Many people think of the American Revolution as a paradigm of revolution that incited change throughout the world. The French and Haitian Revolutions, both inspired by Americans fighting and gaining their independence from an oppressive body, closely followed the American Revolution. Although the American Revolution may have inspired reform in France and Haiti, in actuality, the Americans were not fighting for change, rather for the preservation of a previous social and political status quo. During the late 17th century, British imposed heavy taxes and tighter control that threatened the colony’s liberties and livelihood. In retaliation, Americans fought for their independence in an attempt to retain their way of life. When compared to the French Revolution and Haitian Revolution, the American revolution is more conservative and less revolutionary because Americans were fighting against change and as a result many laws were not altered, such as those pertaining to property, and there was little change to the social hierarchy.
The American Revolution was motivated by the desire to preserve the pre-existing liberties of the American colonists. For this reason, it seems ironic to coin this war as a revolution since a revolution is defined as change in the way of thinking or a change of paradigm. During the majority of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, British colonies in America operated with significant local autonomy because England was focused on its more profitable colonies in the West Indies. As a result of British laissez-faire approach to America, locally elected assemblies achieved a certain degree of self-government and the colonists regarded this autonomy as part of their natural right and English heritage. British colonists enjoyed relative independence, protection, British supplies and social status associated with the “Englishman” Until the mid-eighteenth century, the colonies had no thought of revolting against England as participation with the British gave the colonists more opportunities and advantages. A sudden and harsh change in policies and unrealistic increase in taxes threatened the colonists’ way of life and spurred a rebellion against the British. “ By effecting a break with Britain, the American Revolution marked a decisive political change, but in other ways, it was, strangely enough, a conservative movement, because it originated in an effort to preserve the existing liberties of the colonies rather than to create new ones.” On the other hand, the Haitian and French lower class, peasants, and slaves had to start a revolution in order to gain their freedom, equal opportunities, and overthrow their oppressors. This is the complete opposite situation of the American colonies because the colonies already secured these rights which the Haitians and French had to fight for. Thus, it can be seen that the American Revolution was not actually “revolutionary” because the goal of the revolution was to maintain already-existing liberties, and not completely overhaul the current government to gain new liberties such as during the French or Haitian Revolutions.
Since the American Revolution was not motivated by the desire to instill change, when America gained its independence from England, not much did change, especially to property law and values, and therefore it is more conservative than both the Haitian and French Revolutions. After the Haitian Revolution, land that was owned previously owned by slave-owners and whites were equally distributed among black men. When the two Haitian constitutions of 1801 and 1805 are compared, a stark difference can be seen in property laws. In the Haitian constitution of 1801, there are no laws pertaining to property; however, in the Haitian constitution of 1805, Article 6 states, “Property is sacred, its violation shall be severely persecuted.” In addition, Article 12 states, “No white man of whatever nation he may be, shall put his foot on this territory with the title of master or proprietor, neither shall he in the future acquire any property therein.” This difference was emblematic of the widespread changes as a result of the revolution. Similarly, the French Revolution resulted in a significant reworking of aristocratic and nobles’ wealth and property when they were distributed to the revolutionaries and the poor. Conversely, the American Revolution resulted in the opposite and it marked by a continuation of the previously established status quo and, “All contracts and rights, respecting property, remained unchanged by the Revolution.” Therefore, the American Revolution was conservative in many aspects including how beliefs or laws regarding property did not change, whereas both the Haitian and French Revolution sparked a complete change.
Finally, the American Revolution had much less of a drastic social upheaval compared to the Haitian and French Revolution because the American Revolution was not a conflict within its own society. British colonists were fighting an oppressor from across an ocean and who, until recently, had little impact on the colonists' lives. The colonists were content with their local governments, establishments, and society and therefore were not incited to fight for their complete independence until these were threatened. Therefore, after the war ended, a new way of life was not needed, rather a return to their lives was enjoyed. However, this was very different than what faced the French after they overthrew the monarchy. “Unlike the Americans, who sought to restore or build on earlier freedoms, French revolutionaries perceived themselves to be starting from scratch and looked into the future.” Because the French fight for independence was within its own society, the process to create a brand new form of government and rework social structure was much more difficult and bloody. Continuing this point, the American Revolution was a conflict where the tensions were of a colonial relationship with a far-away power, and in contrast, the French Revolution was a conflict within the country itself. “Whereas the American Revolution expressed the tensions of a colonial relationship with a distant imperial power, the French insurrection was driven by sharp conflicts within French society.” As the French Revolution progressed, the social conflicts gave way to more radical measures as paranoia began to set in and internal resistance and foreign opposition instilled fear that the revolution might become undone. As a result, crowds began forming insurrections against the nobility and upper class, attacking their residences, and finally culminating to the execution of King Louis XVI and the queen, Marie Antoinette in 1793. Similar events happened in Haiti where the slaves in the plantations began to revolt against their masters to attain basic freedoms as well as take back land from the white landowners. In this sense, the Haitian Revolution was a true revolution because a stark change occurred. “Socially, the last had become first. In the only completely successful slave revolt in world history, ‘the lowest order of the society – slaves – became equal, free, and independent citizens.” Overall, it is shown that the American Revolution was not revolutionary or radical in terms of social change when compared to the French and Haitian Revolutions because of the intense internal conflicts and tensions within France and Haiti, whereas the American colonies only showed tension towards a distant imperial power.
In conclusion, because the American Revolution was not driven by the need for change, but by the desire to keep their existing liberties and way of life it cannot be considered revolutionary. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, many laws reverted to the previous standings, especially as seen in property laws and values. In addition, the American Revolution did not see as much destruction and death as the French and Haitian Revolution because they were not fighting local offenders rather a colonial power overseas. This also attributed to the maintenance of the American social hierarchy. Thus, although the American Revolution forever changed political and social values throughout the world and sparked several revolutions such as the French and Haitian Revolutions, the American Revolution did not bring drastic changes to the colonies themselves.