During the late 18th century, both France and the British colonies in America experienced wars that opened the nations' eyes. The French Revolution and the American Revolution dramatically changed political thinking. During the French Revolution, monarchism was abandoned and political power was given to the people until the country lost control and a military dictatorship was needed to regain control of France. During the American Revolution, a new nation was formed when the British colonies broke away from the English monarchy. Eventually, both France and the new United States of America moved away from the absolute rule of a king or queen and wanted to place political power in the hands of their people. However, there are many differences and similarities along the path to their political reform. One of the first differences in revolutions is how each started. At the beginning of the French Revolution the government was on the verge of collapse. While at the beginning of the American Revolution, the colonist felt oppressed but had a stable governing body. The French Revolution was caused by problems that can be classified into three categories: political and social imbalance, government bankruptcy, and Enlightenment thinking. The American Revolution was caused by England's withholding of political laws and taxation on the British colonies. France was about to collapse due to imbalance, bankruptcy and a new way of thinking. In France, feudalism was still practiced where the nobles and clergy enjoyed exceptional advantages over the common people and lower classes. For example, nobles and clergy did not have to pay taxes; they owned the most land and had the most political power in France. However, the… center of the card… three branches of the federal government, each with a way to control the other branches of government. With the system of checks and balances, no one branch of government had too much power and the power of government remained in the hands of the people. The American Revolution successfully transformed the ruling government into a monarchy overseeing an independent nation with a government run by the people. The French and American Revolutions were both revolutionary then and still today. There are still lasting effects of both the French and American Revolutions. The French Revolution had lasting effects such as the rise of nationalism and the huge shift away from monarchism. For us Americans, the lasting effects of the American Revolution are clear. We still live in freedom with the same system of government established by our first political leaders.