Democracy and French Revolution: Comparing Adams and Wollstonecraft

This essay analyzes Daniel I. O'Neill's article, "John Adams versus Mary Wollstonecraft on the French Revolution and Democracy." The essay explores the differing perspectives of John Adams and Mary Wollstonecraft on the French Revolution and the concept of democracy. Adams, a Founding Father, is shown to be intrigued by democracy, while Wollstonecraft, a feminist, viewed the revolution as a mechanism to establish democratic ideals. The essay discusses their views on the causes of the revolution, the role of social classes, and the potential for societal degeneration. The article employed an argumentative methodology, comparing the viewpoints of Adams and Wollstonecraft. The essay highlights the strengths of the article, such as its clear framework and consideration of democratic influences, while also pointing out its weakness in not providing a conclusive statement. The conclusion emphasizes the article's effectiveness in understanding the differing opinions on freedom and rights, as well as their respective views on human nature and its impact on societal reformation and the establishment of democracy.

Running head: DEMOCRACY AND FRENCH REVOLUTION
Democracy and French Revolution
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DEMOCRACY AND FRENCH REVOLUTION
The article written by O'Neill (2007) titled “John Adams versus Mary Wollstonecraft on
the French Revolution and Democracy” discussed about the importance of the aspect of
democracy in the context of the French Revolution. The article has tried to analyze the
importance of democratic ideals and how the French Revolution can serve as a mechanism for
the instillation of such ideals for the benefit of the human civilization.
John Adams was one of the Founding Fathers of the Constitution of the United States. In
this respect, it can be seen that he was highly intrigued by the aspect of democracy. Mary
Wollstonecraft, on the other hand, is considered to be one of the leading figures in the feminist
movement that advocated for the liberty and rights of the women all across the globe. The
different sources which helped in the making of this article was the different books that were
written about Mary Wollstonecraft and that of John Adams regarding their views. These sources
are qualitative in nature and enables the writer to gain an in-depth insight about their opinions.
Commenting on the nature of the French Revolution, Mary Wollstonecraft was of the
idea that the despotic nature of the French society flowed from its aristocratic history. The people
who ruled over French for so long were vane, ambitious and suspicious of the activities of the
lower class of people. It was this behavior of the people which instigated the oppressed people to
agitate against their masters and to impose their own rule in the country (O'Neill 2007). The
same issue may arise with respect to the women population. For so long they have remained

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suppressed by their male counterpart. As a result of their frustration, the time may come when
they would revolt against such oppression. In order to prevent this and to uphold the basic human
rights of the people irrespective of their genders. This was counteracted by John Adams. He did
not believe that the blame for the outbreak of the French Revolution can be attributed solely to
the people of the higher status. The degeneration of the lower class people occurred at a same
pace and therefore, they should also held to be accountable. John Adams was of the opinion that
the different social characteristics of jealousy, vanity and ambition would not disappear. The
lower class of people over threw their masters in the hope of creating a better standard of life.
However, the establishment of a new society would require a new class of people with power
and this vacuum would be filled by the people belonging to the lower classes of the society. As a
consequence, the same hierarchy of power would come in to existence (O'Neill 2007). However,
Mary Wollstonecraft was of the idea that it was the very nature of the human society itself which
led to the degeneration of the society as a whole,
The article has followed an argumentative methodology where the different areas have
been divided under certain headings. The view points and the opinions of John Adams and Mary
Wollstonecraft has been mentioned under each heading. This has provided a clear frame work to
the entire article and therefore can be treated as one of the greatest strength of the article.

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Another strength of the article is that it has looked at all the different issues which has the
ability to influence the aspect of democracy. Furthermore, the opinions of the two people have
been considered in order to analyze their view points about the factor of democracy.
On the other hand, a definitive weakness of the article is that it has failed to provide any
conclusive statement regarding the view points of the two people. We observe them to be
moving from one topic to another without being able to analyze who is right in the understanding
of the aspect of democracy.
In conclusion, it can be observed that the article has proved to be effective in trying to
understand the opinions of two different genders on the issue of freedom of the people and the
rights of the women. She was of the idea that the changes in this human nature would bring
about a reformation in the society and therefor, would lead to the instillation of democracy. John
Adams, on the other hand, was more inclined towards the notion of aristocracy and was of the
view that it was the inequality of the wealth held by the people that led to the existing differences
among the people. Thus inequality was justified as people worked hard for their wealth and to
maintain their position on the society.

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References:
O'Neill, D.I., 2007. John Adams versus Mary Wollstonecraft on the French Revolution and
Democracy. Journal of the History of Ideas, 68(3), pp.451-476.