterwards they write their declaration stating, “Let us vow to ourselves, to posterity, to the entire universe, to forever renounce France, and to die rather than live under its domination; to fight until our last breath for the independence of our country,” (Haitian Declaration, pg. 3). The right of man was important, regardless of race. Everything from that point began to change. The social class had been flipped. What was once the bottom was now the top. The former slaves were now independent citizens. The Haitians accomplished their objectives by becoming independent of France, pushing out the landowners, and reclaiming their native land. By far, the Haitians were the most changed from their original state. They inspired the Abolition Movement in Britain and other slave rebellions. The Haitian