french revolution

Enlightenment

-intellectual& cultural movement in the 18th century emphasizing reason over superstition & science over blind faith
-deas that inspired those of the French Revolution
-led to social & political reform
-led to Individual liberty & freedom of religion

Natural law

unchanging principle, discovered through reason, that governs human conduct

Scientific revolution

-drastic change in scientific thought that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries.
-caused by a shift in the way people viewed the world and its future.
-laid the foundations for the Age of Enlightenment
-led to the birth of modern science

Absolutism

A political system in which a ruler holds total power

Utopia

-An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect
-revolution caused because of people seeking a utopian society

Propaganda

spreading of ideas to promote a cause or to damage an opposing cause

Philosopher/philosophes

-french thinkers who desired reform in society during the enlightenment
-"Philosophes" is french for "philosopher"

Revolution

-a change in the way a country is governed, usually to a different political system and often using violence or war
-started in 1789 & ended in 1799
-caused by the Estate System, absolutism, ideas stemming from the Enlightenment, food shortage, etc

Thomas Hobbes

(1588-1679)
-influential english political writer
-best known for "leviathan" (in it, he strongly advocated that only a powerful government was capable of protecting a society)
-believed some people entered a social contract w/ their government to avoid the inevitable chaos & lawlessness of life in "the state of nature"
-his political philosophy was foundational for the later thinkers of the enlightenment

John Locke

(1632-1704)
-english
-a prolific writer on political philosophy
-works strongly influenced the u.s. constitution & the development of american government
-proposed that people are born w/ certain natural rights that can't be taken away ( life, liberty, & property)
-his radical ideas on the government's responsibility to the people were fundamental to the leaders of the american revolution

Baron de Montesquieu

(1689-1755)
-french
-did not let his privilege keep him from becoming a voice for democracy
-his book "persian letters" ridiculed french government & social classes
-in "the spirit of the laws", published in 1748, he advanced the idea of separation of powers, a foundation of modern american society.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

(1712-1778)
-swiss-born philosopher & writer whose works inspired -leaders of the french revolution
-revolutionized thought in politics & ethics, had an impact on how parents educated their children, & influenced tastes in music & other arts.

Voltaire

(1694-1778)
-french
-an impassioned poet, historian, essayist, & philosopher who wrote w/ sarcasm & sharp wit
-was sent to the bastille prison twice due to criticism of french authorities & was eventually banned from paris
-when he returned, he wrote about political & religious freedom
-spent his life fighting what he considered freedom's enemies: ignorance, superstition, & intolerance.

Laissez-faire

policy allowing business to operate with little or no government interference

Adam Smith

(1723-1790)
-scottish economist
-most remembered for "an inquiry into the nature & causes of wealth of nations"
-his argument for free markets w/ minimal government interference helped shape productive economies around the world for over 200 years.
-known as the father of one of the most influential economic philosophies in history

Free market

market regulated by the natural laws of supply and demand

Estates

The social classes in France

1st estate

-1%, clergy
-entitled to a tithe
-DO NOT PAY TAXES

2nd estate

-2%, nobles
-high gov. & military positions, income from land rented to peasants
-DO NOT PAY TAXES

3rd estate

-97%, bourgeoise, lawyers, artisans,& peasants
-was poor because of payments made to other estates
-TAXES

Ancien Regime

-Old order system of gov.
-pre-revolutionary France

Estates General

-legislative body made up of the representatives of the three estates
-pre-revolutionary France
-each estate had 1 vote
-3rd estate would always lose to the others
-Summoned by Louis XVI to Versailles in 1789 to help solve money problems (last called in 1614; 175 years)

Bourgeoisie

The middle-class
-some education

Versailles

Built to act as the official residence of the French monarchy during the reign of Louis XIV for him & Marie Antoinette
-Construction was part of the reason for France's deficet

The National Assembly

-pulled out of Louis' Estates General claiming that all estates should meet together & all people should vote as individuals.
-Third estates representatives
-Tennis Court Oath
-Louis XVI pretended to support it

Tennis Court Oath

-Famous oath made by on a tennis court by the third
-Promised not to disband until they had written a constitution for France

Bastille

Fortress in Paris used as a prison
-revolution began when Parisians stormed it in 1789

Storming of the Bastille

-Stormed to get weapons & defend the national assembly
-Symbol of tyranny, inequalities, & old order was stormed & demolished brick by brick
-signaled the end of the absolute monarchy & a step towards freedom

Great Fear

-a period of panic and riot by peasants & others amid rumors during a horrible famine
-peasants stormed nearby castles
-panicked aristocrats fled the country

Declaration of the Rights of Man

law passed by the National Assembly explaining the beliefs and aims of the revolution
-written by Lafayette
-liberty, property, resistance to oppression

Deficit Spending

situation in which the gov spends more money than it takes in
-france was left in debt (helping American Colonists fund the Revolutionary War, Construction of Versailles, etc.)
-Taxes were raised & bad harvests led to riots

Cahiers

Notebooks used in pre-revolutionary France to record grievances.

Faction

A group or clique within a larger group that has different ideas and opinions than the rest of the group.

