English, American, and French
The three most prominent revolutions in recent western history are The English 'Glorious' Revolution, The American Revolution, and The French Revolution. The despite these events being separated by nearly a century, several thousand miles, or both, all three of the revolutions share the same causes, were brought forth by the same idealism, and had similar outcomes in which a document was produced to secure the rights and freedoms for the future.
While there were a large number of causes for each war, and an even larger number of events and escalations that occurred to set the stage, one theme in particular rings true throughout all three. The idea of being governed without representation. This idea of a legitamate government being representative of the people and derived from their consent was brought about by Thomas Hobbs. This idea that the government represent the people is widely accepted by the British during the time of The Glorious Revolution, and subsequently accepted by the French and the Americans during their revolutions. This is a key underlying similarity. In addition to the idea of representation, Hobbs also made a hypothesis that society will endure minor abuses of power as a price paid in order to maintain the protection that only a government could afford, but would quickly revolt should the abuses be perceived as egregious.
In England, the dissatisfaction began when King James II attempted to repeal the Test Acts. While looking back at this, King James II actions could be construed as noble and just, but they were carried out in a manner that stepped over the threshold of tolerance for the English. In order to carry out his repeal, King James II dismissed all representatives which disagreed with the repeal. The people no longer had any say in the decision to repeal, and this upset the English. The King was quick to then throw the repeal of the Test Acts into the faces of...
Cited: Doyle, William. The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002. Print.
"G4 - The Glorious Revolution - UK Parliament." Www.parliament.uk Home Page - UK Parliament. 01 Mar. 2009. Web. 30 May 2010.
Kelly, Martin. "Causes of the American Revolution - Examining the Causes of the American Revolution." American History From About. Web. 30 June 2010.
Please join StudyMode to read the full document