Which option best captures the key difference between the American and French revolutions in terms of social structure?

• A. The American Revolution largely preserved existing social hierarchies, while the French Revolution aimed to dismantle feudal privileges and promote equality.
• B. The American Revolution ended social hierarchies and feudal privileges.
• C. The American Revolution promoted drastic social equality for all classes.
• D. The American Revolution largely preserved existing social hierarchies, while the French Revolution aimed to dismantle feudal privileges and promote equality.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is how each revolution treated social order and privilege. The American Revolution largely kept existing social hierarchies in place—independence was won without systematically wiping out property-based status or aristocratic influence, and political rights remained tied to property and local rules rather than universal equality. In contrast, the French Revolution explicitly targeted the old feudal system: it sought to dismantle hereditary privileges, abolish dues and exemptions tied to birth, and promote equality before the law, reshaping social structure toward a more egalitarian framework. That contrast—preservation of social hierarchies in America versus dismantling feudal privileges and pushing for equality in France—best captures the difference.