(1) How does Friedrich Gentz distinguish between the American and French Revolutions? Do you see the influence of Edmund Burke in his thinking?
The American Revolution and the French Revolution are often thought of being very similar, but in almost every way, they were polar opposites. When compared to how violent and chaotic the French Revolution was, the American Revolution could hardly have been called a revolution at all. It is better described by the term “The War for Independence.”
To understand why the two events were so different from each other, it is necessary to understand the cause for the conflict in each case. In the French Revolution, the people were openly, violently revolting against the government. Though Louis XVI was extremely moderate in his rule compared to his predecessor, Louis XV, he was killed by his own people during the French Revolution. There was a very apparent movement towards building a completely new society and leaving any former traditions in its wake. Previously, France had been an openly Christian country that was very involved in the matters of the church. However, embedded in the French Revolution was a strong anti-Christian movement. While it did not get very far, there was even an attempt to introduce a new calendar system in which there would be 10 days per week rather than 7, which is considered to be God’s perfect number.
In the American War for Independence, it was not the people that were breaking tradition by overthrowing the government. Rather, it was the government that was breaking tradition by attempting to impose taxes on the colonists without going through their representatives. This was a major break with the way things had been done before. When the British government did not respect the traditions of their relationship with the colonists, independence from them was declared by the colonists. The British government had overstepped the terms of the arrangement that were written in history. Then, when they invaded the United States of America, the Americans treated them as they would any other invaders. In short, the American War for Independence was not at all for establishing a new method of running society; it was to preserve the rights of the people that they had already possessed for centuries prior.
Unlike the French Revolution, the American War for Independence was very much in line with Edmund Burke and his views on revolution in general. He believed that you cannot build a society from scratch, because tradition and the development of an understanding of natural rights takes much too long. While gentle, intellectual reform is a good thing, downright revolution can only bring chaos. This describes very well the difference between the American War for Independence and the French Revolution. The former was sober-minded, the latter bloodthirsty. The former was calm and calculated, the latter full of chaos and unnecessary violence.
(2) What points is Mary Wollstonecraft making in the excerpts you read from the beginning of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman? What would she like to see changed in European society?
She rhetorically refers to women as “one-half of the human race” and makes the complaint that there is all this talk about the rights of men without any discussion of women’s rights. She said that the reason women are not taken as seriously as men is because they are not as educated as men. Rather than just demanding that they be treated with more respect, she asserted that women should take the matter into their own hands by becoming stronger both mentally and physically.
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