AP Euro Unit 5: Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards identifying key terms, figures, and events of the late 18th-century European Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic era.

Old Regime

The social and political system of Europe before Unit 5, where kings held power, nobles had privilege, and the Church had influence, creating a society built on inequality.

Absolutism

The political belief that a king has power because God gave it to him, meaning his power should be unlimited.

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who argued that people have natural rights to Life, Liberty, and Property, and that government power comes from the people.

Montesquieu

Philosopher who advocated for the separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches to prevent any one person from becoming too powerful.

Voltaire

Enlightenment thinker who supported freedom of speech and religious toleration while attacking corruption in the Church and government.

Rousseau

Thinker who believed in the "general will," which is what is best for the whole community, and argued that society corrupts naturally good people.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Writer who argued for women’s rights and education, asserting that if Enlightenment ideas emphasize equality, women must be included.

Enlightened Absolutism

A system where absolute monarchs used reason and some Enlightenment ideas to improve their countries while maintaining their full authoritarian power.

Frederick the Great

The ruler of Prussia who supported religious toleration and education but maintained a strong military and authoritarian rule.

Catherine the Great

The ruler of Russia who liked Enlightenment ideas but refused to free the serfs because she needed the support of the nobles.

Joseph II

The reform-minded ruler of Austria who tried to end serfdom, increase religious toleration, and reduce Church power, though many of his reforms failed.

Serfs

Peasants tied to the land, almost like slaves, specifically mentioned as a group Catherine the Great refused to free.

Agricultural Revolution

A period where farming became more efficient through methods like crop rotation and enclosure, leading to population growth and more workers for cities.

Consumer Culture

A shift in society where people began buying more trade goods like sugar, coffee, tea, cotton, and tobacco.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The triangular trade system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas, which grew European wealth through the exploitation of enslaved Africans.

Third Estate

The group representing about $97\%$ of the French population who paid most of the taxes and had no special privileges under the Old Regime.

Estates-General

A meeting of the three estates called by Louis XVI in $1789$ to address France's financial crisis, which was unfair because each estate only had one vote.

National Assembly

A governing body formed by the Third Estate after they declared that they represented the nation.

Tennis Court Oath

A promise made by the National Assembly not to leave until they had created a constitution for France.

Storming of the Bastille

The event on July $14$, $1789$, where people attacked a prison symbol of royal power, marking the start of popular violence in the revolution.

Great Fear

A period where peasants in the countryside attacked noble homes and burned feudal records, leading to the National Assembly abolishing feudalism.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

A revolutionary document stating that men are born free and equal, and that government exists to protect speech, religion, and rights.

Olympe de Gouges

Author of the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman" who argued that women deserved equal rights during the French Revolution.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

A law that forced Church officials to swear loyalty to the French state, causing significant religious conflict and division.

Jacobins

The radical political group that took control of France during the radical phase and the Reign of Terror.

Reign of Terror

The radical phase led by Robespierre where thousands were executed by guillotine to protect the revolution from supposed enemies.

Committee of Public Safety

An emergency group that controlled France during the Terror and used violence to stop perceived internal and external threats.

Thermidorian Reaction

The phase following the execution of Robespierre where France moved away from extreme radicalism.

The Directory

The weak, corrupt, and unstable five-man government that ruled France after the Terror and before Napoleon took power.

Napoleonic Code

Napoleon’s system of laws that preserved legal equality for men and religious toleration but limited women's rights and censored speech.

Nationalism

A strong pride and loyalty to one's nation that was spread by Napoleon's conquests but also used by conquered people to resist French rule.

Continental System

Napoleon's attempt to block British trade with Europe to hurt Britain economically, which ultimately failed.

Waterloo

The battle in $1815$ that marked the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Congress of Vienna

A meeting led by Klemens von Metternich to restore the balance of power and monarchies in Europe after Napoleon's fall.

Conservatism

A political philosophy focused on preserving tradition, order, and monarchy while viewing revolution as dangerous and needing to be contained.

Liberalism

A political movement supporting constitutions, natural rights, and representative government, though often focused on the interests of middle-class men.