On Revolution comparatively analyzes the 18th-century revolutions in America and France. Central to Arendt’s analysis is her argument that while the American Revolution succeeded in creating a lasting, stable government, the French Revolution ultimately collapsed due to its overreliance on idealism at the expense of creating viable political institutions.

The unrest in the American colonies began about a decade before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, as rebellious colonists protested against being taxed by the British Parliament without being represented in it. The war began when the Massachusetts colony declared a state of rebellion in February 1775. In Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, 56 self-proclaimed “Founding Fathers” gathered at the Second Continental Congress and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson. In all 13 colonies, citizens immediately held conventions to produce state constitutions affirming republicanism. The Continental Congress also approved the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which established a structure of shared sovereignty among the colonies during the course of the war.

The United States was established in 1783, when a defeated Britain acknowledged the independence of the thirteen colonies. The Constitution was authorized by delegates to the Congress of the Confederation in Philadelphia in 1787 and ratified by the states in 1788.