Untitled Flashcards Set

popular sovereignty

- The political idea that power comes from the people, not God, and that

it remains with the people.

separation of powers

- The political concept, advocated by Montesquieu, where government’s

powers are divided into different branches, such as executive and

legislative.

American Revolution (1775 – 1783)

- The first successful revolt by a colony against rule by a European

mother country. The 13 British colonies revolted against foreign rule.

It ended in an American victory and the establishment of the first

federal republic in history.

French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)

- This was the North American theater (region) of the European conflict

called the Seven Years’ War. It was fought between Britain and its

American colonies against France and its French colonies in North

America. Most Native Americans fought for the French side in the

conflict. It ended in a major british victory.

Declaration of Independence

- One of the most important political documents ever written, it was

inspired by the social contract theory of Locke and was written by

Thomas Jefferson. It lays out the reasons for the American rejection of

British rule.

First Estate

- Pre-Revolutionary term for the Catholic clergy of France.

Second Estate

- Pre-Revolutionary term for the nobility of France.

Third Estate

- Pre-Revolutionary term for the masses of French society prior to the

Revolution. It included peasants, bourgeoisie, and the urban poor.

peasants

- One of the lower classes, they are rural, agricultural free laborers.

sans-culottes

- This was a slang term that referred to the urban working poor.

bourgeoisie

- Term referring to the urban, educated middle and upper classes.

taille

- A hated tax paid only by the common people of France, not by the

clergy or the nobility.

Estates-General

- The historic parliament of France, it was a body that the French king

could consult at will. It lacked the same type of powers that the British

Parliament possessed.

cahiers de doleances

- These were lists of grievances drawn up by each of the three estates;

they were reform suggestions and included demands such as fair

taxation and equal voting rights.

National Assembly

- The delegates of the Third Estate declared the end of the Estates-

General and the formation of the National Assembly as the new

parliament of France. It was dominated by the bourgeoisie.

Tennis Court Oath

- On June 20, 1789 the King ordered that the National Assembly be

locked out of their meeting room. The delegates regrouped on a tennis

court at Versailles and swore not to disband until they had written a

constitution for France.

militias

- A military force that is made up of civilians rather than soldiers, usually

put together in times of emergency.

Bastille

- A large fortress in the heart of Paris that served as a hated prison. On

July 14, 1789 a Paris mob stormed the Bastille in search of weapons.

The mob killed several soldiers. This is a major event of the

Revolution.

Great Fear

- In the summer of 1789 a panic swept across France that the nobility

was going to crush the new Revolution. Angry peasant mobs attacked

the estates of the nobles and burned many to the ground.

manorial obligations

- These were ancient requirements that peasants needed to work

several days each month on the lands of the nobility.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

- Written by delegates of the National Assembly during the summer of

1789, this is the first constitution of France. It promised equal rights for

all French men.

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

- This is considered to be one of the first mistakes of the Revolution.

This law required all French Catholic clergy to swear an oath of loyalty

to the nation over the Church. It turned the Church into an enemy of

the Revolution.

metric system

- The most common system of measurement used in the world. It uses

the meter, liter, and gram as units of measure. It was first adopted by

France during the Revolution.

“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”

- This became the famous three-word motto of the Revolution; it sums

up the ideals of the Revolution.

Women’s March

- On October 5, 1789 thousands of Parisian poor women marched to

Versailles to demand that King Louis XVI do something to lower the

price of bread. It grew violent. The women forced the King and his

family to leave Versailles and return to Paris.

Haitian Revolution

- This was the first successful slave revolt against European rule to

occur. It began in 1791 when Black slaves overwhelmed the French

planters in the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue. The slave rebels

established the first Black ruled republic in world history and

successfully defended their independence against Napoleon’s attempt

to reestablish French control.

inflation

- A general increase in prices and a decline in the purchasing power of

the money.

emigres

- French term for those French nobles who fled from revolutionary

France and went to other European nations. Many helped the foreign

powers against France.

Declaration of Pillnitz

- A 1792 agreement between Austria and Prussia pledging to work

together to crush the Revolution and to restore the old order in France.

