School:

Druga gimnazija Sarajevo

IB World School
Middle Years Programme




SUBJECT: History
TOPIC: Effect of Enlightenment on Revolutions of
18
th
century

Research question: In what ways were American
Revolution, French revolution and 17
th
century British
Revolutions alike In what ways they were different

AoI: CS


WORD COUNT: 119 !or"s
Student: Medina Had!i"
Class: II#$ MYP
Date: %&'%('()%('

*+I: Community and Service
,his *rea o- Interaction is very relata.le to this to/ic and these 0uestions' *merican
Declaration o- Inde/endence1 2rench Declaration o- the 3ights o- Man and the Citizen
and 4nglish Bill o- 3ights 5ere all centered to5ard /eo/le1 and certain community'
,hese documents 5ere there to serve /eo/le1 to hel/ them1 im/rove their lives' ,hese
documents1 declarations1 rights 5ritten in them1 5ere -ought -or .y /eo/le -or /eo/le'
,hat is 5hy this *+I is the most suita.le'
British revolution1 *merican 3evolution and 2rench revolution are very im/ortant
/arts o- 5orld6s history' ,hese revolutions 5ere in some 5ays ali7e and in some 5ays
0uite di--erent' In %8
th
century British revolution /arliament -ought against 9ing trying to
gain /art o- the /o5er and to start constitutional monarchy' *mericans -ought against
Britain and 5ere trying to gain inde/endence' 2rench 5ere -ighting .et5een three estates1
5ith third one leading the revolution and -ighting -or e0uality and -or all to have same
rights' *s much as these revolutions 5ere di--erent1 they had one common goal1 to
change their /olitical systems'
Similarities and di--erences .et5een the Bill o- 3ights and Declaration o- the 3ights
o- Man and the Citizen are inevita.le' Both revolted sides 5ere commoners o- society1 in
4ngland /arliament1 re/resentatives o- non#aristocrats and in 2rance1 third estate
:Bourgeoisie and /easants;'
%
Both 5ere -ighting against 7ing1 5anted to /artici/ate in
ma7ing la5s1 and to gain .asic human rights -or everyone1 such as right to 7ee/ hands1
-reedom o- s/eech1 -reedom o- religion' Di--erences are o.vious .ecause in the Bill o-
3ights changes 5ere made in governing country and gave rights mostly to that in
/arliament and in Declaration o- the 3ights o- Man and the Citizen re-er to commoners1
middle class o- third estate'
,he Bill o- 3ights came .e-ore *merican Declaration o- Inde/endence and
Declaration o- the 3ights o- Man and the Citizen came a-ter' *mericans 5anted their
/lace in /arliament 5hen they 5ere still British colony1 they did not get that1 yet they still
had to /ay high ta<es' ,hey had their o5n /art o- ca7e called Bill o- 3ights' 2rance 5as
ally to *mericans in their re.ellion against Britain' When 2rench sa5 that re.ellion o-
*mericans 5as success-ul1 they decided to do it too' Because o- *merican Declaration o-
Inde/endence1 2rench 3evolution started and Declaration o- the 3ights o- Man and the
Citizens 5as .orn'
,hese documents did 0uite re-lect ideas o- 4nlightenment' *t all1 the 4nlightenment
era ha//ened in 0uite the same time1 as did these 3evolutions' Ideas such as those o- =ohn
>oc7e: >ive1 4njoy >i.erty1 +5n Pro/erty 5ere 0uite im/ortant1 es/ecially -or *merican
Declaration o- Inde/endence'
(
,hey could not enjoy their li.erty .ecause they 5ere
.ound to Britain as colony1 yet they had to /ay high ta<es1 and that can .e considered as
giving some o- their /ro/erty1 and they 5anted to .e -ree and live -reely 5ithout ta<es'
$
%
?2rench 3evolution :%8@8#AA;'? Encyclopedia Britannica Online' 4ncyclo/edia Britannica1 n'd' We.' %$ Dec' ()%('
Bhtt/:CC555'.ritannica'comC4Bchec7edCto/icC(%A$%DC2rench#3evolutionE'
(
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
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With their Declaration o- Inde/endence1 they got those t5o rights' 3ole o- 3eason1
Fatural >a5s and Progress can .e seen through Bill o- 3ights and Declaration o- the
3ights o- Man and the Citizens1 3eason can cure human7ind o- all /ast injustices1 Fatural
>a5s regulated society and Progress guaranteed .etterment1 and those documents did
cure /ast injustices1 regulated society and guaranteed .etterment'
&

