Shane Miller recipient of James Green Memorial Scholarship
Clinton High School senior Shane Miller with her $500 check and plaque, presented by Jerry Cox.
The group sponsors the contest and corresponding $500 scholarship each year.
Students are given a subject each year, with this year’s being “The Domino Effect of the American Revolution.”
The Domino Effect
of The American Revolution
By Shane Miller
The Boston Tea Party, Lexington and Concord, and the Battle for Yorktown are symbols of those who are willing to fight and die for their freedom.
These instances are what we recall when we study the founding of the United States of America, but they were not solely important to American history. In fact, the events of the American Revolution were important to many countries around the world, including France. Because France was so involved in North American affairs in the years leading up to and during the American Revolution, they were inspired to take part in their own revolution beginning in 1789.
The French Revolution was directly modeled after America’s, showing the profound effect one spark of resistance can have on an entire society.
Before the American Revolution, France was already involved in North American affairs during the Seven Years’ War. At this point in time, France and Britain were at war over the territories within North America, and in 1756 war was declared between two European powers, one side being Great Britain and the British colonists of America, and the other being France and the Native Americans. The two sides fought for seven years over territory disputes and in the end France signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763, in which they had to give up almost all of their territory in North America (“The French and Indian War Ends”). This defeat left France with extreme debt, less power, and a vendetta against Britain.
Then over the next 10 years American colonists started to stir with agitation as their mother country, Great Britain, began enforcing corrupt taxation, harsh treaties and rules, and unfair representation. So, the American Revolution broke out as colonists sent out their Declaration of Independence to Britain and began to band together in revolt.
As war waged on between the American colonists and Britain, France became interested in the American’s surprising strength against the British. So the French, eager to get revenge on Britain, became allies with America and provided them with weapons, money, and troops to defeat Britain (“French Alliance …”).
French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette became a major general in the American Continental Army and his leadership greatly contributed to the British defeat. With Lafayette’s troops the Continental Army was able to strategically surround British troops and force them to surrender at the Battle of Yorktown, which ended the Revolutionary Way and solidified America’s independence from Great Britain (Clary).
The American Revolution was successful and the colonies were no longer under Britsih rule, but meanwhile in France turmoil was brewing. Over the past decade the French constantly racked up debt beginning in the Seven Years’ War and only getting worse after pumping money into American aid during the Revolutionary War.
At this point France began to fall into an economic crisis. French people began to starve as royal funds dwindled, droughts occurred, sickness spread, and the prices of French goods shot up (“French Revolution”). At the same time French citizens were suffering, the French regime began to impose heavy taxes looking to replenish their funds (“French Revolution”).
Meanwhile French royals, Marie Antionette and King Louis XVI, continued to spend lavishly and only made the economic crisis worse (“French Revolution”).
Ultimatley these conditions in France led to the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer.
Another issue in France involved the French Estate system. The French population ran under a Three Estate System, in which the First Estate consisted of the clergy, the Second Estate consisted of the nobility, and the Third Estate accounted for everyone else from peasants to wealthy businessmen (“The Three Estate Information Sheet”).
The First and Second Estates possessed special privileges and common law did not apply to them, but the Third Estate had none of the same privileges and were subject to the rules the others did not follow (“The Three Estate Information Sheet”).
Each estate received one vote for governmental decisions which meant that even though the First and Second Estates collectively represented 2-percent of the French population, their votes would always hold two-thirds majority (“French Revolution”). The 98-percent of the French population that made up the Third Estate had virtually no say in their government.
After witnessing the recent success of the American Revolution, French citizens began to simmer in their own revolutionary thoughts during this time of catastrophe. They wanted to take action against the economic and social injustices that the French government was responsible for.
Conveniently for France, America had just demonstrated how it was possible to take action against an unjust government. The French had witnessed how the Americans were able to successfully stand up for their personal liberties against Britain and this inspired the same revolutionary attitude in the French population, The French citizens began to question the need for a king and the fairness of the current Estate System (“French Revolution”).
Also, they began to see a problem with the way their economy did not put the needs of the citizens first (“French Revolution”). In this way, America influenced the French by demonstrating that equality and representation were not unrealistic and that a group of citizens could stand and should fight for freedom from a tyrannical government.
Because of French citizens’ inspiration from Americans, soon the French Revolution began only a decade following the end of the American Revolution.
France’s close ties with the American colonies leading up to and during the American Revolution led to a French revolution modeled extremely similar to America’s. Because of the American colonists’ bold success in achieving independence from the British monarchy, they established newfound ideas, like fair representation and individual freedoms, which were actually realistic and worth fighting for.
In this way, the American Revolution directly influenced the French Revolution that unfolded only a short time later. This created an international bond between France and the United States of America, which is still modeled today by the Statue of Liberty that resides in New York, N.Y.
Lady Liberty was a gift from France to America in order to “commemorate the perseverance of freedom and democracy in the United States (“The French Connection”).”
France had always heavily respected the American grit and determination for freedom, and it inspired them to reform their own society. In this way American patriots were pioneers to a new way of life, free from tyranny and injustice. Their revolutionary changes were important not only to United States history, but also world history because their successful resistance sparked confidence in liberty in many other places around the world.