French / Amer. Rev. (Extra

French / Amer. Rev. (extra

The French Revolution is not just about the rise of revolution, but it is also a tale of the breakdown of the ancien regime. Bukovansky (2009, 170) states that even though the Marxist interpretation of the French bourgeoisie revolting and then overthrowing a monarchy rooted in feudalism, numerous historians have also challenged the view over the years. The disagreements that played a part in the collapse of the ancien regime resulted from tension that was permeating old regime political culture in the mid- to late eighteenth century (2009, 170).

Some historians see the Reign of Terror as a portentous predecessor of contemporary tyranny, while others believe that this refuses to notice the important role the Revolution played in establishing the precedents of such democratic institutions as elections, representative government, and constitutions. The unsuccessful attempts of the urban lower middle classes to secure economic and political gains were a warning of the class conflicts of the 19th century. While major historical interpretations of the French Revolution vary to a great extent, pretty much all consent that it had a huge impact on the making of the modern world.

Unlike the French Revolution, which was a huge social revolution that broke the institutional foundations of the ancien regime and transferred power from the ruling elite to a new social group, the American Revolution transformed a monarchical society, where the colonists were subjects to royalty, into a brand new republic. In this new republic the citizens would now be participants in the political process. However, the Revolution created a major economic depression that nearly bankrupted the national government. The French and the Dutch would lend finances, but only at interest rates that were sky high. Because of this lack of cash flow, the new republic had an especially tough time conducting commercial transactions. Individual states issued paper money that was essentially worthless and many of the new nation's infant industries were swamped by an inundation of British imports.

The southern states of the United States were hit the hardest with economic problems. Planters lost around 60,000 slaves during the time of the Revolution, including approximately 25,000 in South Carolina and 5,000 in Georgia (Mintz 2010). The British set up new trade regulations that prohibited the sale of various American agricultural products in the West Indies, one of the South's leading markets (2010).

Foreign policy was also challenged in that America and Americans now lacked the protection of the British flag and this resulted in sailors from American ships being seized by North African pirates and then sold into slavery. In 1785, Algerian pirates boarded an American merchant ship sailing off the coast of Portugal, seized its 21 member crew and then enslaved them for 21 years. Over the course of the next eight years, approximately a hundred more Americans were forced into slavery (Mintz 2010).

At this same time, Britain was refusing to evacuate its military posts in Detroit, Otswego, New York and other places in the Northwest because the states refused to store loyalist property that had been confiscated during the Revolution. At the same time, Spain refused to recognize American claims to territory between the Ohio River and Florida and in 1784 closed the Mississippi River to acquire the area that would become Kentucky and Tennessee (Mintz 2010).

Britain was one of America's biggest problems as a new republic because Britain challenged the U.S.'s independence over and over again. There were also numerous challenges in its right to freedom of the seas and to commerce, which greatly impacted the livelihood of Americans. The fact that the United States took its independence from Britain makes it pretty understandable that Great Britain would not have any desire to help the U.S.'s new republic succeed. There was speculation anyway that America's new republic would not work and there was always the option that Britain or some other European power could swoop in and take control of America once again. Most European nations were, for the most part, not interested in helping America as there was the fear that if the republic was to be successful with their liberal democracy, then other European colonies might have the inkling to revolt against their monarchy and start their own experiment in liberal republicanism. While the French monarch assisted in America's revolution, the help was only given in order to harm Great Britain, which was France's enemy, so it came from a very selfish reason. American victory in it struggle for independence seriously undermined the French monarch and fueled republicanism in France. It also encouraged the Haitians to revolt against French colonial rule in Haiti, which was a French Caribbean territory. The fact that America failed to pay France back its loans from expenses that were accumulated when assisting the American Revolution also places a rift between the United States and France. These loans given to the U.S. also created a big financial problem in France, undermining the French monarchy, and forcing the monarch to call a meeting of the French Assembly in order to raise its taxes to alleviate the crisis. Once the Assembly was called, the French liberal republican revolution began; the French monarch fell shortly thereafter and French republicans, successful at home, begin to export their revolution to the other nations of Europe. Beginning in 1789, the European continent fell into nearly two decades of revolution, counter-revolution, Napoleonic Empire, collapse of the Napoleonic Empire, and restoration of the pre-revolutionary regimes under the Holy Alliance (Mintz 2010). Because European attention had to be so focused on what was going on inside its own continent, America became somewhat of a secondary consideration -- though it was still on the radar. However, what this did is give America time to get stronger while the heat was off of them.

