The Impact of the Revolution Abroad

7/25/2019 The Impact of the Revolution Abroad

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THE IMPACT OF THE REVOLUTIONABROAD (1796-1815)

THE UNITED STATES

Today we tend to think of a "special relationship" between

the United States and Britain, forged by a common

language and culture. But in the late-1th century, many

!mericans felt a strong connection eisted between the

United States and #rance. $t had been the #rench, after all,who had helped the !mericans fight for their independence

%admittedly in the hope of dealing a blow to Britain&s

position in 'orth !merica(. The !merican )e*olution had,

in turn, inspired the #rench reformers and re*olutionaries.

The famed #rench general, +aruis de afayette, for

eample, had fought for !merican independence and,

because of his eperiences in !merica, had become an

early supporter of the #rench )e*olution. %e e*en named

his son /eorge 0ashington afayette(. 0hen the #rench

)e*olution erupted, many !mericans celebrated it as a

continuation of their own struggle for liberty.

owe*er, as we ha*e seen, the #rench and !merican

re*olutions differed in fundamental ways. Though many

!mericans fought and died in the military struggle against

the British, they ne*er resorted to mass political *iolence.

The #rench )e*olution, on the other hand, was bathed in

domestic bloodshed. The Reign ! Te"""alienated many

!mericans, as did other radical mo*ements, such as the

"#e-C$"i%&i'ni'&in" campaign. et some !mericans

retained hope that the #rench would find more moderate

means for carrying out their re*olution.

2*entually, as the #rench )e*olution sought to spread its

ideology by military conuest, dissension o*er 2uropean

affairs polari3ed !merican politics and contributed to the


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formation of political parties. !merican opinion was

bitterly di*ided o*er whether to support the #rench or the

British. 2*er since the war for independence, !mericans

had adopted a policy of neutrality with regard to 2uropean

military conflicts. $n hisFarewell Addressof 1796,

President George Washingtonadvised the young nation to

shun foreign entanglements. But suh disengagement

!roved diffiult in the era of !rolonged warfare that

followed on the heels of the Frenh "evolution. #ot even

the Atlanti $ean ould shield the Amerian "e!u%li

from the u!heaval in &uro!e. (Do you see elements of

Washington's address that have come to define American

foreign policy?)

Two main parties formed4

The Fe#e"'i%&%, led by !leander amilton,

supported a strong centrali3ed go*ernment, the

de*elopment of commercial and economic interests,

and the British cause. They abhorred the *iolence of

the Terror in #rance and feared the ecesses of the

)e*olution. They fa*ored the culti*ation of !merica&s

strong cultural and commercial ties to 2ngland.

The Re*+,i'n%, led by Thomas 5effersonand 5ames+adison, fa*ored small go*ernment and an

egalitarian society of "yeoman farmers." They feared

centrali3ed power and percei*ed the #rench

re*olutionaries as fellow defenders of liberty. They

demanded that the United States support the #rench

against the wealthy and corrupt British.

Time and again, trade considerations and commercial

interests would compel !mericans to become in*ol*ed in

2uropean affairs. 0hen war in 2urope originally broke out,howe*er, 0ashington&s policy of neutrality pre*ailed for a

time. e had prohibited the #rench from seeking arms and

support in the United States, a policy that enraged those

mindful of #rance&s aid to the !merican )e*olution only a

few years prior. 0ashington also kept the United States at

peace with 2ngland, despite 2ngland&s pro*ocati*e
https://faculty.unlv.edu/gbrown/westernciv/readings/wash1.htmlhttps://faculty.unlv.edu/gbrown/westernciv/readings/wash1.html


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interference with !merican shipping. #rance and 2ngland

had each imposed a trade ,.&&on the other, which also

affected neutral countries. Thus, any attempts by the

!mericans to continue their lucrati*e trade with the

6ontinent or with their ma7or trading partner, 2ngland,

would run afoul of, respecti*ely, either 2ngland or #rance.

(Why do you think George Washington urged neutrality

on the young United States? o !hat e"tent has the

United States heeded his advice?)

