Final Exam

Andrew Feser

1710736

University of Alberta

HIST 128

Professor Grant Grams

April 20, 2022

 When people in this hemisphere think of revolutions in human history, they usually think

of the American Revolution (April 19th, 1775- September 3rd, 1783) and the Russian Revolution

(March 8th, 1917 – June 16th, 1923). On the surface, these revolutions look like they have little in

common however, the main cause of these revolutions is very similar. The main reason these two

revolutions occurred was to abolish the monarchy rule of their countries. While their ideologies

were not the same, the cause for each was incredibly similar. This analysis will examine the role

of the monarchy in the American Revolution (April 19th, 1775- September 3rd, 1783) and the

Russian Revolution (March 8th, 1917 – June 16th, 1923). This analysis will examine the events

nationally, prior to each revolution.

To begin with, let’s examine the similarities between the American and Russian

Revolutions. The specific date for the start of the American Revolution is April 19th, 1775, but

that doesn’t account for the events prior. One similarity between these revolutions was the

mistake by the monarchies of joining war. The first main mistake was made 20 years before the

start of the American Revolution. There was another conflict on North American soil. This

conflict was known as the Seven Year’s War (1754-1763), a conflict between the British Empire

and French Empire. The main reason for this war was to decide who would have the controlling

power in North America. The winner would control the valuable resources such as land, fur, and

other natural resources. However, the eventual winner in Britain (country in Europe) would gain

control of the colonies known as the Thirteen Colonies. The Thirteen Colonies (1607- July 4th,

1776) were a group of colonies settled on the Atlantic Coast of modern-day United States of

America (USA, country in North America). These colonies, before the war, were unique as they

functioned almost independently from Britain. But Britain needed them to fight with them

against France (country in Europe), so they did not want to tarnish any relationships prior to
battle. After the war, the monarchy decided to have more control of these Thirteen Colonies. A

closer look at this explains why the British monarchy would do this. First off, the monarchy

spent millions of dollars on this war for North America and somebody had to pay for the debt. It

would be risky to tax Britain’s native people of the motherland (mainland Britain) for a war

fought primarily overseas. So, Britain and King George III (King of Great Britain, June 4th, 1738

– January 29th, 1802) began to wield more power on the Thirteen Colonies. The more control, the

more tax you can apply. This would be the first of many mistakes by the British monarchy

leading to the American Revolution.

In Russia, a similar mistake made by Czar Nicholas II (Former Emperor of Russia,

November 1st, 1894 – March 15, 1917) was to join the Russo-Japanese War (February 8th, 1904 –

September 5th, 1905), a war between Russia and Japan (country in Asia). This war was quick,

bloody, but most of all shocking. The first time an Asian country defeated a European power in

Russia (country in modern-day Asia). War is an expensive endeavour and people must pay for

that. A humiliating defeat and now even more tax for the civilians. 1British Historian Orlando

Figes (Historian, November 20th, 1959 – present) also adds how Czar Nicholas II also cut

Russia’s military budget (Figes, 2017). With the budget cuts, Russia’s military becomes less

skilled with fewer supplies and fewer soldiers. The remaining soldiers now had to find jobs in an

increasingly bad economy. Now, even more, people are furious and only have the Czar to blame.

Protestors now fill Russian streets to demand reform and changes be made. The next choice the

Czar makes would be one of the biggest he’s ever made with irreversible effects.

1
Figes, Orlando. A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924. Bodley Head, 2017.
 Another similarity between the American and Russian Revolutions was two violent acts

committed by their respective monarchies. What made the citizens mad, however were the sham

trials. In the Thirteen Colonies, this is known as the Boston Massacre. On March 25th, 1770,

protests over these new taxations became disorderly. The monarchy in the motherland sent

troops to control these protests. The orders were to enforce these new acts and maintain order.

Sometimes soldiers become overwhelmed and resort to violence, as what happened in this

instance. 2Historian James C. Bradford stated how the British were being accused of mostly

unsubstantiated acts of rape and other beatings which had colonists on edge. Just prior to March

5th, 1770, in February the British killed a young boy named Christopher Seider (Bradford, 2016).

So, a month later when British officers were attacking a man, the people fought back. In the

aftermath of the Boston Massacre, five people were killed, and six wounded. In the aftermath,

trials were set in a British court. Two men were found guilty of manslaughter while the others

were acquitted. After a trial deemed unfair by the Colonists, the people of the Thirteen Colonies

would never forget the damage the British had done.