Britain continued to occupy frontier military bases even after the Revolutionary War ends. Britain has several reasons for not wanting to pull out their forces. The first reasons was that Great Britain wanted to keep forward positions from which to repossess the colonies and stop rival European nations, especially France and Spain, from beginning their own colonizing efforts should the confederation between the newly independent United States fall short. Without a doubt, there is significant political and economic instability within the confederation and significant lack of cultural unity that gives vigor to British speculation that the United States will not succeed as a new republic. When the Articles of Confederation is substituted for the Constitution, the United States becomes more politically and economically stable as well as more culturally unified. Because of this, British hope for America's failure lessens.

Britain decided to keep a military presence on the so as not to neglect their Native American alliances. The Indians decided to stand next to the English against the American revolutionaries and so now the Indians needed help and safety from American vengeance as well as from the inundation of settlers heading west, into and through the Appalachian Mountains (Mintz 2010).

Britain wanted to continue in its exploitation of the fur trade in the northwestern frontier; the exploitation of American's natural resources was vital to the British mercantilist economic system (Mintz 2010). Britain also wanted to remain a consistent threat when it came to intervention in order to make sure that the triumphant revolutionaries do not mistreat British loyalists staying in the United States after the revolution. Vast quantities of British Loyalists -- referred to as Tories -- decided to go to Canada or go back to England during the American Revolution right after the last British defeat, but many still remained in the now independent United States. Britain desired to keep some American territory hostage in order to make sure that the Americans would pay the war amends pledged in the treaty that finally put an end to the American Revolutionary War.

During the 1780s, American diplomats increasingly contemplated the removal of British forces and made various agreements with England to pay war amends. Around the same time, France maintained pressure on the United States to pay back French loans and expenses acquired in backing the war. Relationships between the U.S. And both nations became increasingly tense. When the French Revolution started in 1789, the United States sought to remain neutral in both the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary efforts that swiftly entangled France and all the nations of Europe; Congress approved legislation declaring neutrality.

After the French Revolution, warfare spread over the entire European continent, and France and Britain both declared blockades on each other, banning shipping to either country by neutral nations and banning international trade in goods and raw materials from or to each other's national territory and overseas colonies by any nation, including neutral nations. They then began seizing ships from neutral nations that had went against the blockades and bans.

American merchants did not want nor did they have any inclination to respect either one of the blockades or bans. Ships with U.S. flags became quite vulnerable to seizure by both Great Britain and France. There were several battles therefore that took place between France, Great Britain and American war ships. These battles occurred in European waters as well as in waters in the western hemisphere.

The most challenging British action was an order permitting seizure of neutral ships either sending food and supplies to France or trading goods produced in French colonies, above all the West Indies. When Britain obstructed French ships in the French harbors early in the French Revolution, American merchants moved swiftly to take over commerce in the West Indies. These American merchant ships were subject to seizure. The British Navy took approximately 300 American ships and forced thousands of captured American sailors to serve on British ships. When American tried to negotiate with Britain, France became outraged, which prompted France to start seizing American ships and the attempts to negotiate with France were utterly ineffective. France then started to imagine the defeat of Britain and, if that were to go over well, they could then begin their attack on America.

The United States Congress became incensed over French minister Talleyrand's attempt to extort a "present" from the United States in exchange for more sincere negotiations on the shipping issues. The U.S. Congress saw this as blatant bribery and Congress was then split on the issue of how to handle British and French open assaults. There were many individuals who wanted war and others wanted want to negotiate. Talleyrand's actions consolidated congressional opinion in favor of war -- the question then simply became about who the war would be with -- France or England.

When the United States' relationship with England got to its weakest point, France decided to make overtures to the U.S. England did the same to the U.S. when its relationship with France was the most tense -- and also vice versa. America was bound and determined to stay neutral, but it was simply impossible to do. The tense relationship with France and England caused further congressional actions, increasing the chance of war for America. The shippers in America continued their pursuing of commerce, which was both profitable and risky for them. However, what is the most interesting is that throughout all of this, America was somehow able to purchase Louisiana from France (i.e., the Louisiana Purchase). This worked for the United States mainly because the French needed money for war; thus, the United States exploited the instability of the French as well as took advantage of a fleeting moment of friendly terms.