American & French Revolutions
Enlightenment ideas explode into political reality, establishing the template for modern democratic revolutions.
Explore this event on the interactive timeline →The American Revolution (1776) created a republic based on Enlightenment principles. The French Revolution (1789) attempted the same but descended into Terror, then military dictatorship under Napoleon.
Perspective
The contrast is instructive. America's revolution succeeded partly because it was conservative — the colonists were already self-governing and just wanted Britain to leave. France tried to rebuild society from scratch, and the results were catastrophic. Revolutions work best when they formalize changes already underway.