The Czar also chose the option to suppress these protests the quickest way - with

violence. On January 9th, 1905, Russian troops opened fire on the relatively peaceful protests.

These protests were open signs that people wanted a power change but was never a direct threat

to the monarchy. Hundreds were eventually wounded or killed, and outrage spread across the

country. Killing protestors makes people upset, but killing peaceful protestors makes millions

furious at the monarchy. These events known as Bloody Sunday would cause irreversible

damage to the reputation of Czar Nicholas II. In the aftermath of Bloody Sunday, Czar Nicolas II

2
Bradford, James C. The American Revolution: A Visual History. DK Publishing, 2016.
set up what was called the Duma. Flawed from the beginning, the Czar in the Duma had the

power to veto any decision. This now changed many Russians views of the current Czar, but no

radical change was made at the time.

While these Revolutions were similar, there were key differences in both. You had

obvious differences such as geographical location and ideologies for how government should be

ran. But there were key events that made each revolution unique. In America, the British

monarchy implements many ways to funnel money from the Thirteen Colonies. Whereas the

Russian monarchy kept making mistake after mistake. The next paragraphs will compare the

differences between the Russian and American revolutions.

Two of the most prominent ways the British monarchy tried to establish control of the

Thirteen Colonies was by enacting the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765. Around the

time of these two Acts, 3American Historian Gordon S. Wood (November 27, 1933 – Present)

adds how these Acts were implemented at a time when people in the Thirteen Colonies were

realizing how they have and could continue to function without British Control (Wood, 2002).

Known as the Age of Enlightenment (1685 – 1815), people began thinking about the world and

how it functions. A time when people began to think that the monarchy may not be needed for

their society to function. As people were already doubting the monarchy, King George III

implemented these two Acts. The only reason why the British monarchy implemented the Stamp

and Sugar Act was to receive additional tax money and limit power in these colonies. The Sugar

Act was implemented in 1764 and was mostly based on the reduction of sugar imports by the

colonies. It also included how specific materials such as sugar and lumber were exported to

3
Wood, Gordon. The American Revolution, a History. The Modern Library, 2002.
Britain. Lastly, the Sugar Act made all ships keep detailed info of all supplies on the ship. Only

British officers would inspect the ship and report all violations to a British court. The monarchy

brought harsh measures to control the colonies and one year later, implemented the Stamp Act.

Gordon S. Wood (Historian) also states “In March 1765, Parliament by an overwhelming

majority passed the Stamp Act, which levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers,

and nearly every form of paper used in the colonies. Like all duties, the tax was to be paid in

British sterling, not in colonial paper money” (Wood, 2002). A closer examination of this quote

shows why the Stamp Act angered so many Colonials. Firstly, the monarchy, without any

consultation passed this act. The same monarchy that is across the Atlantic Ocean (ocean

between the United States and Europe) passed an act that only applies to the Thirteen Colonies.

Next, this not inexpensive tax was applied to all documents, paper, and letters in the colonies.

Today, we don’t value paper as much but in 1765, paper was almost a necessity. Paper was used

in everyday life, and more importantly, paper is used by wealthy individuals. These two acts now

were making the powerful in colonial society pretty upset. Lastly, another factor was how this

tax needed to be paid in British sterlings. The only reason for this was to benefit the motherland

(Now modern-day England). Colonial paper money would have no value in mainland Britain,

and they needed more sterlings in the country from the costly war. The monarchy now had even

more control of the colonies. For the colonies, the colonial paper money was experiencing

inflation and drove up costs. All because of the monarchy located 5,000km away and their desire

for control and resources. This would be the first of multiple events from the monarchy causing

the American Revolution

On April 19th, 1775, shots were fired between the colonial militia (Colonial military) and

British armed forces. This was the official start of the American Revolution. The war was long
and bloody, and soon became international. France and Netherlands aided weapons and supplies

for the colonial militia. In the end, on September 3rd, 1783, Britain and the Colonials ended the

war. They signed the Treaty of Paris (treaty to end American evolution) and gave the Thirteen

Colonies independence. The American Revolution was officially over.

