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Book Review—Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions by Miguel A. Faria, MD. Reviewed by Robert A. Waters
Published at the end of 2024 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in Great Britain, this book contrasts two revolutions. They each took place at about the same time in history, i.e., the American Revolution started in 1765 while the French Revolution began in 1789. However, the differences in rationale and causes of the two rebellions could not have been more different.
The genesis for the revolts against the French King, Louis XVI, and England’s King George III, began with the Enlightenment (1618–1815), also known as the Age of Reason. This philosophy had its origins in Europe and “championed the ideals of Natural Law, liberty, constitutional government, and separation of church and state.” In America, the founding fathers were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment.
While French intellectuals rejected religion, Americans embraced God and the church. Faria writes that “the American Revolution not only was a struggle for self-governance but also a thunderous political event that affirmed the Natural Rights of men–namely life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Property rights were a given that went along with the right to work, pursue good health, and the right to inherit property bequeathed by others.” Since many new Americans came to the colonies to escape religious persecution, it was only natural that spiritual issues would be important.
In dramatic detail, the author recounts the American colonists’ revolt against British taxation and attempts at political control. The French, recent losers of the Seven Years’ war with England, allied with the Americans. Faria writes that “the French not only provided financial and material assistance but also crucial military support. French armies under the Comte de Rochambeau as well as the French volunteer, the Marquis de Lafayette, fought alongside the Americans…providing men, assistance and logistical support in the war effort.”
In the end, the 13 American colonies prevailed, defeating the British.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress finalized the Declaration of Independence, which was signed by all 56 of the delegates. The Richard Henry Lee resolution stated “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.”
In France, in 1789, a small fire smoldered until it became a raging flame. Then it blazed into a conflagration that couldn’t be put out or controlled. The Age of Reason had struck again, but in a different form.
“Unlike the American Revolution, though,” Faria writes, “the French Revolution experienced a period of state-sanctioned violence that extended beyond what has been called the Reign of Terror, or simply the Terror.”
To counteract the new ideas (i.e., the Enlightenment) facing him, Louis XVI made major concessions in France, including, among other rights, “allowing the election of local and provincial assemblies.”
It wasn’t enough. The author writes that “the Paris parlement (an advisory legal body composed of aristocratic nobles that also codified the laws of the realm) demanded a ‘veto power over the decrees of the king.'” Pamphleteers, orators, and politicians lampooned the king and the rebellion quickly gained steam. “Death to the rich, death to the aristocrats” soon became a dangerous rallying cry as the country spun out of control.
For more than a year, the mobs increased in momentum. The streets of Paris were rife with political intrigue. Then, on July 14, 1789, “the mayhem reaches a climax with the storming of the Bastille by armed Parisian mobs, and the medieval fortress falls.” The bloody head of the governor of Bastille, Bernard-Rene de Launay, was raised on a pike in the city.
Severe food shortages throughout the country spawned more hatred of the establishment. By now, the mobs could not be contained.
On August 10, 1792, the monarchy fell. Faria writes that “the King is deposed, and the constitutional monarchy ended. Louis XVI and his family are imprisoned in the Temple tower prison. This is followed by the persecution and arrest of royalists and priests. The Swiss guards are forbidden by the King to resist and are massacred by the rabid mobs.”
On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI died on the guillotine. Nine months later, his wife, Marie Antoinette, was tried, convicted and beheaded.
One curious difference between the French and American Revolutions was their views on religion. Atheism became the order of the day for the French intelligentsia. In many instances, hardcore revolutionary fanatics demolished churches and placed signs on cemetery gates stating, “Death is but an eternal sleep.”
“At the same time,” Faria writes, “the war against the Church and the brutal dechristianization campaigns were progressing throughout France. ‘The Roman Catholic and all other Christian denominations were officially abolished,’ and any sort of Christian celebrations were forbidden.” Churches were defaced and looted and priests and nuns violated and murdered.
Like all of author Faria’s books, Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions is meticulously researched. There are more than 100 photos and artist’s renderings (many in color) that give a face to many of the participants.
This book should be studied in university classrooms across the country. I highly recommend it.
Robert A. Waters is the author of the national best-seller The Best Defense: True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves With A Firearm (1998) as well as five true crime books, including Guns Save Lives (2002) and Guns and Self-Defense (2019). His blog is Kidnapping, Murder and Mayhem.
This is a review of Dr. Miguel A. Faria’s new book, Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions. The book is a beautiful hardback, 480 pages, and fully illustrated published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. You can order Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions directly from the Cambridge Scholars Publishing website.
Dr. Faria is the author of numerous books, the most recent, Cuba’s Eternal Revolution through the Prism of Insurgency, Socialism, and Espionage (July 2023); Stalin, Mao, Communism, and the 21st Century Aftermath in Russia and China (2024); and Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions (December 2024)—the last four books by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.
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1 thought on “Book Review—Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions by Miguel A. Faria, MD. Reviewed by Robert A. Waters”
A couple of days ago I asked: Why has the Republican-held Congress (i.e., House and Senate) not already passed a Joint Resolution limiting the power of the judicially activists judges, who are trying to block Trump from doing what he was asked to do by the American people, when he carried not only the Electoral College but also the popular vote and carried all the battleground states during the election of November 2024? Here I once again cite the Exceptions and Regulations Clause in Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution Congress has been granted the power to constraint a runaway judiciary by limiting the Court’s jurisdiction: “… [in some cases] the Supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.” I urged Congress to do it as soon as possible. The judiciary has been becoming more and more despotic, encroaching on the Legislative and especially the Executive powers of the President in the case of Trump. Arrogating to itself power that had been granted to the President and Commander in Chief by the Constitution by judicial, left-wing, irresponsible judges. It needs to stop. In our federalist type of governance, the Founders established a balance of power between the states and the federal government. The inception of the 17th Amendment, along with the establishment of the Federal Reserve system, and the 18the Amendment (graduated income tax) formed a malignant troika in our Constitution. Gradually the prerogatives of the states have been eroded by the federal government, in health care, law enforcement, and most acutely in education. This also needs to stop. In my book— Contrasting Ideals and Ends in the American and French Revolutions (2024), Chapter 5, I explained why the Founders felt that a balance of power in the three branches(the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary) and a limited government were necessary. You can now buy a copy of my book from the publisher at a better price than Amazon. I’m sorry it is not cheaper. It is a 475 page book highly illustrated: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-0364-1560-0
P/S. Republicans in both the House and the Senate have now proposed the legislation to limit the jurisdiction of these runaway, judicial activist judges. In the House: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/scoop-bill-preventing-activist-judges-from-blocking-trumps-agenda-backed-white-house?
A similar resolution has now been introduced in the Senate: “Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he will introduce legislation to curb what he says is a ‘dramatic abuse of judicial authority’ by courts that have issued injunctions against President Trump’s agenda, including the deportation of alleged gang members”: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5205259-hawley-curbing-judicial-authority/
The bills should be attached to a Reconciliation legislation so that a simple majority can pass it in Congress. Otherwise the Senate bill can be subject to filibustering, requiring 60 votes (cloture) for passage. We need to play hard ball as the Democrats have done, passing several bills with 50/51 majorities accomplished with Kamala’s VP vote— e.g. “inflation Reduction” the climate change legislation, etc. Simple majority Senate vote also took place with ObamaCare at the time of Obama’s Presidency. Let’s do it! —Dr. Miguel A. Faria