This paper compares the American Revolution with the French Revolution.

Essay by wfan99College, UndergraduateA+, May 2006

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"Give me Liberty or Give me Death," shouted Patrick Henry, one of the most important men from the American Revolution. He left a remarkable impact on American history. Similarly, the French Revolution had the same underlying principles of freedom and equality though it was fought on the opposite side of the world. The American and French Revolution both fought against a tyrannical government which mistreated the people of the country. These people were denied their rights to own property and had to endure excessive taxation. The paths the American and French took to rid themselves of their abusive governments can be seen in the speeches and essays that prominent people wrote during that time.

Patrick Henry, one of the most influential advocates for the American Revolution gave a speech in 1775 at the House of Burgesses warning the British that by not respecting the liberties of American colonists, they were stirring up conflict.

In this speech, Henry talks about how the American people have tried everything to avert war. The people, he says, have "petitioned; we have remonstrated, we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne...." By this, Henry meant that the American people have used every nonviolent form of protest to get the throne to acknowledge and address the acts of tyranny going on within the government. Henry argues that after repeated attempts to bring peace and order in America, the patience of its people is starting to wane. Henry concludes by saying that there is no hope for anything else and the only thing that's left now is to fight. Small outbreaks of fighting have occurred but the next altercation will bring about a full-scale war.

In his travels through France in 1792, Arthur Young described the conditions of the people in...