Review written by Robert A. Waters
Published at the end of 2024 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in Great Britain, this book contrasts two revolutions. They each took place at about the same time in history, i.e., the American Revolution started in 1765 while the French Revolution began in 1789. However, the differences in rationale and causes of the two rebellions could not have been more different.
The genesis for the revolts against the French King, Louis XVI, and England's King George III, began with the Enlightenment (1618-1815), also known as the Age of Reason. This philosophy had its origins in Europe and "championed the ideals of Natural Law, liberty, constitutional government, and separation of church and state." In America, the founding fathers were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment.
While French intellectuals rejected religion, Americans embraced God and the church. Faria writes that "the American Revolution not only was a struggle for self-governance but also a thunderous political event that affirmed the Natural Rights of men--namely life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Property rights were a given that went along with the right to work, pursue good health, and the right to inherit property bequeathed by others." Since many new Americans came to the colonies to escape religious persecution, it was only natural that spiritual issues would be important.
In dramatic detail, the author recounts the American colonists' revolt against British taxation and attempts at political control. The French, recent losers of the Seven Years' war with England, allied with the Americans. Faria writes that "the French not only provided financial and material assistance but also crucial military support. French armies under the Comte de Rochambeau as well as the French volunteer, the Marquis de Lafayette, fought alongside the Americans...providing men, assistance and logistical support in the war effort."
In the end, the 13 American colonies prevailed, defeating the British.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress finalized the Declaration of Independence, which was signed by all 56 of the delegates. The Richard Henry Lee resolution stated "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states."
In France, in 1789, a small fire smoldered until it became a raging flame. Then it blazed into a conflagration that couldn't be put out or controlled. The Age of Reason had struck again, but in a different form.
"Unlike the American Revolution, though," Faria writes, "the French Revolution experienced a period of state-sanctioned violence that extended beyond what has been called the Reign of Terror, or simply the Terror."
To counteract the new ideas (i.e., the Enlightenment) facing him, Louis XVI made major concessions in France, including, among other rights, "allowing the election of local and provincial assemblies."
It wasn't enough. The author writes that "the Paris parlement (an advisory legal body composed of aristocratic nobles that also codified the laws of the realm) demanded a 'veto power over the decrees of the king.'" Pamphleteers, orators, and politicians lampooned the king and the rebellion quickly gained steam. "Death to the rich, death to the aristocrats" soon became a dangerous rallying cry as the country spun out of control.
For more than a year, the mobs increased in momentum. The streets of Paris were rife with political intrigue. Then, on July 14, 1789, "the mayhem reaches a climax with the storming of the Bastille by armed Parisian mobs, and the medieval fortress falls." The bloody head of the governor of Bastille, Bernard-Rene de Launay, was raised on a pike in the city.
Severe food shortages throughout the country spawned more hatred of the establishment. By now, the mobs could not be contained.
On August 10, 1792, the monarchy fell. Faria writes that "the King is deposed, and the constitutional monarchy ended. Louis XVI and his family are imprisoned in the Temple tower prison. This is followed by the persecution and arrest of royalists and priests. The Swiss guards are forbidden by the King to resist and are massacred by the rabid mobs."
On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI died on the guillotine. Nine months later, his wife, Marie Antoinette, was tried, convicted and beheaded.
One curious difference between the French and American Revolutions was their views on religion. Atheism became the order of the day for the French intelligentsia. In many instances, hardcore revolutionary fanatics demolished churches and placed signs on cemetery gates stating, "Death is but an eternal sleep."
"At the same time," Faria writes, "the war against the Church and the brutal dechristianization campaigns were progressing throughout France. 'The Roman Catholic and all other Christian denominations were officially abolished,' and any sort of Christian celebrations were forbidden." Churches were defaced and looted and priests and nuns violated and murdered.
Like all of author Faria's books, Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions is meticulously researched. There are more than 100 photos and artist's renderings (many in color) that give a face to many of the participants.
This book should be studied in university classrooms across the country. I highly recommend it.
Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions
Dr. Miguel A. Faria, Jr.
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Published in 2024
