American vs. French Revolution

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# 1– The American vs. French Revolution The leaders of both the American and French Revolutions declared that their goal was to create a new political system based on the principles of liberty and equality. However, the interpretation of those ideas by the American Founding Fathers turned out to be distinctly different from that of the French revolutionaries. How did those different interpretations of the concepts of liberty and equality affect the outcomes and the legacies of both revolutions? Analyze, compare, and contrast “Revolutionary movements require some unifying body of ideas, a common vocabulary of hope and protest, something, in short, like a common ‘revolutionary psychology’.” This quote by George Rude’, a French Revolution historian, applies to both the French and American revolutions from the 18th century. Both wars have similar qualities, as they were focused around liberty and equality. America was fighting for freedom from the overpowering British Empire, while the French were rebelling against the French monarchy in hopes to create a better government. Although the wars were similar, under further analysis, differences can be found within the principles behind each revolution. During the 18th century, many changes were happing with the people of Europe and North America. These changes included the understanding of new sciences in the surrounding physical world and advances in human thinking as science was applied to thought. During this time of enlightenment, many incredible scientists and philosophers shared their discoveries with the world. One of the most famous, John Locke, had a unique perspective upon how the liberties of citizens relate to governments. He said, “Popular consent is the only legitimate basis for government. If a government breaches the contract between the state and the citizens, the people
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