Se*eral de*elopments after 189: led the United States to

the brink of war with #rance4

!fter Britain epanded its ,/'#eof #rance to

include the 6aribbean and commandeered se*eral

hundred !merican merchant ships, the United States

capitulated, signing the 0'. T"e'&.%negotiated by the

first chief 7ustice of the Supreme 6ourt, 5ohn 5ay( in

'o*ember 189:, which granted the British nearly as

much control o*er !merican shipping as they had

eercised o*er the 1; colonies. !lthough the U.S. had

been forced, by their na*al weakness, into signing the

treaty, the #rench ne*ertheless regarded this as an

!merican betrayal.

Tensions rose further due to the 23 A!!'i"in 1898.

The #rench, inspired by military *ictories and angered

by recent !merican beha*ior, renounced their old

peace treaty with the United States and began sei3ing

!merican merchant ships. 0hen the !mericans sent

an emissary to


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#ederalist and some members of his party ad*ocated war,

he sought peace with the #rench, which he attained in

1??.

The tension with #rance had domestic conseuences,

howe*er. $n order to silence their )epublican opponents,

the #ederalists used the anti-#rench hysteria to pass the

Aien 'n# 4e#i&in A&%. The !cts, in effect from 189 to

1?1, tightened *oting eligibility reuirements for recent

immigrants %who tended to *ote )epublican( and attempted

to censor the press and public speech. The #ederalists made

a determined effort to discredit their )epublican opponents

as !merican 5acobins who threatened to bring a )eign of

Terror to the United States. The political atmosphere was

toic. Though attempts to mu33le free speech generallyfailed, the !cts brought the country to the brink of ci*il

war.

The #ederalists& efforts backfired. )epublicans successfully

portrayed them as tyrants attempting to silence free

political debate. The election of 1?? brought a

)epublican, Thomas 5efferson, into the 0hite ouse for

the first time. 5efferson, who fancied himself a son of the

2nlightenment, fa*ored a pro-#rench foreign policy. The

maintenance of peace with #rance earned the young!merican )epublic a substantial reward - the territory of

L+i%i'n', a gigantic epanse of land, controlled by

#rance, which included present-day ouisiana, +issouri,

@ansas, !rkansas, Aklahoma, 'ebraska, the akotas,

$owa, +innesota, and parts of +ontana, 0yoming, and

6olorado. #or some time, !mericans had ner*ously

en*isioned a #rench empire to their west, but 'apoleon&s

interests remained in 2urope. $n 1?;, 'apoleon sold the

entirety of the ouisiana territory to the United States for

the paltry sum of 1C,???,??? dollars. $n one bold step %of

dubious constitutionality(, Thomas 5efferson doubled the

si3e of the United States. 'apoleon would later take credit

for making the United States a substantial power.

But peace did not last. Under 5efferson and his )epublican

successor,


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increasingly came into conflict with Britain, a country

)epublicans despised for its supposed corruption. 0hen

war between #rance and Britain broke out again in 1?;,

the British resumed their policy of boarding !merican

ships and i*"e%%ing%i.e., forcibly drafting( sailors they

claimed had deserted. !merican outrage o*er this policy

was only heightened when, in 1?8, the British fired on the

!merican warship 'hesa!ea(e. Still resisting calls for war,

5efferson in 1? imposed an embargoon !merican

shipping, which pre*ented all U.S. ships from lea*ing for

foreign ports. This tactic of "peaceable coercion," howe*er,

only caused !merican merchants great harm and enraged

the commerce-oriented #ederalist party. The embargo, an

utter failure, was lifted in 1?9.

By 11D, the United States had had enough. The "war

party" in 6ongress saw an opportunity to gain control of

Britain&s 6anadian territory, and in 5une of 11D, the United

States declared war on Britain. But !merican hopes were

uickly dashed. The '" ! 181did not unfold as the

anticipated march of !merican conuest. #our attempted

in*asions of 6anada failed, and an !merican army was

badly defeated at etroit. The *ictory o*er 'apoleon in

11: freed up *eteran British troops, who o*erwhelmed the

poorly trained !mericans. $n the summer of 11:, a Britishepedition landed, marched on 0ashington, and burned the

6apitol and the 0hite ouse to the ground. orrified

#ederalists began to consider breaking up the young Union

and forming a 'orthern 6onfederacy. #ortunately for the

!mericans, the British were too ehausted by the pre*ious

two decades of war to capitali3e on this *ictory. !merica

achie*ed astatus )uo ante %ellum!eae in *eem%er of

1+1 with the reaty of Ghent.


