Explaining the American Revolution to Christian Apologists

A Conservative, evangelical American Christian tries to make a point that the American Revolution was somehow less bloody, and/or more successful, than the French Revolution, because the French Revolution was based on atheism and the American revolution was based on Christianity. He asks...

"The French revolution was roughly contemporary to the American Revolution. Why did they yield such dramatically different results?"

As usual, the religious apologist view of history is badly skewed. Let's examine the facts...

1 Background

The American Revolution built gradually and is defined by a series of social and political and events between 1765 and 1783 during which American rebels rejected the rule of the British Monarchy and founded the United States of America. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) pitched American patriots against British armies, sent to maintain British rule. 

The defining document during this time is the Declaration of Independence drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776.  Without this there would have been no American revolution, no subsequent French proclamation of The Rights of Man (and notable that both documents avoid references to God).  Without Jefferson's negotiation of the Louisiana treaty, there would be no United States of America. Without Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, there would have been no Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, and no basis for the most precious clause of all - the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.   

2 The American and French Revolutions Compared

Both of these events made huge contributions to the modern world. The former led to the development of one of the most influential countries of the 20th century. The latter (referred to by Christopher Hibbert and others as the “Mother of All Revolutions”) changed the world. 

2.1 Common features

Both resulted from Enlightenment ideas as espoused by Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and others who recognised the importance of concepts that we tend to take for granted today: free speech; free press; natural rights; equality; democracy; secularisation and so on. 

Both aimed to achieve liberty from an oppressive government. The Americans wanted freedom from the British monarchy while the French aimed to replace a corrupted government that denied privileges to the wider population which were granted to the controlling nobility, clergy, and aristocratic classes (5% of the population). Thus, the general objective was corresponding in each revolution, yet it’s the detailed objectives that made all the difference.

2.2 Significant Differences

The American Revolution aimed for compromise with an existing government in a distant country. The French Revolution was in the control of a dictatorial monarchy and clergy based in France. 

The British government controlling America was far less oppressive than the French regime, and whilst not a democracy the British people did have a prototype constitution (the Magna Carta) and they did have a limited representation through Parliament. The population of France had no rights at all, and therefore had a much bigger problem to overcome. For this reason the American Revolution can be considered to be not a "revolution" at all - but rather an act of independence. The French Revolution required a drastic change - attempting to implement a social structure that simply didn't exist at all. 

The political and philosophical environments in France and America were totally different. America had a strong, successful political leadership whilst France had a crumbling economy mismanaged by aristocrats and the Church. 

The population of revolutionary America were geographically distant from the Enlightenment movement and largely unaware of it. They followed a simple concept to gain independence from Britain and to have the same rights as British people. The French population were slap bang in the middle of the birth place of the Enlightenment - its philosophy was inescapable and awareness was at a maximum. They realised the scale of the change required - essentially a complete reconstruction of their country. Hence the French Revolution resulted in a radical, ruthless, and violent period whereas the American Revolution was far more conservative and symbolic. 

The American Revolution largely consisted of riots and civil disobedience - that's all that was needed. The Revolution in France was on a different scale requiring the overthrow of what was essentially a dictatorship of clergy, monarchy and aristocrats who had no intention of devolving power to the population. History shows how such a fundamental regime change nearly always result in mayhem and bloodshed as multiple factions fight for control. 

The American Revolution gave rise to arguably the most powerful nation of the 20th century but the change to American Society was fairly limited but obviously important: Independence; a Constitution; a Bill of Rights and the unification of its colonies. The effects of the French Revolution didn't just change France - they changed the world through the Empire created by Napoleon. Significantly, it resulted in a loss of power of the Catholic Church which paved the way for future democracy including religious tolerance over much of the world (but bear in mind that France was still at this time a military dictatorship). 

Source: The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven Jr

http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Revolution-Landmark-Books/dp/0394846966