The French Revolution took place from 1789 till 1815. It was considered to be Act Two of the drama in the Atlantic Revolutions. Considering that the American Revolution was Act One of the drama I found it interesting that US and France teamed up in an effort to overpower Britain. Thomas Jefferson stated that France "has been awakened by our revolution". France was falling into bankruptcy in the struggle so king Louis XVI was called into session an ancient parliamentary body consisting of 3 estates: the clergy, the nobility and the commoners. The clergy and nobility consisted of 2% of the population and the commoners 98%. Shortly after this was established the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was drawn up declaring that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights".
The French and American Revolutions differed a lot in how they let influence spread. Once Napoleon took over a lot of things changed for France. He is given credit for taming the revolution and all of its social conflicts it generated. He managed to preserve civil equality, a secular law code, religious freedoms and promotion by merit. Napoleon's intent was to spread these benefits far and wide. Many people followed in his footsteps. He saved France from Britain and should be considered a hero.
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