Chapter 16

The American Revolution and the French Revolution were very different from each other. Strayer states that “the American Revolution expressed tensions of a colonial relationship with a distant imperial power, the French insurrection was driven by sharp conflicts within French society.” The people of France had issues with monarchy and were not afraid to show it. The wealthy had issues with all the new taxes, the middle-class were offended because of the privileges they were not allowed to be a part of and the lower-class were struggling because of the increase price  of bread and increase in unemployment. The French Revolution was much more violent than the American Revolution. What really caught my eye in this chapter was the persistence of the women fighting for equality compared to the women in the American Revolution. Women were a part of the storming of Bastille in 1789. They were more active in major events. Women made political demands and were supported by a few males. They signed petitions about their lack of education, prostitution and the price of bread and soap. They even demanded to bear arms. Somehow, slavery was abolished and the Catholic church was replaced as the place for major events but women were not granted equality. Some men argued that women that tried to fight for their rights were “domineering” and should not be considered to be women at all. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to live at this time as a woman. Slavery was ended between 1780 to 1890 because of the enlightenment thinkers and it is baffling to me to think that it took them this long to realize that it was not ok to enslave people.