1787 - Paris, France - The Pitfalls of Revolution

Kumel Waliany - 1787 - Paris, France

Revolution, both capitalist and imperialist, is one of the most dangerous and malevolent threats to civilizations today. The American Revolution was not only pointless because of its lack of any large social or political reform, but it harmed certain ethnic groups and degraded the structure of affiliated countries such as France. We can solve the problems of these civilizations through reformations, not revolutions.

In 1492, Europe first colonized the Americas. Spain and Portugal were first while England and our home country, France, followed. Powerful white Englishmen moved to the colonies such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. These men were wealthy, owned property, and had some form of power in the English government. The American Revolution was started by these intellectuals shifting loyalty away from the English government and manipulating others into charging against the English government as well in order to establish a similar government without the British restraints on the upper class. The intellectuals who believe that revolution is necessary state that the British tax laws are an attempt to control the colonies and create a consistent gain from them, but in reality, the English government attempted to make amends with the colonies through actions such as repealing the Stamp Act and Tea Act. These intellectuals also state that revolution can unite the people of the society to fight against a larger force to gain their independence. The problem with this idea is that only a small portion of the colonists actually supported the revolution and wanted to separate from Britain.

Although revolution can sometimes help the people escape from a vicious government, it can also cause problems to affiliated countries. One of the reasons that the American Revolution was possible, was because of the French funding the colonies. This may have been good for the colonists at the time, but very little changed in the colonies after the separation of the two nations. The lower and middle classes received very little while the upper class released itself from restrictions and continued to buy slaves and land freely. The act of slavery did not decline as a result of the American Revolution. Although certain officials and political leaders seemingly opposed slavery, the practice only stayed constant and, in some areas, increased with the development of new technology such as the cotton gin. The American Revolution took a toll on France as well as the colonists. France is currently under an economic crisis, due to the debt of funding the Americans. If France did not fund their revolution, the French economy would be much more sound due to the increased manufacturing and trade due to industrialization.

A combination of upset intellectuals, an upset lower and middle class, and a financial crisis may lead to a revolution in France and many fear that a revolution could cause more harm than help. In order to strengthen and unite France, we must have reform. Reform and reconstruction may be the only way to keep the country from falling into the dangerous hands of rebellion and revolution. There are worries that the revolution of the people may eventually end up hurting the people that created it. For the good of the people of the government and the people of the French community, we must not have revolution.