Briefing: Two revolutions, different paths

In the 1700s, Enlightenment writers argued that people had natural rights and that governments should answer to the people. These ideas helped inspire revolutions on both sides of the Atlantic. In Britain's North American colonies, many colonists protested taxes and laws made by a Parliament in which they had no elected representatives. The American Revolution began in 1775. In 1776, colonial leaders adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing separation from Britain. The war ended in 1783, and the new United States formed a republic with elected leaders. However, many people—including enslaved people, women, and Native Americans—were denied political rights. In France, the monarchy faced a serious debt crisis, food shortages, and anger about an unequal estate system. The Third Estate, which included most of the population, carried much of the tax burden while privileged clergy and nobles had exemptions. In 1789, revolutionaries challenged royal authority and the old social order. The monarchy was abolished, and France became a republic in 1792. The revolution later brought violence and political instability; Napoleon took power in 1799. Both revolutions challenged traditional authority and drew on ideas about rights and representation. Their outcomes were not identical: the United States established a republic after its war for independence, while France went through major changes in government, including the end of monarchy and a later rise to power by Napoleon.