Chapter 17

It was interesting to read that the ideas of the enlightenment contributed to the Atlantic revolutions because it originally derived from the enlightenment. It was shared across the ocean in newspapers, books, and pamphlets. The idea of human political and social arrangements could be engineered and improved by human action. The new ideas of liberty, equality, free trade, religious tolerance, republicanism, and human morality. It was a new start in the construction of human communities.

It was fascinating to read about how different the two revolutions were. The American revolution was perceived as preserving existing liberties of the colonies rather than creating new ones. The conditions in the American revolution was also made for less poverty and more economic opportunity and fewer social differences. It was not so revolutionary because it established democratic tendencies of colonial societies. 

It was also appealing to read how that the French revolution differed from the American Revolution in many ways. The French insurrection was driven by sharp conflicts within society. The different classes in the French society were affected as well. The members of the titled nobility reserved and resisted the monarchy's efforts to subject new taxes. The middle class was offended by the remaining privileges of the aristocracy which excluded them, and the urban residents were hit hard as well. The French were more violent reaching a radical character. In contrast, the Americans revolution was to restore and rebuild upon earlier freedoms. French people also saw themselves as starting from scratch when comparing themselves to the Americans.