Due to recent events, the political climate has been starting to change in America. The political ideologies are becoming more militant in the streets and further polarized on the spectrum. It is necessary now to look to the past on what is beginning to appear to be the eve of revolution in America. Whether this revolution is one of military conduct or cultural conversion is irrelevant because as Mark Twain famously said, "History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes." Henceforth, this article will be an examination of the French Revolution and the failure of the First Republic, and how America is following the same road.
Prior to the start of the French Revolution was the reign of King Louis XV (1715-1774), a monarch who enjoyed lavish spending and preferred administering a party before a government. His spending drove the French economy into the ground and left the nation bankrupt. King Louis XVI took the throne in 1774, inheriting a bankrupt nation. Although he spent less than his predecessor, the French government still continued with a deficit.
The French Revolution started in 1789 with the goal of reigning in King Louis XVI by establishing a limited monarchy, mimicking that of England. The revolution was conservative in nature; starting with the cahiers, or books of grievances to be sent to the king. These sought reform, not abolishment, of the monarchy. The revolution transpired with the breakdown of the Estates-General, as the Third Estate broke off and declared themselves to be a National Assembly, with constitutional writing powers. King Louis XVI surrounded the building where they met and after a tense week, King Louis XVI called off his troops, letting the revolution traspire. The formation of the National Assembly, their most notable accomplishment being the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, laced heavily in natural rights. In 1791 they formed a constitution composed of a limited monarchy and a new Legislative Assembly.
America is now on this same course. With the previous administration adding $7.917 trillion to the debt, the voters set out to have their grievances be heard. With this call Donald Trump was elected but still the deficit remains at a crippling level of almost $700 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the national debt continue to rise, Donald Trump adding an additional $1.026 trillion in his presidency as of 17 December 2017.
As the Jacobins inflicted a Reign of Terror on anyone who opposed them, the alt-left is growing to be the same force. In 1794 the French set up the Directory, a national government led by the Girondists that was unable to function properly. The only thing that stopped the violence and dominance of the radical left was the rise of an emperor in France, Emperor Napoleon. If history comes around to rhyme once again America will either fall to Antifa and other radical alt-left factions or come under the control of a new imperial regime that will make the Imperial Presidency look like anarchy.