Similarities Between American And French Revolution

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Many revolutions had taken place all throughout history. Two to name were the American and French Revolutions. The American Revolution had taken place the last half of the 18th century from 1765 to 1783. The thirteen colonies in American were under the British Monarchy and were subjected to taxes which piled over time. Growing tired of the increase on taxes, the American people rebelled against the British Empire which was followed by violence and war. Stated by political philosopher Thomas Paine (1776) “As to usurpation, no man will be so hardy as to defend it; and that William the Conqueror was an usurper is a fact not to be contradicted. The plain truth is, that the antiquity of English monarchy will not bear looking into” (Paine, 1776). …show more content…

The separation from the British Empire left the Americans to be able to govern themselves. A few years after the American Revolution followed the French Revolution. Between 1789 and 1799, the French Revolution which was also known as the “Great French Revolution” had over 1 million casualties. Taking place in France, the French Society was upset by the increased taxes that were laid upon them. According to Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein, and Smith (2008), “Tax collections was also far from systematic: private contractors collected many taxes and pocketed a large share of the proceeds” (p.598). The increase of taxes was caused by the fiscal crisis in the 1780’s in which the government and Louis XVI had burdened the people with large taxes to settle his debt. The people had grown tired of the taxes that they were unable to pay and opted towards violence. The Storming of the Bastille consisted of 1,000 armed civilians who aimed to swarm and take over the prison in which gunpowder could be found. After the successful attack on the Bastille, it was then known that the French Monarchy had been