What is one way that the American Revolution contributed to the start of the French Revolution?

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Revolutionary Twins? The American and French Revolutions were fought several years and an ocean apart. However, they feature enough similarities that some people initially consider them “mirror struggles.” After all, there are some easy comparisons: both revolutions occurred in the later eighteenth century. Both subverted an existing, monarchical government. Finally, both created ripe conditions for constitutionalism and deep patriotism. But dig more deeply, and you’ll find that this “same revolution, different continent” concept is not as tidy as it initially appears. Further similarities between the two revolutions are just different enough to produce profound distinctions between the two revolutions. Although most scholars believe that the two revolutions influenced one another (as well as had profound worldwide impact), each revolution is a very distinct and singular struggle for freedom, identity, and an improved way of life. Indeed, scholars have built entire careers on this subject, and rich debate and information is available online or at your local library. However, here are a few fundamental elements shared by the revolutions, with intricate but important differences highlighted:

Causes

Both the American Revolution and the French Revolution were borne of dire economic conditions. Economic challenges definitely contributed to the basis for both revolutions. However, each nation’s money-related woes were quite unique. The American Revolution had roots in the financial pressure that Britain placed on the New World; because Britain was economically dependent on the colonies, it kept taxing them. However, the colonists didn’t oppose the taxation itself. They were more vexed by the lack of a reasonable basis for the taxation, feeling that they received little or no benefit from their funds that were being spent “back in the old country.” This phenomenon—commonly known as taxation without representation—infuriated the colonies, building the basis for their revolt. Classic images of hungry, poverty-stricken French peasants are still familiar. Indeed, the pre-revolution French economy was dismal and had been for decades. As a second-tier trading nation, France was unable to pay off national debts using the scant amount of money it received on the taxes for traded goods. To make up for this deficit, the King imposed further taxes, especially on the peasants. Paradoxically, the wealthiest nobles were not obligated to pay taxes. This allowed the King to successfully sell titles, pulling the two social classes further apart. So although the British tax-related woes were also tied to royal greed and exploitative control, they were relatively common to any new colonist establishment. France’s case, while certainly tax-related, was more deeply rooted in a historic division of social class. Although the rich and poor had long been separated, the King’s selling of titles totally isolated the two groups. This resulted in famine and extreme poverty for the lower classes, and left them no choice but to revolt.

Goals

Both revolutions were undertaken with the goal of independence in mind. The American Revolution was not initially or even primarily fought for independence. Independence almost became a “by-product” of the colonists’ initial attempt to remove unfair taxes levied on them by British Parliament. On the other hand, France’s decades of class division and its burgeoning interest in thinkers like Rousseau (who emphasized the importance of human rights) sparked a popular interest in a more independent way of life. The influence of speeches, articles, and pamphlets from gifted writers and orators like revolution leaders Jacques-Pierre Brissot and Maximillien Robespierre also fueled this desire for freedom. Finally, the success of the American Revolution (and the colonists’ resulting independence from British rule) arguably acted as an incentive for revolt.

American-French Relationships

Both revolutions spurred a strong response from the other nation. Before 1789, most people (excluding the Americans of the new United States) lived with the general form of government their ancestors had known for centuries, usually hereditary monarchy. After the French Revolution began in 1789, no form of government could be accepted as legitimate without justification. The revolutionaries established a republic in 1792, and henceforth republicans around the world would challenge monarchists. Overall, the French Revolution offered the world something totally novel: an ideology that allowed and encouraged the questioning of historic power structures. This ideology borne of the French Revolution laid the groundwork for other ideologies, including nationalism, socialism, and eventually communism. In fact, early communist leaders Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels both commented extensively on the French Revolution, hoping to find important lessons for building and governing communities. North Americans showed special interest in the French Revolution, believing the events of 1789 drew heavily on their own experience with Britain. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen seemed to borrow strikingly from the states' bill of rights. Even more direct influence took place when American Thomas Jefferson, resident in France at this time, passed along specific ideas to the legislators through the Marquis de Lafayette. Although the French Revolution took a far different path than the North American variety, this interaction was close, so it is not surprising that the initial U.S. reaction to the French Revolution was positive. Not all Americans approved of the France’s methods. For example, John Adams declared his early and ongoing disapproval, and the Federalist Party’s support began to waver toward the Revolution’s end. The Reign of Terror also did little to create American approval and drew criticism from some prominent American statesmen. However, the Jefferson-led Republican Party remained largely supportive throughout most of the revolutionary decade.

