The American Revolution vs.

The French Revolution

Katryn Demyan

In this paper, I seek to compare, the American Revolution and the French Revolution. I
argue there are many similarities in the two revolts. Both were products of Enlightenment ideals.
In these countries, the people wanted natural rights. This means they wanted their country to be
ruled equally and to live by fair laws. In an attempt to escape oppression, the people revolted
against the government. Both groups of middle class people hoped for a democracy, where they
could assist in ruling. I will do this by examining the French Revolution, American Revolution,
and their similarities.
First, I seek to examine the American Revolution. This is when the American people
became angered because they believed the way their country was living was corrupt. The people
believed that men are to be treated equally and that the United States of America is a free
country. People were not being treated equally or fairly so they became outraged. One of these
people was Thomas Paine. He wrote and published works about the problems with the way
government was running the country. He also wrote about Enlightenment ideals as previously
mentioned. These ideals were exactly the ideas that America was built upon, but not lived by. His
ideas of freedom and equality quickly spread through the nation during the revolution.

Additionally, Americans were living in famine and extreme poverty for the lower classes. This
left them no choice but to revolt.
Next, I seek to assess the French Revolution. Classic images of hungry, poverty-stricken
French peasants are still familiar. Certainly, the pre-revolution French economy was dismal and
had been for decades. As a trading nation, France was not able to pay off national debts using
the small amount of money it received on the taxes for traded goods. To make up for this money,
the king imposed more taxes, especially on the peasants. Absurdly, the wealthiest nobles were
not obligated to pay taxes. Ninety-seven percent of the population is the bourgeoisie, or the
middle or lower class. They were mad because they were the poorest of all the estates, yet, they
were the only estate that had to pay taxes.
Lastly, I seek to recount the similarities between the French Revolution and the American
Revolution. First of all is the reason for revolt. Both the American and the French wanted
equality. The consequences of things are not always proportionate to the apparent magnitude of
those events that have produced them. Thus the American Revolution, from which little was
expected, produced much; but the French Revolution, from which much was expected, produced
little. ~Charles Caleb Colton. Because of people like Thomas Paine, citizens became more
eager to revolt. The revolutions were based around Enlightenment ideals. One of the ideals is

natural rights. Natural rights are rights every human has from birth. They do not need to do
anything to obtain these rights.
In conclusion, I have proven that there are many similarities in the two revolts. Both
revolutions were a time of betterment for both countries. Both the American Revolution and the
French Revolution were born of bad economic conditions. Economic challenges definitely were
the basis for both revolutions. In addition, Thomas Paine moved to France during the French
Revolution. Due to his previous success spreading ideas during the American Revolution, he
decided to do the same in France. His ideas again quickly spread and enraged people even more.
Because of this rage, and the immense number of them, they were able to successfully revolt
against the monarchy.