Liberating France: The French Revolution

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, concepts, and terminology of the French Revolution from the Ancien Régime to the Thermidorian Reaction.

Ancien Régime

French for 'old regime'; refers to the social, economic, and political system based on privilege and strict hierarchy in France prior to 1789.

Absolute Monarch

A ruler who holds absolute authority over all aspects of society, usually by divine right, and is not restricted by a written constitution.

Divine Right

The political doctrine that monarchs receive the power to rule directly from God and are accountable only to God, not to the people.

The Three Estates

The social grouping system of pre-revolutionary France: the First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (nobility), and Third Estate (commoners).

Bourgeoisie

The wealthiest group within the Third Estate, comprising town-dwellers who made money through professions like banking, manufacturing, or law rather than agriculture.

Parlements

Thirteen sovereign law courts responsible for registering royal decrees, which claimed the 'right of remonstrance' to object to the King's laws.

Remonstrance

The legal power of the parlements to object to or delay the registration of a royal decree from the King.

Lit de justice

A formal ceremony where the King visited a parlement in person to force the registration of laws, overriding the court's objections.

Philosophes

Thinkers and writers of the Enlightenment who used reason and logic to criticize the ancien régime and advocate for social reform.

Separation of Powers

Montesquieu's theory that government should be divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent despotism.

General Will

Rousseau's concept that laws should reflect the common interest of the collective community, rather than the self-interest of individuals.

Physiocratic Theory

An economic theory believing that a 'natural order' governed society, that land was the basis of all wealth, and that free trade was beneficial.

Compte rendu au roi

Necker's 1781 public financial report which appeared to show a surplus but hid the massive deficit caused by the American War of Independence.

Assembly of Notables

An advisory group of hand-picked nobles and clergy summoned in 1787 to approve Calonne's taxation reforms; their refusal sparked the 'Aristocratic Revolt'.

Cahiers de doléances

Lists of grievances compiled by each of the Three Estates in early 1789 to be presented to the Estates-General.

National Assembly

The body created by Third Estate deputies on 17 June 1789, signifying the transfer of sovereignty from the King to the Nation.

Tennis Court Oath

A 20 June 1789 vow by National Assembly deputies not to separate until they had established a constitution for France.

Journée

A day of violent crowd action in the streets that results in significant political change.

The Great Fear

A rural panic in July-August 1789 caused by rumors of a noble 'brigand' plot, leading peasants to attack châteaux and destroy feudal records.

Active and Passive Citizens

A 1791 constitutional distinction where only men paying a certain amount of tax (active) had the right to vote, while others (passive) did not.

Assignats

Paper currency issued by the National Assembly during the revolution, originally secured against nationalized Church lands.

Refractory Clergy

Priests and bishops who refused to take the Clerical Oath of loyalty to the 1790 Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

Sans-culottes

Urban workers and militants in Paris who wore long trousers instead of knee-breeches and supported radical direct democracy.

Levée en masse

A decree for total wartime mobilization and military conscription of the French population.

The Terror

A government policy from 1793–1794 using institutional violence and intimidation to suppress internal and external 'enemies' of the Republic.

Thermidorian Reaction

The period following the fall of Robespierre (July 1794) marked by the dismantling of the Terror and the reassertion of conservative bourgeois control.