The French Revolution: Moderate and Radical Phases

Vocabulary flashcards covering the causes, key events, governing bodies, and political divisions of the Moderate and Radical phases of the French Revolution.

Social Inequality in the Old Regime

The condition where the Third Estate bore a heavy burden of tax and made the least money, while the 1st and 2nd Estates were wealthy and paid little to no tax.

Economic Unrest of the Old Regime

Severe financial distress caused by debt, taxes, and high food prices, forcing Third Estate members to spend about half of their income on bread.

Louis XVI's Political Leadership

Slow and weak leadership by a king who did not want to be king, making France's political problems worse.

Estates-General (1789)

An assembly called by Louis XVI to address France's financial crisis, where voting was structured so each estate received one vote, allowing the 1st and 2nd Estates to outvote the Third Estate.

National Assembly (1789-1791)

A governing body created mainly by the Third Estate after its demands were ignored, claiming to represent the nation and shift political power away from the king.

Tennis Court Oath

An oath taken by members of the National Assembly swearing not to separate until France established a new constitution, showing determination for representation and equality.

Storming of the Bastille

A key turning point of the French Revolution that symbolized resistance against authority.

Equality (Declaration of the Rights of Man)

The principle stating that people are born free and equal in rights.

Natural Rights (Declaration of the Rights of Man)

The core rights belonging to all people, specified as liberty, property, and security.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle stating that government power originates from the nation or the people.

Freedom of Expression

The principle stating that people may share ideas and opinions.

Great Fear

A wave of panic spread throughout the countryside in which peasants attacked nobles' homes and destroyed records of the feudal system in France.

Women's March on Versailles

An event where women marched to Versailles demanding bread, resulting in Louis XVI and his family being placed under closer public control.

Moderate Phase Church Reforms

Reforms that reduced national debt by taking Church lands, but angered French Catholics by turning priests into government-paid workers and taking away the sacredness of the job.

Constitution of 1791

A document that changed France into a constitutional monarchy by limiting Louis XVI's power and creating the Legislative Assembly.

Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)

An elected lawmaking body under the constitutional monarchy that put the Constitution of 1791 into practice and later declared war on Austria and Prussia.

Radicals (French Revolution)

A political group during the Revolution that wanted major political and social change.

Moderates (French Revolution)

A political group during the Revolution that wanted reform but also greater stability.

Conservatives (French Revolution)

A political group during the Revolution that wanted fewer changes and more traditional authority.

September Massacres

A series of killings driven by fear of invasion and betrayal, where revolutionaries murdered prisoners and royal supporters in Paris.

National Convention (1792-1795)

A radical governing body that ended the monarchy, declared France a republic, expanded political participation for men, and governed during the execution of Louis XVI and the Terror.

Execution of Louis XVI

The 1793 execution of the king after he was tried for treason and accused of working with other countries to eliminate the French Revolution.

Directory (1795-1799)

A governing body consisting of a two-house legislature and a five-man executive created after the Terror as France moved back toward moderation, though it remained weak and unstable.