Contrasting the Anglospheric and the French Revolutions

[jordan179]

Did the French not believe in the natural rights of man? What is it you see as the difference in their revolution that caused it to fail so spectacularly?Lack of experience with self-government. The French state, since their formation out of the barbarian Frank polity by Charles I (Clovis), had only known one of two conditions: absolute monarchy

Comments

[marycatelli]

which may explain why the French ended up with an emperor

[melvin_udall]

That is an excellent and well considered argument.

One point of note. I can't speak for others but I think there may be a slight misunderstanding involved.
This, I submit, more so than religion (most of the French, even the French revolutionaries, had after all Christian upbringingsI haven't meant to indicate that religion was the difference. As you say, that would involve painting the French as heathens. (Although... well, anyway

[marycatelli]

The "divine right of kings" is the absolute authority of the state, that state being a monarchy.

The divine right of the sovereign has been the dominating political philosophy of much of modern times.

[melvin_udall]

*sigh*

[irked_indeed]

Which only furthers his point: that governments of all stripes very much prefer to be their peoples' gods.

In the "Marxist cults," that takes the form of trying to destroy the people's perceived allegiance to a higher power. In your more traditional monarchies, it takes the form of appropriating it.

The point I believe melvin_udall is making is that the American Revolution is distinct from most of these because it left divine authority with God.

[selfishgene]

If the Huguenots (Protestants) with their seafaring/trade outlook had won then France might have been a trade dominant nation. The huge mass of land power (Catholics) won instead. In England the merchants were a larger class comparatively and won the civil war to create a trade based nation.

[rhjunior]

There was a more fundamental difference.
The American Revolution, if you read the Federalist Papers, was set forth with an attitude of restoration of the system....a desire to put things in their proper order. It was a revolution led by Christian men with a Christian vision of law, order, justice, and liberty; It was based on the understanding that man was not perfect, nor perfectable, a desire for all authority to be in its rightful place and kept within its rightful limits.

The French Revolution, however, was not about restoration, but about complete obliteration--- to burn EVERYTHING, to strangle the last nobleman with the entrails of the last priest, set them on fire with kindling made from the last book, and then grow a new utopia upon the ashes. It was, like every utopian vision, about erasing everything, especially God and religion, and building a completely humanist paradise.... completely secular and utterly carnal. It was based on the belief that man was both perfect AND perfectable; that if one stripped away whatever was

[affablestranger]

More so than being actually "Christian", the American Founders understood human nature, that power wielded is invariably used for the accumulation of more at the expense of those not in power. Their vision of law, order, justice, and liberty was one of protecting the common man from his government, of chaining the government into the service of the common man, and that was at the time a completely revolutionary idea, that men could govern themselves.

The Founders also knew it probably wouldn't last, given that it went against human nature. It's all in what Benjamin Franklin said when asked what government they'd brought forth at the convention. He said, "A republic, ma'am, if you can keep it."

[oronoda]

I had a college professor who said the French was a complete revolution because they had overthrown the King and a new class of people emerged and said the American Revolution was a rebellion because the same people came into power before as after. I thought his view was slightly skewed because what came out of the American Revolution was a flurry of ideas never before used.

/Random

[juliet_winters]

A number of them were in early form during the time leading up to and immediately after the English Civil War. Ex: the Petition of Right, refusal to pay what they deemed illegal taxes, the Self-Denying Ordinance, and the Grand Remonstrance following the Eleven Years of Tyranny.
They were particularly peeved at the state-supported clergy.
http://www.constitution.org/eng/conpur043.htm

My relatives were among those who in "great numbers to avoid their miseries departed out of the kingdom, some into New England and other parts of America, others into Holland..."
Later they would fight in the American Revolution.