Famous Documents

Both revolutions produced similar and seminal political documents. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted in France in August 1789 by the National Constituent Assembly. Drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette, it was intended as part of a transition from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy, and presented the ideas of popular sovereignty and equal opportunity. This document, which defined a set of universal individual and collective rights, was to be considered valid in all times, in all places, for all people. This novel way of thinking totally contradicted the traditional French idea of people being born into a nobility or into another favored class. It also eliminated the concept of people enjoying or being denied special rights based on family lineage of status, which clearly dismantled centuries of French ruling structure. The principles outlined in the Declaration sprung from the theories of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other Enlightenment thinkers. However, the French Declaration is at least partly inspired by the declaration of Human Rights contained in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, and on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, developed by American George Mason in June 1776, which was itself based on the English 1689 Bill of Rights. The Declaration of the Rights of Man also showed similarities to the United States Constitution (1787) and the United States Bill of Rights, which was adopted in 1789, at approximately the same time as the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Like the U.S. Constitution, The French Declaration provided for a national defense, and emphasized equality before taxation (which was distinctly different from traditional France, in which the Catholic Church and the nobility were exempt from most taxes). Like these American documents, France’s Declaration prohibits ex post facto application of criminal law and proclaims the presumption of innocence to a crime suspect. Finally, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and addresses freedom of religion.

The Declaration departs from seminal American documents in some important ways. It’s vital to note that the Declaration is largely individualistic. It focuses less on the rights of a political or religious group and more on the singular citizen, thus straying from America’s “we the people” stance. The Declaration also fails to address the freedom of assembly, liberty of association, or the right to strike, which were important American tenets.

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Prise de la Bastille (1788-12-31) by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent HouelThomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello

Hastened by Enlightenment philosophies, the revolution put an end to the feudal system as well as France’s absolute monarchy, and changed the country's entire political landscape. It was also a considerably bloody revolution, which earned it the name Reign of Terror.

France had been ruled by an absolute monarch system, which relied upon many medieval systems, such as the feudal system, up until the late 1800s. The feudal system divided everyone into 3 distinct classes, or “Estates,” which greatly determined what a person was permitted to do, or could not do in life.

The 3 estates were simply named: the First Estate, the Second Estate, and the Third Estate. It was the improper distribution of power between these 3 estates that greatly contributed to the revolution.

The First Estate was comprised of clergy who were responsible for keeping records and running schools. The upper clergy did little work and lived extravagantly off the 10% levy imposed on the third estate living on church-owned lands.

The lower clergy lived much like the members of the third estate.

The Second Estate, comprised of French nobility, made up roughly 1.5% of the French population, yet controlled 20-30% of the land. They alone could hold the highest offices in the church, the courts, and the government.

The second estate was responsible for performing the civil government duties and administrating royal justice.

The Third Estate contained over 95% of the French population. Laborers, tradesmen, merchants, aristocrats, and the bourgeoisie, all fell into this category and were the backbone of society.

The Third Estate built everything, grew everything, harvested everything, yet they had little to no power.

While historians may disagree about some of the causes for the French Revolution, it is generally agreed that the increase of enlightenment philosophies, the debt incurred from assisting the American Revolution, and the discontent within the bourgeoisie...

.... and the rest of the Third Estate, all played a key part in its beginnings.

France supported the Americans’ claim of independence from the British in 1778, supplying weapons, soldiers, supplies and ships. Assisting the Americans led to tremendous debt in France that was never really recovered.

The King tried to increase taxes and impose them upon all 3 estates, which caused great unrest.

The bourgeoisie, members of the Third Estate, obtained their wealth without a title of nobility, typically bankers, merchants, and entrepreneurs whose fight for greater political influence led to turmoil.

The Second Estate saw their own political influence threatened while the Third Estate viewed the bourgeoisie as monopolizing land ownership.

Encouraged by the changes seen in England and America, philosophers such as John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau began to question the feudal system of France and propose alternative forms of governance; namely a form of a constitutional monarchy or a republic.

Embroiled within the tensions of the Revolution were key figures involved in either pushing change forward or seeking to maintain the status quo. The First and Second Estates sought to continue things as they were, with a few exceptions who had developed more liberal and...

...progressive thoughts along the lines of Britain and America, while the Third Estate actively sought to reenvision France. Amongst these famous and infamous figures, were the King of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Maximilien de Robespierre.

Assuming the throne in 1774 when the country was in debt and seeking to hurt Britain, Louis XVI supported the American Revolution, which increased the country’s debt. Despite that, Louis lived extravagantly, causing unrest as he attempted to raise taxes on all estates.

