The American and French Revolutions both occurred in the eighteenth century;.
subverting the existing government and opening the way for capitalism and.
constitutionalism. Because of these similarities, the two revolutions are often assumed to be essentially eastern and western versions of each other. However, the two are fundamentally different in their reason, their rise, progress, termination, and in the events that followed, even to the present.
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The American Revolution was not primarily fought for independence. Independence.
was an almost accidental by-product of the Americans" attempt to rebel against and remove unfair taxes levied on them by British Parliament. Through propaganda; sermons, speeches, newspaper articles, and pamphlets; public opinion was manipulated to convince the colonists and the world that they had legal and moral right to be separate from Great Britain.
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The American colonies, because of the nature of colonies, had a strained, equivocal.
relationship with Britain to begin with. Britain saw the colonies as a means to an end; to.
strengthen their own power, enrich their own nation, and provide additional tax revenue. .
The colonists therefore did not feel as traitors in rebelling against England. They were a.
distant colony separating from the mother country.
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The American colonists were primarily seeking freedom of trade and, because they.
felt it unfair to pay taxes to Britain, were attempting to do away with these taxes through.
whatever means they thought necessary, including revolt.
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The Americans were fighting not to create their freedom, but to maintain it. At the.
time the Revolution occurred, the American society was freer and less controlled by.
monarchy and aristocracy than any nation on earth. They were fighting a fear of.
suppression, rather than actual suppression. They were resisting the force of tyranny before it could be applied. The revolt occurred not because of suffering, but out of principle.
