History Question...?

Question

How come so few American aristocrats were executed during the American Revolution, but during the French Revolution and Russian Revolution a high number of aristocrats were killed?

If you could just leave a website where I could find this information, that would be great! Thank you!

Answer 1

Gosh, this question (and the answers above) are terribly flawed.

First of all, they make the assumption that the American Revolution, like the French and Russian revolutions, was a revolt against the economically privileged class. That is a wildly erroneous assumption.

The American Revolution was led by the economically privileged class, the businessmen and large landowners (and slaveowners). In other words, the American Revolution was led by the American equivalent of an aristocracy, so obviously they would not execute themselves.

Read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It is obvious that those documents were written by a highly educated, wealthy group of people like Declaration signers Virginia slaveowner Thomas Jefferson, Harvard grad John Hancock (at one time the wealthiest man in New England), wealthy printer/merchant Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and other wealthy businessmen.

The Declaration of Independence ends with these words: " ... we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

"Our Fortunes?" Do peasants have fortunes?

If the revolution had failed, the rebellious American businessmen and landowners (the American aristocracy) would indeed have been executed as traitors to the Crown.

Answer 2

I'm just guessing at this point using logic rather than knowledge.
During the time French and Russian Revolutions they had many (so called) aristocrats)
The United Stated on the other hand was a new country founded by people of less means in the monetary sense.
Therefore less aristocrats.
The United States was building a country of equality where as the other countries had 2 classes Rich or Poor.
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Links below for possible information
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The Battle for
A More Perfect Union
by Robert Trout
January 18, 1999
http://east_west_dialogue.tripod.com/american_system/id1.html
Cambridge University
PDF link
DEMOCRACY, REVOLUTION, AND MONARCHISM IN EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE
http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/13396/sample/9780521813396ws.pdf
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*************NOTE*******************
There just isn't much explaining this .
That is where logic and history come into play . The first settlers and those thereafter didn't want to be ruled by a monarchy they wanted to make a NEW WORLD with new rules.
That is precisely what was accomplished. We have more aristocrats now than we did then. These so called aristocrats became that by making tons of money in a new world, because of their ability to know what was needed and how to provided it, and working hard to get it.

Answer 3

I do not know of any websie for this info but I do know this that in both the french and russian revolutions they were the people vs their gov'ts, but as for the american revolution, it was the american people vs the british gov't as it was a revolution to govern themselves and it was not until the british were defeated that an american gov't was newly formed naming george washington as the first president of the united states.. So; if any american aristocrats were executed it would have been done by the british...try to remember that america was a british coloney back in the day some 300 years ago.

Answer 4

Partly because the revolutions were about different things.The Russian revolution and the French revolution were about the lower classes throwing off the rule of the upper classes and achieving "Freedom". The only way to ensure that the upper classes don't survive is to kill them.
As regards the American revolution, and as an Englishman, I didn't know America had any aristocrats.If by the American Revolution you mean the Civil War, it wasn't about the same things, was it ? If you mean the American revolt against British rule, we Brits don't do that sort of thing. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Do you mean royalty when you use the word aristocrat?
Or do you mean the upper class or wealthy people in the colonies?

The abuses of government came at least in leadership from overseas. We could not execute from across the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer 6

I agree with skcave. And yeah the American colonists didn't have that many aristocrats, and the ones they did have were mostly still loyal to the crown.

Answer 7

There is no such thing as an "American Aristocrat." That is the reason why.

Good Luck!!!