American and French Revolutions: A Comparative Study
The American Revolution
The creation of the United States of America broke radically with monarchical traditions. The American Revolution began with the revolt of thirteen colonies opposing economic measures like taxes and the lack of representation. Various protests, like the famous Boston Tea Party, led to the intervention of British troops and the beginning of a war between the colonies and the metropolis (1775). On July 4, 1776, thirteen American colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. Finally, in 1783, the war ended with the triumph of the rebels, with George Washington as commander. The new nation was called the United States of America.
Its most important legal documents are the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Rights adopted by Virginia, which recognized the natural rights of everyone: the right to life and liberty. To secure these rights, a basic law or Constitution (1787) was adopted, establishing that all political positions would be chosen periodically. The system was a federal republic, with three divided powers: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The American political system was based on the principles of national sovereignty and the equality of citizens before the law.
Pre-Revolutionary France
The France of Louis XVI was in severe financial trouble: the cost of the crown and the constant wars against Great Britain exceeded the state’s income. As a result, taxes increased, hurting farmers, traders, and artisans. Rising taxes raised the price of bread, salt, and meat. The privileged classes were unwilling to pay more taxes and asked the king to call for the Estates-General, an assembly formed by the three estates, which had not been called for two hundred years, and in which new taxes could be voted on. The king had to accept and convene the assembly in May 1789.
Revolution and Constitutional Monarchy
The Outbreak of the Revolution
In the Estates-General, the Third Estate applied to have each representative have one vote regardless of estate and that all together constitute an assembly. They were not heeded. Then the Third Estate decided to sit on their own (Oath of the Tennis Court) and form a Constituent Assembly, a revolutionary act because they claimed to represent the nation and have the power to develop and vote on a fundamental law or constitution, declaring themselves the legitimate source of power and sovereignty against the king and nobility.
The monarchy commanded troops around Versailles to try and deter this assembly. Then all the people of Paris rose up against them. These folks, supported by many soldiers, took up arms, and on July 14, stormed the Bastille prison, a symbol of royal absolutism. The bourgeoisie seized the town hall and created a volunteer militia, the National Guard, to defend the revolution.
The Constitutional Monarchy
Under pressure, the king had to give in and accept that the National Assembly would carry out a series of measures:
- Abolition of feudal rights and privileges: Privileged classes ceased to exist.
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
- Approval of the Constitution of 1791, which established a constitutional and moderate monarchy, ending absolute monarchy and establishing the division of powers.
- Economic reforms inspired by the ideas of the Physiocrats, modifying or eliminating taxes and liberalizing free trade within the kingdom.
- Administrative and judicial reforms to create a single administration and a single judicial system.
- Reform of the Catholic Church, which was deprived of much of its revenue, and its lands became national property.