Ultimately the Third Estate seized power by forming a national assembly, reducing him to a constitutional monarch. When he tried to escape in 1791, the assembly gained more power and Louis was tried and executed in 1793.

Lawyer and leader of the Jacobins, a radical faction of the National Assembly, when the monarchy fell in August 1792, he was elected the first deputy of Paris to the National Convention, which abolished the monarchy, placed the king on trial, and made France a republic.

Robespierre then began seeking out and opposing any enemies to the revolution. His bloody rise during the Reign of Terror, and his increasingly autocratic policies led to his demise in July 1794 when he was tried and executed by more moderate revolutionists.

Napoleon gained renown by breaking the British occupation of the Port of Toulon in 1793, earning him the title brigadier general at age 24. In 1795, he was named commander in chief of the Italian armies.

When unrest in France led to its enemies uniting to overthrow the newly formed republic, Emmanuel Sieyes, one of France’s new directors, recalled Napoleon to defend it. Napoleon crushed the opposition, which earned him the title First Consul for life.

After an assassination plot was uncovered, Napoleon sought to abolish all unrest by declaring himself Emperor of France in 1804, ending the revolution. He then set up the “Napoleonic Code” or Code Civil, the first modern legal code of France.

The French revolution spanned from 1789 to 1794, a total of 5 years. In that time, a kingdom that had stood for 800 years was ripped apart and its entire political landscape dramatically changed forever. The king was executed, new assemblies were formed, wars were fought, won...

... and lost, and tens of thousands of people were executed in order for the revolution to prevail. There are many events which played into these complicated years for France, but a few deserve special attention.

On May 5, 1789, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General, the first meeting of the estates representatives since 1614, to discuss the debt crisis. Robespierre, Representative of the Third Estate, feared that the burden of the nation's debt would be forced upon the Third Estate.

When the king proposed that all 3 estates should pay taxes, they rejected his proposal and the King disbanded the meeting. Refusing to accept that, the Third Estate leaders locked themselves in the palace tennis courts and took the famous Tennis Court Oath;

They would not leave until the King recognized their newly formed National Assembly and accepted their constitution which would reduce the king to a constitutional monarch with shared power. This was the first time the Third Estate had stood up to the King.

After seeming to give into the demands made by the National Assembly, the king ordered his troops to surround Versailles and dismissed the popular minister of state who was pro-reform, Jacques Necker. In retaliation, the people of France stormed Bastille, a state prison...

... gaining weapons and ammunition to free the leaders of the Third Estate. When the King heard of Bastille's surrender, he withdrew his troops, reappointed Necker, and was forced to officially appoint the new National Constituent Assembly, which then became the new government.

With continued political unrest and enemies gathering at the borders, Robespierre, leader of the Committee of Public Safety, stated that “terror” would be the new order of the day in hopes that this would unify the country. Establishing new laws, Robespierre's goal was to...

... crush any opposition to the new republic's power. This began a mass order of executions of anyone suspected of having royalist ties or any anti-revolutionary thoughts, affiliations, or connections.

Under Robespierre’s regime of terror upwards of 16,000 people were guillotined, including the king and queen.

The French Revolution is considered one of the key turning points in France’s history, along with the history of Europe. While some historians contest that many of these changes were already in progress, there is no denying that the revolution greatly accelerated them.

Not only did it put an end to the feudal system, disband a kingdom and its monarchy, and establish civil laws and fairer representation of all peoples under governance, it also served to unify and strengthen France as a country and a people.

On March 21, 1804, one of the most lasting results of the revolution was the set into place - The Napoleonic Code. Still in place today (although with revisions), it was the first time France had a set of governing civil laws for the entire country.

The code declared that all men were equal, did away with privileges that came from class or social standing, and significantly reduced the role of the church.

Until the time of the revolution, France had been defined by its monarchy and strict social structures, related to the medieval feudal system. With the monarchy's downfall, the absolution of the social classes, and the disbanding of the church's power, France for the first....

... time began defining itself by the thoughts of the people based on new ideas and new philosophies. What emerged was a country where all men are considered equal and deserve the same rights under the law.

During the revolution France was constantly at war and changes happening in France were under constant observation by the rest of Europe.

Conquering the Rhineland in 1794, the ideologies of the French revolution began to be implemented in Germany, including abolition of the feudal system, centralized government controlled by France, and reorganization of the administrative and judicial systems.

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