Why America’s Revolution Didn’t Become France’s | Lawrence W. Reed

Economist and historian Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed, President Emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education, discusses his book Born of Ideas: How Principles, Faith, and Courage Forged America, where he traces the founding of America from the Mayflower Compact in 1620 through the Bill of Rights. Reed argues that the American Revolution was rare — perhaps unique — among revolutions: it actually delivered on its promise. Unlike the French and Bolshevik revolutions, which promised power to the people and delivered it to dictators, America limited government, recognized the sovereignty of the states, and declared that rights come not from rulers but from our Creator.

Reed contrasts the two revolutions that were barely a decade and a half apart. Early French events looked promising, but a collectivist ideology of the “general will” quickly produced tyranny and mass bloodshed. America’s founders, he says, were men of character who could not have ordered the slaughter of fellow citizens who disagreed.