Introduction
The French government faced numerous hardships during the revolution. Amid these hardships, the majority of the third estate joined hands to form the National Assembly. Through their union, they resolved to claim their rights from King Louis XVI. The causes of the revolution were minute at first, but they kept multiplying with time. The leading causes were; political, social, and financial issues. The American Revolution also played a significant role in the commencement of the French revolution (MacKay & Trinkle, 2017). At that time, the people strived to highlight and destroy the hardships, limitations, and inequalities orchestrated by the King Louis XVI government. Given this, the report elaborates on these causes of revolution and its relationship with that of the Americans.
Political discontent was among the significant and initial factors that led to the revolution. At the time, the French government was dominated by the King on whom all the power to make decisions lay. His rule was dictatorial in the sense that all those who opposed him were rendered criminals and unjustly arrested to face the consequences. The King had no interest in the people at heart as he valued his hunting and extravagant mission. Thus, the people’s issues were not addressed regardless of the turmoil that they were made to live through. The people preferred the headcount system of voting as opposed to the King’s block system of voting. Since the king always won, the people felt betrayed as their interests were not valued (MacKay & Trinkle, 2017). The resentments of the people from the third block were the basis of the French revolution as they felt politically unrepresented.
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Additionally, American independence sparked the occurrence of the French revolution. The people felt the urge to cause the change that they had desired to have for an extended period. The rate of corruption had heightened, and the king was to blame as all the power was in his hands. It was terrible to the extent that the other leaders lacked the power to even call for a mere meeting. They had no power to lead the country into the change that they desired (MacKay & Trinkle, 2017). With the power vested on the King, the people grew tired of the situation and in the process of enacting change in their environment; the French revolution was the outcome.
Moreover, the sorry state of the French economy led to the French revolution. The government heavily taxed the lowly and spared the wealthy landlords in noble estates. The lifestyle of the King had to be maintained by the taxpayers’ funds. Since his lifestyle was expensive, the taxpayers never realized the benefits of their taxes, and this weighed the economy down. The government had spent more money than the contributions of the taxpayers, and to fill the gap, the taxpayers bear the burden. Markedly, the cost of living in France heightened, and as a result, the basic needs like food were hard to achieve. Even though the country had the highest tax potential, this was counseled with the fact that it had spent half of its time in wars, and this required a lot of expenditure. France contributed to America’s war on independence, and as such, after their success, they had limited resources as they had spent all they had during the period (MacKay & Trinkle, 2017). In the end, their economic status was weak.
Most importantly, the highest contributor to the economic conditions was the fact that the church occupied a significant part of the country’s land. Therefore, it was not taxed, considering that it was unproductive. In the quest to solve this, the clergy and the King never acted promptly, and in the end, the economy continued suffering. Accordingly, these factors paved the way for the need to have a revolution to promote the changes that the people deemed fit for their economy and the country as a whole (MacKay & Trinkle, 2017). Markedly, this would only be possible under-informed and desirable leadership.
Finally, the social aspect was out of control, as there was a lot of division within the country. The estates were against each other, and they sought to outdo each other in the quest to gain power. Furthermore, the people within the estates were divided based on whether they were landowners or not. Therefore, this meant that the poor and the commoners were segregated as they could not meet the standards of the wealthy and the landowners. The country and the discontented states were driven with the desire to end the inequalities that led to heightened corruption and injustices within the French society (MacKay & Trinkle, 2017). The French revolution was orchestrated by the exposure of the crime and injustices as they were tired of bearing with them at their expense.
Both the French and the American Revolutions had a democratic outcome. They led to the establishment of the democratic governments in these regions. The impact is felt across the world as this form of government is upheld by most of the nations. They also led to the establishment of an equality of the residents in these regions as they viewed each other as brothers and sisters. Even in the current environment, discrimination is prohibited in these regions even though it still exists in small proportions. Also, both revolutions led to the widespread ownership of the basic land and property rights. Due to the establishment of equality, both rich and poor, had the same chances of owning both property and land. The revolutions were the basis of the separation of the church and the state. They were made to act independently to enhance accountability and the overall economic conditions of the regions (Palmer, 2018). As such, the leaders in both sectors worked independently as the conflict of interest was eradicated.
The American Revolution was the basis of the French revolution. It also led to the eradication of the mercantilist economy. The revolution advocated for new openings for the manufacturers. Unlike the French Revolution, it led to the introduction of written constitutions. Various nations have kept the move as they draft and uphold written constitutions as they run their governments. The move was targeted towards the protection of the rights of the Americans as they had greatly suffered in the hands of the foreigners. Even though the American Revolution was coined as the basis of long-term independence, it resulted in the opposite of the path of the Native Americans. They were deprived of their land ownership rights, and hence they continuously suffered even in the new and democratic regime (Palmer, 2018).
Conclusion
Political, social, and economic factors caused the revolutions in the two regions at that specific time. The impacts of these revolutions have not only been felt by the respective territories but also in different areas. The revolutions had some similar implications like the eradication of discrimination, the establishment of democracy, and a system of governance. Overly, the French and American revolutions affected the lives of the residents in these regions, and in the end, they resulted in positive and negative outcomes.
References
MacKay, C. H., & Trinkle, D. A. (2017). French History. In The European History Highway: A Guide to Internet Resources (pp. 84-92). Routledge.
Palmer, D. D. (2018). The Ideologies and Outcomes of the French and American Revolutions.
Wauters, B. (2019). Revolution and the Instrumentality of Law: Theories of Property in the American and French Revolutions. In Modernisation, National Identity and Legal Instrumentalism (Vol. I: Private Law) (pp. 49-72). Brill Nijhoff.
