In her work of political theory, On Revolution, Hannah Arendt compares and contrasts the American and the French Revolutions. For the most part, she criticizes the French Revolution, calling it "lesser" than the American Revolution. For this reason, she has received much criticism from her work, despite the fact that many of her points hold true.
Although Arendt provides an accurate and detailed analysis of the events of the French Revolution, she neglects to mention its overall outcome. She says that the French Revolution was not as important as its inspiring American Revolution because it was based on the need for cheaper bread prices.
However, the revolution in France brought with it a completely new form of government, something that neither Europe or America had seen before. In fact, many of the ideals of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment were spread to other surrounding European countries after the French "Revolutionized". In this way, it was significantly more important than the American Revolution because it spread to more people and effected the elites on an entirely different level.
Another way that the French Revolution changed the course of European was that it brought with it an official end to the feudal system. For years, nobles and other landowners knew that the system was in a state of decay, but the French Revolution was a way for people to truly express what they wanted. In the end, the feudal system collapsed, a new system of government took place, and industrialization began to spread, bringing with it a new mass system of labor.
