Answer to Question #239934 in History for NTSOKOLO SOLOMON

Question

Do you think that the rights of “equality, liberty, and fraternity [to meet freely as a group]” in the American Revolution (c. 1765-1784) and the French Revolution (1789-1799) included everyone, or did it exclude some people? Discuss in relation to gender and race

Answer 1

I believe that the equality, liberty and fraternity values conceived in the two revolutions did not include everyone. Rather, they were meant to protect the elites and the society’s privileged groups such as the native whites and colonialists. The African-American groups and other races still found it difficult to find space in the political, economic and social climate during these times. Even worse was the question of gender. Women were segregated and prevented from full participation in different issues of public concern. This explains why new reforms and laws still needed to be enacted to create this space.