Emigre

a person who flees his or her country for political reasons
-Spread stories of the great fear to other nations

Suffrage

The right to vote
-Was extended to all male citizens

Reign of Terror

-time period during the French revolution from September 1793- July 1794 when people in France were arrested for not supporting the rev. and many were executed.
-led by the Jacobins in order to protect the revolution
-ended after Robespierre's execution

Committee of Public Safety

-created to deal with the constant threats to France
-intent to defend the nation against enemies & to protect the revolution
-Led by Robespierre

Guillotine

Device used during the Reign of Terror to execute thousands by beheading
-Made it because it was painless & "humane"

Marseilles

French port city
-troops marched to a patriotic song as they marched from this city, the song eventually became the French national anthem.

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

Directory

-established after the Reign of Terror / National Convention
-five-member committee with a two-house legislature
-Corrupt leaders
-improved economy & armies
-its failings led to chaos (politicians turned to Napoleon, who used this to his advantage and rose quickly)

National Convention

-created in 1792 after the legislative assembly suspended the king's office
-created to draft a new constitution reflecting a gov. w/out a king
-made up of delegates elected by universal manhood suffrage
-Jacobins, Girondins, & the undecided
-Arrested & executed Robespierre

Universal Manhood Suffrage

any adult male could vote

Louis XVI

(1754-1793)
-king of pre revolutionary France
-failed to support his ministers (who tried to reform France's finances and social institutions)
-agreed to summon the estates general in 1789 & resisted demands for reform by the national assembly
-later branded a traitor & executed in 1793

Marie Antoinette

(1755-1793)
-louis xvi's wife
-her frivolous ways & various scandals helped discredit the monarchy
-told her husband (Louis XVI) to resist reform demands by the National Assembly
-was branded a traitor & executed

Jacques Necker

(1732-1804)
-director of the French treasury before the revolution
-tried to reform the country's finances & France's participation in the American revolution through heavy borrowing while trying to conceal the country's deficit.
-calls for reform were later thwarted by Louis XVI

Olympe de Gouges

(1745?-1793)
-author of the declaration of rights of women in France (addressed her concerns directly to Marie Antoinette)
-Killed by Jacobins

Marquis de Lafayette

(1757-1834)
-french noble
-fought alongside Americans in the revolutionary war
-led the call for reform and in 1789 presented a draft of the declaration of the rights of man to the National Assembly after returning to France
-hated by some for his moderate stance
-fled to Austria but later returned

Maximilian Robespierre

(1758-1794)
-French revolutionary elected to the estates general in 1789
-later became an important member of the Jacobin club & member of the committee of public safety
-began the Reign of Terror
-later arrested and executed by the revolution's leaders

George-Jacques Danton

(1759-1794)
-French lawyer
-Robespierre's advisor
-Was sent to the guillotine to represent that no one is safe
-One of the leaders of the Jacobins and reign of terror
-Very unpopular with the public
-Later executed by robespierre

Jean-Paul Marat

(1743-1793)
-French revolutionary leader
-Leader in overthrowing the girondins
-Helped launch the reign of terror and created 'death lists'
-Advocate of violent measures
-Stabbed to death by Charlotte Corday
-Found dead in a bathtub

Charlotte Corday

-(1768-1793)
-Assassinated marat
-Thought that killing Marat would stop the violence

Sans-culottes

Members of the working class who made the French Revolution more radical
-called such because men wore long trousers instead of the fancy knee breeches that the upper class wore.

Napoleon Bonaparte

(1769-1821)
-huge figure in European history
-military genius who was elected consul for life
-later crowned himself France's emperor
-His legal, educational, and militaristic reforms impacted French society for generations

Jacobins

-Named after the monastery where they held their 1st meeting
-radical, left of the political spectrum
-supported domination of France by Paris
-Georges-Jacques Danton & Jean-Paul Marat were powerful in the group
-led by Robespierre
-influenced the National Convention to charge the king w/ treason & execute him
-created the Committee of Public Safety
-Persecuted counterrevolutionaries
-Led the Reign of Terror
-Killed Olympe de Gouges
-Didn't support war w/ Austria, knew it was the king's way of getting french people to support him
-Wanted to execute the king

Girondins

-Named after the region of Gironde
-Feared domination of Paris by France
-Conservative, right of political spectrum
-Arrested delegates if they opposed the National Convention's policies
-Charlotte Corday murdered Marat
-Eventually regained control of the National Convention & ended the reign of Terror by killing Robespierre
-Wanted to export the revolution to the rest of Europe
-Worked w/ the King in 1792 to declare war on Austria
-Blamed for the loss of the war
-Did not want to execute the king

Describe France's social structure prior to 1789. Who made up each social class? What changes did each group want to make?

-Ancient Regime (see estates cards)
-1st estate wanted more political power
-2nd estate wanted more governmental power
-3rd estate wanted other estates to be taxed

Explain the role of the National Assembly and highlight what reforms they passed.

-Represented the common people of France (3rd Estate)
-introduced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
-Abolished feudalism, serfdom, & noble privileges

Describe the Reign of Terror, why it began, who was involved, who was persecuted, and how it came to an end?

-People were persecuted if they didn't support the revolution, and many were executed.
-The committee allowed it to continue in order to protect the revolution
-Ended after Girondins killed Robespierre (who led the reign of reign of terror)

Louis XV

-His reign had been marked by a decline in the crown's moral and political authority
-His extravagant court is one of the reasons France was in debt

Explore the events that occurred in 1792 that changed the direction of the revolution. How did the two major political groups feel about what was occurring?

Parisians storm the Tuileries & kill the king's guards (the king was overthrown because he was found guilty of treason)
-Radicals wanted to abolish the monarchy & create a republic instead
-moderates wanted France's Monarchy to remain