Why France Radicalized and America Did Not

The American and French Revolutions began with similar demands for representation, but France moved toward a republic, mass violence and the Terror while America did not. Historians point to several differences. France faced foreign invasion after declaring war in 1792, and fear of traitors at home fed radicalism. It also faced a deep domestic counter-revolution, including the Vendée revolt in 1793. The king remained inside the system, and his attempted flight in 1791 destroyed trust.

Paris contained a large, hungry, politicized population that could pressure the legislature directly. The Revolution threatened the property and status of powerful groups, including the Church. By contrast, America's opponents were mainly an external empire and Loyalists who could leave, and its elites remained united behind independence. Brinton's model fits France best because these pressures pushed power from moderates to radicals.