Essay Sample on The French Revolution: Transforming Monarchy and Restricting Privilege

Introduction

The French revolution was significant as it led to integral transformations to the feudal orders of the monarch and the privilege of the aristocrats, and this made the Americans celebrate the French revolution as it was brilliant by the year 1789 (Acemoglu 3285). The revolution transformed and hit hard the use of absolute power. France was seen to be following the footsteps of the American republican by formulating a monarchy as per the constitution where written laws would restrict the traditional aristocrats (De Tocqueville 235). Traditionally, the king had all the powers, but with the revolution, the boundaries within which his power would be exercise were set. The French Revolution was more radical compared to the American Revolution. Additionally, the French Revolution was more vibrant as it received much support from other countries, including the United States of America, which the American Revolution did not enjoy as its revolution was only supported from within the country (Doyle 77).

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From my point of view, I believe that the French Revolution was far much revolutionary as compared to the American Revolution due to the radical changes that it had compared to the American Revolution as well as the external support that the French enjoyed (De Tocqueville 235). Great Britain was the most powerful nation of those times, after which it had lost all his colonies in America, which resulted from the American Revolution. The occurrences in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries changed the politics, and the American Revolution was overtaken in terms of benefits by the French Revolution, which was vibrant and was a solid foundation for a more radical, bloody, and secular revolution (Doyle 79). These aspects placed the French Revolution a mark higher than the American Revolution for its vibrancy and the support that it gains from many countries where American Revolution enjoyed no support. It was at this time that the mentality of absolute equality, absolute powers, disrespect for private property, and an increase of political authorities over the rights and freedoms of the citizens were essential characteristics of the French Revolution model (De Tocqueville 235).

As a result, the French Revolution, which incorporated the use of substantial armed forces, became dominant in the field of the war in the entire European continent, making it an influential and powerful revolution as compared to the American Revolution (Acemoglu 3286). Additionally, during this time, the first dictator came out with authority, which was a threat to the existence of weaker nations in the continent. The French Revolution was transformative as it was the one that gave a new face in the whole of Europe and the larger world which is an indicator that it was robust and firm with support from other nations which was not the case with the American Revolution which was only meant to liberate North American continent and did not have much impact in the history of the world (Acemoglu 3286). The European countries were forged in the fires of the French revolutionists and the regimes of Napoleon that later developed into massive and global powers. The French Revolution was more revolutionary compared to the American Revolution, as many of the nations that France ruled remained entirely under the umbrella of the ideologies of the French revolution, a case that did not happen with the American Revolution (Acemoglu 3286). Additionally, contrary to the American Revolution, which was central to the freedom of the states from British colonialism, the French Revolution was profoundly aimed at transforming the entire world that we live in today. Therefore, for the reasons provided in the paper, it would be accurate to say that the French Revolution was more revolutionary than the American Revolution.

Work Cited

Acemoglu, Daron. "The consequences of radical reform: The French Revolution." American economic review 101.7 (2011): 3286-3307.

De Tocqueville, Alexis. The old regime and the French revolution. Anchor, 2010.Doyle, William. The Oxford history of the French revolution. Oxford University Press, 2018.