among races. Women's rights leaders pushed for equality in terms of suffrage. Even today there is still a push in the United States to ensure that the spirit of the American Revolution is carried forward and everyone is treated equally.

The message of the American Revolution also spread abroad. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of North Vietnam, used language similar to the Declaration of Independence when he proclaimed Vietnam independent of French colonial rule. Alexander Kerensky sought to create a constitutional republic in post-czarist Russia before his ouster by the Bolsheviks. People strive to be masters of their own political destinies in many times and places in history and this movement continues today in Latin America and the Middle East.

Think of this question as something akin to "Why did one straw break the camel's back"? A revolution is not an idea that comes from nothing. Looking historically into revolutions, you will find underlying causes for every one of them. Both the French and American Revolutions were tied together and related because of the close relationship between the French and the Americans. Examples are ties between both Jefferson and Washington and the French government. President Washington was sent the key to the Bastille, a French prison destroyed in France's own revolution in the spirit of the American Revolution. This phenomenon was not only American and European in nature but also spread to several colonized nations in the Atlantic.  The French colony of St. Dominique in the Caribbean and the Republic of Haiti were also examples of this revolutionary spirit of the time.

To address the quote itself, think of much of the turmoil that still exists worldwide. We see revolutions in the modern age as well, as dictatorships and regimes are overthrown. Look at instability in the Middle East as a modern example.

The seed of most revolutions are sown long before they actually take place. The period of time known as "the Enlightenment" fostered a trend of challenging long held beliefs on how to govern. These challenges ushered in a revolutionary period that still affects the world today.

As more people sought self-determination in how they were governed, pressure mounted on existing governments to make concessions to their citizens. When those concessions weren't enough, revolutions occurred and the entire system of government was overthrown. 

The American Revolution set in motion a chain of events that would eventually spark a revolutionary spirit across Latin America and Europe. Had England been successful in restraining her rebellious colonies, things might have been different. Those Americans sought more equality and recognition from King George III, and their success in claiming independence from English oppression motivated citizens in France to do the same.

The French had played a major part in assisting America in her quest for independence. They had seen first-hand the outcome of a successful rebellion. Six years after the United States of America successful rebelled against the English, the French began their own revolutionary crusade to topple a monarchy.

The spirit of revolution born during the Enlightenment did not die in Paris. Other places throughout Latin America would continue to seek their right to self-determination and break free from controlling monarchies. Without question, the ideas born during the Enlightenment inspired and would eventually carry on past several revolutions. Those ideas continue to survive today.

You are likely referring to Chapter 16, "Atlantic Revolutions" in Ways of the World by Robert Strayer. In this chapter, Strayer emphasizes the interconnectedness of Atlantic revolutions in the United States, France, Haiti, and Latin America. Although each revolution was distinct, they influenced each other so that their influence lasted long after each revolution ended and far beyond where each revolution started. These revolutions were inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, including the end of the divine right of kings. The Enlightenment brought about new ideas about republicanism, religious tolerance, and rationality. The ideas of equality motivated these revolutions, though the American Revolution was in many ways more conservative than the French Revolution, which involved women in more major roles than the American Revolution. The Haitian Revolution, which is considered the only successful widespread slave revolt, was directly inspired by the French Revolution. Later, revolutions in Latin America were also inspired by earlier revolutions that had overthrown monarchies. 

The ideas of these revolutions continued to surface in movements such as abolitionism, nationalism, and feminism, as groups such as slaves and women agitated for equality, and people sought to unite people of common languages and heritage into one nation. Therefore, the influence of these revolutions continued long after and far beyond where they started.