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Connections Revolutions for Independence v. American Revolution 1775–1783 French Revolution 1789–1799 The American Revolution was the war in which the thirteen colonies fought for their independence from England. For years, the British imposed a series of taxes on the colonies, such as the Stamp and Tea Acts, which were putting a financial hardship on the colonists. While they were paying these forms of taxation, the Americans realized that they did not have representation in the British Parliament. They began to demand a representative from each of the colonies who would speak for their best interests. The colonists began staging protests in Boston, and the British army was sent to stop these protests. Fighting ensued as Americans began to train their local militias to ward off the British threat. In 1775 violent opposition to Britain erupted in Massachusetts. In 1776 representatives from the thirteen colonies signed the Declaration of Independence and declared their split from England. America, with France as an ally, engaged in war with England and won its independence. The American Revolution was conducted through diplomacy and conventional warfare. There were relatively few acts of violence against civilians by either side, though there was some seizure and destruction of private property. The French Revolution was a ten-year conflict in which the people of France opposed to absolute monarchy that gave control only to the aristocracy. The citizens of France had demanded equal rights and wanted to be influential in the French government. King Louis XVI had caused economic distress in France by bringing the country almost to the point of bankruptcy. The French had decided to aid the United States in its struggle for independence against Britain, France’s chief rival. The expense of the war made France’s financial situation worse. Another cause for unrest was that the upper classes, which included the nobility and the clergy, were exempt from taxes, while the poorest segment of the population, the commoners, paid all the taxes. The level of unemployment had reached significant heights, and men were not able to provide food for their families. This caused a countrywide famine, leading to many cases of malnutrition. Many people contracted disease, and some deaths occurred. With and ineffective government, the citizens of France wanted a change. Like the United States, they had formed a National Assembly to air their grievances against the government. In addition, they formed documents that would proclaim their independence from the monarchy. Class warfare and military combat marked the French Revolution. Purges of the upper class, their sympathizers and then of members of rival factions among the revolutionaries resulted in approximately sixty thousand public executions. Fearing similar uprisings in their own countries, a coalition of other European countries invaded France to try to end the Revolution and reestablish royal authority. CICERO © 2010 1 Connections Similarities The citizens of France had looked to what the people of the United States had done in the American Revolution as a model for what they should do in France. The people controlling their land had oppressed the citizens of the United States and France. Monarchs headed the English and French governments and there was little room for the common citizens to influence the government, though the British colonists did have considerably more self-government than the common people of France. Leaders in France and Britain had let their economies fall into serious debt. Both the colonists of the United States and the citizens of France met on their own to formulate reasons for their independence. The United States composed the Declaration of Independence, while France created the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Both documents stated there should be equal rights within the government, and a single monarchy controlling a region without giving representation to the people easily becomes tyrannical. The philosophy of Rationalism and the Enlightenment, which were popular in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, influenced the beliefs of revolutionary leaders in France and the United States. There was even participation in both revolutions by some people, such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson supported the French Revolution. Both the United States and the citizens of France were able to achieve similar results. Americans earned their independence by defeating the British army and having the world recognize their prowess as an independent country. French citizens won more representation for themselves, as a French Constitution called for the creation of the Directoire, an elected bicameral representation of the people. American Revolution French Revolution CICERO © 2010 2 Connections Name: _________________________ Revolutions for Independence Discussion Questions: 1. How had monarchical governments oppressed the people of the United States and France? 2. What was similar about the way both countries declared their independence? 3. How did France and the United States achieve similar results by the time the wars concluded? CICERO © 2010 3