One hundred and thirty-four years after the end of the American Revolution was the

official start date of the Russian Revolution. Like the American Revolution, the Russian

Revolution was also ignited by the corruption, violence, and greed of the monarchy as discussed

previously. Russia, for hundreds of years, was ruled by the Czar (Title used for Russian

Monarchs). The Czar during the Russian Revolution was named Czar Nicholas II. Czar Nicholas

II inherited a huge, but ever-growing resentful Russian empire. Czar Nicolas II was suddenly

inducted into the throne after the sudden death of his father Czar Alexander III (Former Emperor

of Russia, March 13, 1881 – November 1st, 1894). At the time, Russia had mass famine just two

years prior. Faced with starvation, people look for assistance. At the time, they looked up to the

Czar, but he offered little help to the Russian people. Two years after, people still held a grudge

against the inexperienced Czar Nicholas II all because of his father. From the start, Czar

Nicholas II’s reign was never stable. At his crowning, the happy day soon turned deadly. 4British

Historian Robert Service (Historian, October 29th, 1947 - Present) adds how on May 26th, 1896,

the Czar planned to fill the huge park called Khodynka (park located in Moscow) to celebrate the

coronation. They organized to give out mugs and little bags of goodies to the spectators. The

poor organizing led to over 1,000 deaths that day (Service, 2005). Instead of canceling his after-

party, Czar Nicholas II went ahead with it and irritated many. From Day one, the people now

4
Service, Robert, and Takeshi Nakajima. Roshia Kakumei: 1900-1927. Iwanami Shoten, 2005.
view the monarchy as caring about themselves and nothing else. The ever-growing tension just

got a little weightier from the first day.

The last event to cause the Czar and the Russian monarchy to end was deciding to join

World War One (July 28th, 1914 – November 11th, 1918). Russian defeat against the Japanese

nearly cost Czar Nicholas II his rule, so they could not be defeated. Looking back on Historian

Orlando Figes comments saying how the military budget was cut, the Russian army was

unprepared, under-supplied, but more importantly unmotivated. The soldiers just didn’t see the

Germans as a threat. In 5Leon Trotsky (Russian Politician, November 7th, 1879- August 4th,

1940) and Max Eastman’s (American Writer, January 4, 1883 – March 25th, 1969) book titled

The History of the Russian Revolution (updated 2017), they state the soldiers didn’t want to

fight. They wanted to go home to their families, and many did. Desertion was incredibly

common, and the officers had no power to stop it. The only reason they were involved in this war

was that the Russian monarchy told them. As a soldier, it would be hard to put your life on the

line for a battle you have no stake in. Not only was unrest happening at the battle lines but back

home as well. The civilians of Russia had enough. What is known as the February Revolution

takes place in 1917. Mass protests occurred in Saint Petersburg (city in Russia) and this time, the

soldiers refused to fire on the protestors. Food shortages and a costly war pushed the Russians

over the tipping point. The monarchy’s treatment of people had gone too far, and Czar Nicholas

II abdicates. The abdication on March 15, 1917, ends the almost 400-year rule of the monarch

and Czar rule in Russia.

5
Trotsky, Leon, and Max Eastman. History of the Russian Revolution. Penguin Books, 2017.
 The next five years after the official end of the monarch leads to the brutal fighting in the

Russian Revolution. With Czar Nicholas II vacating the throne, Russia was now open for

someone new to rule. On one side you got a council of workers and soldiers known as Petrograd

Soviets. The other side was called the Russian Provisional Government which was led by

ministers who had worked under the Czar. At first, the Provisional government was running

Russia but did not do anything of merit. They didn’t pull out of World War One fast enough and

people were still hungry. The Petrograd Soviets were now being led by Vladimir Lenin (Former

Premier of Soviet Union, April 22nd, 1870 – January 21st, 1924). Lenin would lead the Petrograd

Soviet and Russia into civil war. This civil war would last until June 16th, 1923, marking the end

of the Russian Revolution.

In the end, the American and Russian revolutions had lots of similarities despite their

political backgrounds. The main similarity was ending the monarchy rule of their respective

countries. Both revolutions signaled the end of the Czar and British King and Queen having

power. Each revolution was started by war and ended in war. Besides some details, each

revolution was also unique in the end. In America, the end of monarch rule led to the rise of

democracy and capitalism whereas the end of the Czar in Russia led to the rise of Communism.

As much as we distance these revolutions, we must recognize that these both stemmed from the

treatment by their former monarchs. In the end, both revolutions resulted in the foundation of

modern-day global politics.

 Works Cited

Bradford, James C. The American Revolution: A Visual History. DK Publishing, 2016.

Figes, Orlando. A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924. Bodley Head, 2017.

Service, Robert, and Takeshi Nakajima. Roshia Kakumei: 1900-1927. Iwanami Shoten, 2005.

Trotsky, Leon, and Max Eastman. History of the Russian Revolution. Penguin Books, 2017.

Wood, Gordon. The American Revolution, a History. The Modern Library, 2002.