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and the ouisiana


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reform in the satellite states.


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NATIONALISM AND REFORM IN DEFEATED PRUSSIA

irect #rench influence was not always necessary to

prompt reforms in other 2uropean states. $n


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The largely aristocratic officer corps was partially

opened to bourgeois talent.

! general staff and military colleges were created.

arsh disciplinary practices were relaed in fa*or ofmore humane treatment.

! reser*e system was created.

The draft was applied more fairly.

The new thinking about the means and ends of modern

warfare was famously captured in @arl *on 6lausewit3&s

$n War.


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#or the first time, the state took full responsibility for all

le*els of schooling, establishing and super*ising primary

and secondary schools %Gymnasia( and accrediting all

teachers. The /erman statesman and minister of education

0ilhelm *on umboldtinitiated changes in the uni*ersity

system, including the founding of the Unie"%i&. ! Be"in

in 11?. 0ithin se*eral decades,


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that united /ermans in a common cause. Thus, in

/ermany, the 'apoleonic era witnessed not only territorial

consolidation and political reform, but also the birth of a

modern nationalism that looked forward to the formation of

a unified /erman state. (Do you think that nationalism is

inconsistent !ith the principles of the nlightenment? o

!hat e"tent did nationalism dominate politics in the th

century?)

ENGLAND

!mong the great powers of 2urope, only 2ngland escaped

a 'apoleonic in*asion. But the wars against #rance

polari3ed politics in Britain much as it had in !merica. The

pre*iously broad-based mo*ement for


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/eorge $$$had thrown the country into turmoil in 18

with a bout of "madness" %stories circulated that the mad

/eorge had alighted from his coach and greeted a tree as if

it were the


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189;,


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with him. $n 1?;, the aitians finally defeated the #rench

and gained their independence. !ll sla*es were liberated,

and their oppressors were either killed or forced to flee.

THE CREATION OF HAITI

The effects of the #rench )e*olution were not limited to its

impact on 'orth !merica and the great powers of 2urope.

The #rench 'ational !ssembly had outlawed %'e".in

#rance in 1891, but had left it in place in the #rench

colonies, which were much more economically dependent

on sla*e labor. #rance&s 6aribbean colonies were

particularly crucial to the nation&s economic prosperity, and

in 4'in&-Ding+e%in present-day aiti( there were only

;?,??? white residents li*ing among almost C??,??? sla*es.

$n the eyes of the 6aribbean sla*es, the #rench )e*olution

had promised liberty, and when this was denied them in

1891, they re*olted. #rance responded by granting political

rights to freed blacks, which caused outraged white sla*e

owners to 7oin with #rance&s British enemies. Spain, which

controlled part of the island, offered freedom to the #rench

sla*es if they would fight for Spain against #rance. !

bloody ci*il war ensued. $n #ebruary of 189:, the 'ational

6on*ention finally abolished sla*ery altogether. !n e-

sla*e named Toussaint &Au*erturehad been acting as ageneral for the Spanish, but he and his followers 7oined the

#rench after the abolition of sla*ery. Toussaint was

e*entually appointed go*ernor of the island, which had

been plunged into ruin by the fighting. $n 1?1, Toussaint

conuered the Spanish half of the island and declared an

independent nation, called H'i&i. $n 1?D, 'apoleon sought

to regain control of the island, and sent an army to

apprehend Toussaint. Toussaint died in a 2uropean prison,

but was remembered e*er after as a hero of the

abolitionists. is *ision of an independent aiti did not diewith him. $n 1?;, the aitians finally defeated the #rench

and gained their independence. !ll sla*es were liberated,

and their oppressors were either killed or forced to flee.


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THE LIBERATION MOVEMENTS IN SPANISH AMERICA

The !merican and #rench )e*olutions inspired liberation

mo*ements in the Spanish and

Documents

The Impact of the Revolution Abroad