3evolution in 4ngland 5as led .y Parliament1 and in 2rance .y third estate6s middle
class Bourgeoisie' Parliament -ought -or rights in ma7ing la5s1 and in that 5ay they
-ought -or .etter /lace -or their class1 commoners1 non#aristocrats' Moreover1 5ith Bill o-
3ights they did get that1 and some more1 5hich indeed has im/roved their lives' So their
concerns 5ere gone1 5hich sho5s that Bill o- 3ights 5as a great move1 that even today
Parliament is im/ortant governing .ody in 4ngland' In 2rance1 they 5anted to .e all
e0ual1 that ta<es are /aid .y all three classes1 that they all /artici/ate in governing the
state :Fational *ssem.ly;'
D
*nd 5hen you 5ant something1 you try to ma7e it ha//en1 so
they -ought1 started a revolution and eventually got things they -ought -or' ,hrough these
documents1 5e can see 5hat these /eo/le 5anted1 5hat they did not have1 and 5hat they
5ent through to get them1 some thing all /eo/le are su//osed to have'
Since Declaration o- the 3ights o- Man and the Citizen came a-ter the Bill o- 3ights1
it too7 a-ter at Bill o- 3ights' ,hese t5o documents re-lect each other in a 5ay they .oth
5ere guarantying some rights to the majority o- /eo/le 5ho 5ere o.viously non#
aristocrats1 and /eo/le o- same status -ought -or these rights in similar 5ay' Some rights
are same or similar1 such as one o- limited monarchy or -reedom o- s/eech' ,hese
documents sho5 ho5 /eo/le 5ere then1 5hat they needed1 even though they lived in
di--erent countries and these revolutions ha//ened 5ithin a time range o- hundred or so
years1 they still needed same things1 they craved -reedom and e0uality' ,hat is 5hat
everyone needed1 no matter o- time or /lace'
%8
th
century 5as more a.out science and ne5 5ay o- vie5ing s/ace1 .ut %@
th
century
5as the age o- enlightenment1 ne5 ideas1 and ne5 vie5s o- 5orld' In 4nglish revolution
/arliament -ought against 9ing and his constant dissolving o- /arliament and going .ac7
to 3oman Catholic Church and denying their *nglican Church'
G
*merican and 2rench
revolutions 5ere ha//ening in the .lossom o- 4nlightenment and ne5 ideas1 so /eo/le
and revolutionists 5anted to change their /olitical systems to the core1 not just to have
limited /o5er as it 5as the case in 4ngland1 .ut to change it com/letely' ,hat is 5ere the
ideas o- 4nlightenment hel/ed in changing /olitical systems o- 2rance and Forth
*merica'
While1 in 2rench and *merican revolution 4nlightenment /layed 0uite a role'
>oc7e6s /hiloso/hy im/lied that .y changing environment and su.jecting /eo/le to
&
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
D
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
G
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
/ro/er in-luences they could change and create a ne5 society'
8
,his can .e seen through
2rench revolution and them ma7ing one com/letely ne5 system o- values and through
*merican' Montes0uieu stated that to him one o- the .est /olitical systems 5as
constitutional monarchy1 and too7 4ngland -or .est e<am/le and their se/aration o-
/o5ers1 e<ecutive1 legislative and judicial'
@
*merican /olitical leaders read this one o- his
5or7s and incor/orated these /rinci/les into H'S' Constitution'
A
3ousseau -rom the >ater
4nlightenment stated that society should have .een governed .y general 5ill1 5ill and
o/inions -rom most o- the /eo/le1 5hich 2rench revolutionists and *merican ones gladly
5elcomed'
%)

3e-ormation and crisis stimulated /arliament and /eo/le in 4ngland in %8th century
in their revolution in that time' ,hey -ought against 9ing and 5ere trying to gain /art o-
the /o5er that should .elong to /eo/le1 yet as they had acce/ted their ne5 *nglican
Church1 they did not li7e going .ac7 to the old 5ays to 3oman Catholic Church that 9ing
=ames II -avored' Yet1 2rench revolutionists and *merican revolutionists are driven .y
ne5 ideas o- 4nlightenment and yet these t5o revolutions ha//ened hundred years later1
so times and /eo/le change' In 4ngland they 5ere trying to get /art o- the /o5er1 yet in
2rance and *merica to change it com/letely'
Considering all circumstances under those revolutions ha//ened1 5e could say that
2rench and *merican 5ere more ali7e than these t5o and British one' *merican and
2rench ha//ened in the same time1 5ere driven .y similar ideas and desires1 trying to
change their /olitical system and values' Yet1 in 4ngland1 /arliament just 5anted to gain
/art o- the /o5er1 have a deal in ma7ing la5s' In the end1 all these three revolutions
changed the lives o- their /eo/le1 values and systems they lived in1 .ut 5ere driven .y
some5hat di--erent ideals and motives'
Sources:
8
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
@
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
A
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
%)
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History' International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage
>earning1 ()%%' Print'
Dui7er1 William ='1 and =ac7son =' S/ielvogel' The Essential World History'
International ed' Boston1 M*: Wads5orthCCengage >earning1 ()%%' Print'
?,he Declaration o- Inde/endence'? The Declaration of Independence' F'/'1 n'd'
We.' %$ Dec' ()%(' Bhtt/:CC555'ushistory'orgCdeclarationCdocumentCE'
?2rench 3evolution :%8@8#AA;'? Encyclopedia Britannica Online' 4ncyclo/edia
Britannica1 n'd' We.' %$ Dec' ()%('
Bhtt/:CC555'.ritannica'comC4Bchec7edCto/icC(%A$%DC2rench#3evolutionE'