American and French Revolutions Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key terms, figures, events, and concepts of the American and French Revolutions based on lecture review notes.

Patriots

Colonists who favored independence.

Lexington and Concord

The two towns where fighting in the Revolutionary War began.

Legislative branch

Branch of the American government that makes laws.

Loyalists

Colonists who strongly opposed independence.

The Bill of Rights

Guarantees basic rights for every American citizen.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that laws and wise government should be created by and subject to the will of the people.

The Enlightenment

Period where philosophers believed they could apply the scientific method and use reason to logically explain human nature.

The Bastille

Prison stormed by the people to arm themselves against the French government.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

French document calling for inalienable rights.

Coup d’état

A seizure of power by force.

Estates

The class system in France; classes were called these, and there were three of them.

The Tennis Court Oath

A promise to create a new constitution.

Conscription

Another word for a draft.

Conservatives

Those that do not want to change existing conditions.

Scorched-earth policy

Turning rules and everything else that might be of value to invaders.

The Reign of Terror

Period whose goal was to annihilate internal and external enemies of the republic.

The Jacobins

Group in the French Parliament who wanted to get rid of the king.

The Directory

The name of the republic that was created in which only rich people served in the government and landowners could vote.

Hundred Days

Napoleon’s 2nd time in power.

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Napoleon Bonaparte

He became dictator and then emperor of France.

King Louis XVI

Was found guilty and beheaded for asking other countries to aid him in regaining all of his power.

Louis XVIII

After Napoleon was sent to St. Helena, he became the king of France.

Maximilien Robespierre

He was responsible for the death of 40,000 people he believed were against the idea of a republic.