Did France's participation in the American War of Independence lead to their own revolution?

Question

The French aid supplied to the American rebels in the revolution must have strained their resources. And I can't imagine how the just created USA would be able to repay France for their aid. Did the cost of foreign involvement make France go bankrupt? Their revolution was only a few years later. Must have been some connection to it.

Answer 1

Certainly, as some have noted, the French Revolution has a variety of 'causes' that came together

Economic disaster was an important component, and royal debt was a huge piece of that. . Now the debt incurred in the American Revolution was by no means the whole of that debt! But it certainly CONTRIBUTED to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution#Debt

Then there are the ideological causes. Now note that (contrary to popular thought) the French Revolution was largely "kicked off" and run by the middle class. And many among them were familiar with French Enlightenment authors. They also had seen the Americans put those theories into action. So in that sense too the American Revolution acted as a catalyst --an inspiration (or sometimes an excuse) to French revolutionaries (who were not ALL, esp. not at the start "thugs").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_French_Revolution#Absolutism_and_Privilege

Answer 2

The French directly cited the American Revolution as an important inspiration for the French Revolution. Although the French were largely motivated by a thousand-year-old feud with the British, including recent disputes over colonial possessions in North America, some French participants in the American Revolution (and some French philosophers) supported the American Revolution and the principles of its foundation - the Enlightenment principles of reason, representative republican government, and natural rights like life, liberty, property.

Americans like Thomas Paine traveled to France and aided the movement, until, of course, the French Revolution degenerated into a debaucherous display of violence, radicalism, and corruption.

So, my answer is YES, the American Revolution paved the way for subsequent revolutions in the Americas and Europe. The American Revolution proved that a colonial rebellion (and a rebellion against monarchy) can work and that Enlightenment ideas have a practical application.

You asked a really great question. Thanks.

Answer 3

I would have to answer yes. You answered your own question above. The French Revolution begins with a financial crises. The French King, Louis XVI has to call a meeting with the Estates General (their Parliament) to ask for money. The French government did go bankrupt because of the aid they gave us during the American revolution. Anyway the French were sympathetic to the American colonists, especially since we were at war with their ancient enemy. And they were sympathetic to the ideals of the American as the rights of the common man. I hope this has been a help to you.

Answer 4

French aid to American rebels had no real influence on the cause of the French revolution. The French revolution became unavoidable over a century before and it's amazing it did not happen sooner. The government was bankrupt before the American revolution. A long history of extravagant spending by French monarchs and long running wars had destroyed France's wealth. English naval domination had bottle necked French colonial expansion. Mismanagement of the colonies France did have further left France behind England who had done a brilliant job of using colonial expansion to further English power.

The primary factors in the French revolution were the extreme poverty felt by the common French citizen. In many other European nations the feudal system was dieing. Being replaced by a less class based system. Common citizens ceased being property of their lords. France lagged behind these societal changes.

Famine was a huge part of the problem. France did not adopt the potatoe as had most of Europe when it was brought back from the Americas. So crop blights at the time hit France extremely hard. Other nations were able to get along quite well as the potatoe became an increasingly large part of their diets to make up for the losses in other crops.

External political pressures were another major factor. France backed America because we fought the British not for any sympathy with America. We were merely a way to get back at the British. France's biggest contribution to the success of the American revolution was just by being at war with England it caused England to be unable to send over sufficient troops to beat back American rebels without leaving themselves vulnerable in European wars closer to home.

Literacy was a major factor. In the 1700s literacy was now very common. Just a few short generations before very few people could read. With the ability of the common man to read came religious and political upheaval as the world suddenly became more than the village they had grown up in. Ideas spread like fire across Europe.

The last was the influence of the words written by American authors. The US constitution is the summation of thousands of years of wisdom. It struck a strong chord of resonance in people. The passionate writings of American revolutionaries were well accepted among the French who suffered under far worse conditions than American colonists.

So the stage was set. The words of American revolutionaires provided the match to dry kindling which sparked the French revolution.

Answer 5

NO!!!! The French helped us, but it was the ruling class that did, the class against which the peasants rebelled when they stormed the Bastille to begin the French Revolution in 1789 (They had NOT had their revolution before the US). The French Revolution was led by a group of thugs who established a Reign of Terror after they gained control, where they marched dissenters to the guillotine by the thousands. They were rebelling against the repression of the nobility in France and the unbelievable tax burden endured by the peasants and merchants and imposed by a corrupt nobility.

Chow!!

Answer 6

No
The amount of aid they supplied the US wasn't an extreme amount, they just took it out of the "let's go hassle the British Empire" budget. While we've enshrined the French help as an idealistic crusade ( and it was for some persons), for the French Government, it was merely part of a larger policy of sticking it to their old rivals and cousins the English.

Did the success of our revolution encourage Frenchmen to overthrow their King for a Republic? Sure, nothing lends encouragement like an successful example. A good share of the ideals behind our revolution came out of France to begin with, so it is no surprise that the ideas eventually flowered there as well.

Answer 7

It did have to do with it because they felt inspired by the American revolution so they started there own revolt.

Answer 8

~No, but French philosophers did have an influence on the British rebels in the colonies.

Answer 9

The French helped because they've already HAD a revolution, and were greatly interested in pulling down English Imperialism next.