Ricardo Gongora - Paper 1 - A Revolutionary Epitaph - Ricardo R Gongora A Revolutionary Epitaph One Root One Republic One Terror October 1 2010 Gongora

Ricardo R. Gongora A Revolutionary Epitaph: One Root, One Republic, One Terror October 1, 2010

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Gongora 2 A Revolutionary Epitaph: One Root, One Republic, One Terror by: Ricardo Gongora The concept of change is a powerful one which, once exponentially amplified, may have such a large impact that it may be deemed revolutionary. This revolutionary type change is quite truly, the focus of 18 th Century France and the Americas. It is a time etched in history defined by the Enlightenment, a time of philosophical and scientific development, followed by two distinct revolutions: The American and French Revolutions. Though these two revolutions have similar roots, - based on the pursuit of common goals, a need for a representative government and a new order - it is difference in unity , experiences and leadership , and the borrowed notion of a revolution that ultimately causes the difference outcome of these two revolutions: A Unified American Republic, and A French Terror. Differences in what „ Unity ‟ meant is one of the key elements that led to the eventual polar outcomes of the French and American Revolutions. For the people in America at that time, the concept of unity was more widespread and commonplace. Two „leaders‟ of the American Revolution, J efferson and Lafayette “knew well that for the young republic, a sense of unity was essential” (22). Though both countries ideally wanted „unity‟, France s