The French and American Revolutions: War, Political Currents Analysis

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the American and French Revolutions, highlighting their key differences and the significant role of war in triggering, shaping, and potentially undoing the French Revolution. It explores the socio-economic factors, political ideologies, and environmental conditions that contributed to the French Revolution, referencing the influence of philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The essay also examines how war influenced the course of the French Revolution, impacting its goals and leading to the rise of figures like Napoleon. The author concludes by emphasizing the profound impact of war on the trajectory of the French Revolution.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
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SOCIOLOGY 1
1. Identify key differences between the American and French revolutions.
The American and the French revolution had some of the similar aspects but had some of the
major differences. The main differences among both the revolution is regarding the war.
While the American Revolution was the result of the majority of the population in America
while the revolution sought towards the change in the government while keeping the social
system intact. The French Revolution on the other hand wanted to change everything within
the economy including the social structure, the government, the religion and the economy as
a whole (Anievas 2015). One of the main differences among both the revolution lies on the
fact that American Revolution were simply desired to be free from the rule of the British and
not for changing the Britain Monarchy. The French revolution on the other hand demanded
the basic and the fundamental changes towards the governance. In short the American
Revolution highlighted the context of the breaking away to form a new government and a
country while the French Revolution intended towards the change or replacing of the existing
set of governments ruling at that time (Edelstein 2016).
In case of the American Revolution, the battle was kindles by the leader’s onwards the
establishment of the government. Within the colonies of America, the members of the
continental congress drafted the declaration of the Independence towards the separation of
themselves from Britain and also regarding the expression of the belief of the right of each
and every individual towards the life, liberty and the pursuit of the happiness (Bailyn 2017).
In short the ideology of the American’s was on the basis of the works by the philosopher
John Locke.

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In case of the French Revolution, the battle began with the storming on the Bastille in the
year 1789 for rescuing of the revolutionary leader who was imprisoned. The France
declaration regarding the rights of the man and for the citizens was discovered and founded
over the teaching of the philosopher of France, Jean Jacques Rousseau which was written
with the aim towards the aim for the ending of the political and the social inequalities of the
time. Furthermore the people’s objection regarding the context of tax played an essential role
(Paine 2015). The American’s objected regarding the fact that the colonist have zero idea
regarding the spending of the collected tax. The American revolutionaries were financially
successful and were living in comfortable lives. On the other hand, in case of the French
revolutions, the people within the country were objected towards the context of inequality
regarding taxation.
2. Going back as far as the religious war, briefly identify what you consider to be the key
factors and events leading to the French revolution.
The essence regarding the situation of the revolution that existed in France in the year 1780
was due to the bankruptcy of the king and hence for the state. The economic and the social
crisis was mainly the result of the triggering cots of the government and for the two major
wars including the seven years’ war and the American revolutionary war. The French
Revolution has been denoted as one of the most significant and reputed events in the events
of the history of the world. Ranging from the range of 1789 to 1799 the French Revolution
resulted in the overthrowing of the monarchy in France. Among the various of the reasons
that resulted and caused the revolution, French Revolution was the reason of the intellectual
reasons like ideas of the philosophers, the political reasons like the ineffective traits of the
leadership by the French Monarch, Louis XVI, the cultural reasons like the enlighten and the

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rise of the bourgeoisie class, the economic reasons like the rise of the price of the basic
commodities such as the bread and the social reasons like the unjustified estates system. To
broaden the reason of the French revolution it can be stated that rising level of the social
inequality in the France was one of the main reason behind the launch of the revolution in the
year 1789. The financial crisis due to the series of the expensive wards resulting in the
economic crisis within the nation pushed towards the revolution. Apart from the social and
the economic factors and the inequality related challenges that contributed towards the fire
for the revolution in France, the environmental factors furthermore contributed to the
revolution (Doyle 2018). The decade of extreme poor conditions of the weather and the poor
harvest took a huge toll over the poor peasants and the farmers of France towards their daily
survival. These frustration lead to the revolution. Thus it can be summarized that there has
been numerous challenges and the issues related to the social and the economic factors in
France which led to the contribution of the revolution.
3. What role did war play in triggering, shaping and undoing the French revolution?
The rise or the eruption of the French Revolution in the year of 1789 represented the blow
towards the emerging rationalistic concepts regarding the strategy. In discussing the role of
the war towards reshaping, triggering the revolution in France, it is to be highlighted that the
wars of the French revolution and the Napoleonic war represents the continuity within the
European diplomacy on the range of the years of eighteenth to the nineteenth century (Leonid
2018). The wards were basically a series of the military conflicts that lasted long and pitted
the country of France against the Greater Britain, Russia and some of the other monarchies.
The war of the first coalition ranging from 1792 to 1797 and the war of the second coalition
ranging from 1798 to 1802 were within the global dimension. The influence of the

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Napoleonic and the revolutionary France were dependent over the relationship with some of
the other states of the Europe. Besides these, the territorial objectives of France form the year
1792 to 1800 followed the traditional pattern regarding the direct or the indirect influences in
the central Europe and the states of the Italy. Thus it can be summarized that the war played a
very essential role and had a huge impact over the courses and the targets of the French
revolution (Fuller 2015). Before the break out of the war, the fear regarding the foreign
intervention and the counter revolution was on rife. The war furthermore helped the jacobins
of the country for gaining of the enough of the influences to take power over the France.
Another direct consequences of the war was the terror that aimed to defeat the enemies. Thus
it can be stated that there lies much of the evidences regarding the fact that war has been one
of the biggest conditioner towards the course of the revolution that stared from the year 1792.

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Reference
Anievas, A., 2015. Revolutions and international relations: Rediscovering the classical bourgeois
revolutions. European Journal of International Relations, 21(4), pp.841-866.
Bailyn, B., 2017. The ideological origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press.
Doyle, W., 2018. The Oxford history of the French revolution. Oxford University Press.
Edelstein, M., 2016. The French Revolution and the Birth of Electoral Democracy. Routledge.
Fuller, J.F.C., 2015. The Conduct of War 1789-1961: A Study of the Impact of the French,
Industrial and Russian Revolutions on War and Its Conduct. Routledge.
Leonid, G., 2018. REVOLUTIONS: AN INSIGHT INTO A FIVE CENTURIES'TREND. Social
Evolution & History, 17(2).
Paine, T., 2015. Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution: A
Library of America Paperback Classic. Library of America.
Palmer, R.R., 2016. The world of the French Revolution. Routledge.