French Revolution & Beyond – Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of English vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, and concepts from the notes on the French Revolution and its aftermath.

Ancien régime

The political and social system of pre-revolutionary France with three estates, where the First and Second Estates enjoyed privileges and paid little to no taxes.

Estates-General

The three-estate assembly summoned to address France’s crisis; witnessed tensions that led to the formation of the National Assembly in 1789.

Cahiers de doléances

Lists of grievances prepared by each estate ahead of the Estates-General.

National Assembly

The reformist body formed by the Third Estate in 1789 to draft a constitution, challenging the old order.

Tennis Court Oath

Pledge by members of the Third Estate to not disband until a just constitution was established.

Bastille

A medieval fortress stormed on July 14, 1789; became a symbol of royal tyranny and a rallying point for revolution.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

1789 charter proclaiming liberty, equality, and fraternity; asserted universal rights (though women were excluded).

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

The revolutionary motto emphasizing fundamental principles guiding the Revolution.

Sans-culottes

Urban, working-class Parisians who pushed for radical republican reforms and direct action.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

1790 law that put the Church under state control, requiring clergy to be elected and state-funded.

Jacobins

Moderate faction within the National Assembly; favored war and constitutional monarchy.

Gerondins

Radicals that wanted

Reign of Terror

1793–1794 period of intense political repression and mass executions led by the Committee of Public Safety.

Committee of Public Safety

12-member body during the Revolution tasked with protecting the country from internal and external threats.

Robespierre

Leader of the Jacobins and the Reign of Terror; proclaimed the necessity of terror for survival; executed in 1794.

Guillotine

Execution device used widely during the Terror to execute perceived enemies of the revolution.

National Convention

Legislative body that abolished the monarchy in 1792 and governed France during the most radical phase of the Revolution.

Directory

Five-member governing body (1795–1799) that followed the Terror and preceded Napoleon’s rise to power.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Military leader who seized power in 1799, eventually becoming Emperor and spreading revolutionary ideas across Europe.

Louis XVI

King of France who failed to effectively manage the crisis; executed in 1793.

Marie Antoinette

Queen of France whose spending symbolized royal excess; executed in 1793.

Paris Commune

Radical Parisian government in 1792 that helped push the Revolution toward a more radical phase and influenced the National Convention.

Constitution of 1792

Constitution that established a limited monarchy and set up the Legislative Assembly; marked the shift from constitutional to radical republican rule.

Deficit spending

Government spending that exceeds revenue, contributing to financial crisis prior to the Revolution.

Enlightenment

Philosophical movement advocating liberty, equality, and reason, influencing revolutionary ideas and critiques of absolute monarchy.