Legislative Assembly

- This was a new French parliament that replaced the National

Assembly in October 1791. It was dominated by younger bourgeoisie

who favored more radical reforms.

Jacobins

- The most important political group to appear in the early Revolution.

The Jacobins were the most radical and violent faction in the National

Convention. They ran the nation during the Reign of Terror.

Girondin

- The Girondins were a moderate faction of the Jacobins who supported

the Revolution but opposed extremism, such as the execution of the

King.

Mountain

- The Mountain were the most radical faction of the Jacobins. The

dominated France during the Reign of Terror. They supported the

execution of the King and declared war on Austria and Prussia.

Reign of Terror

- This was the most extreme and violent phase of the Revolution.

Thousands of people were arrested and executed on the guillotine as

enemies of the Revolution. The Terror ended with the execution of

Robespierre in July 1794.

National Convention

- A new French parliament that was elected in the fall of 1792. The

Convention governed the nation during both the Terror and the

Directory.

Committee of Public Safety

- A group of 12 delegates, selected by the National Convention, given

dictatorial power over France during the Reign of Terror. Robespierre

emerged as the leader of the Committee.

Thermidorean Reaction

- A brief, violent period during the summer of 1794 when several

thousand leaders of the Terror were arrested and executed.

Robespierre’s execution in July 1794 began the reaction.

Directory

- A new government formed after the end of the Terror. The Directory

was made up of 5 delegates selected by the Convention. It lasted from

1794 until Napoleon seized power in November 1799.

coup d’etat

- A term for the overthrow of a legitimate government by military force.

archeology

- The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of

artifacts.

Rosetta Stone

- An archeological wonder, this is a massive stone tablet from the

second century BCE, discovered by Napoleonic troops in Egypt in

1798. It contained the same message written in three different

languages (hieroglyphics, Demotic, and ancient Greek).

Consulate

- The first government of Napoleon, it lasted from November 1799 until

he proclaimed the Empire in May 1804. Napoleon gradually emerged

as the single ruler of the nation.

Concordat with the Church

- An 1801 agreement between Napoleon and the Pope that ended the

hostility between the Church and France. The Church recognized

Napoleon as the rightful ruler of France and Napoleon restored much

of the Church’s rights (bbut not lands).

irreligious

- Indifferent or hostile to religion, or holding no religious beliefs at all.

Code Napoleon (aka Napoleonic Code)

- Authorized by Napoleon, a panal of judges wrote a national legal code

for France in 1804 that replaced old regional feudal codes. It created a

rational system of modern laws that was adopted by nations all over

the world.

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plebiscite

- A direct vote by the common people on a significant issue in which the

choice is between “yes” and “no.”

First (Grand) Empire

- The Empire began when Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor in May

1804 and ended with his forced abdication in April 1814. The Empire

was briefly restored during the Hundred Days of 1815.

balance-of-power

- The European diplomatic goal of preventing any single nation from

dominating the entire continent. Britain was especially dedicated to it.

puppet-state

- A nation that is officially independent, but is in fact controlled by a

different nation.

Grand Duchy of Warsaw

- A Napoleonic puppet-state that lasted from 1807 – 1814. It restored a

measure of Polish independence that Poland had lost after the

partitions of the 1790’s.

Confederation of the Rhine

- A Napoleonic puppet-state that created the first unified German state

since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. It lasted from 1806 – 1813.

Continental System

- Term for Napoleon’s plan to ban all European trade with Britain in

hopes of bringing that nation to economic ruin. It banned the sale of

goods to Britain and the import of british goods to the continent.

economic warfare

- The strategy of using economic tactics, such as tariffs and embargos

against rivals in hopes of causing financial collapse.

Peninsular War (1807 – 1814)

- A brutal conflict that began when Napoleon’s forces occupied Spain.

The Spanish, with British support, began a long, guerilla war that

drained French strength during the conflict.

guerilla warfare

- A defensive military tactic where an inferior force utilizes tactics the

defy the conventional rules of warfare such as the wearing of uniforms

and the taking of prisoners.

Invasion of Russia

- The disastrous June 1812 military invasion of Russia by Napoleon’s

Grand Armee. The Russians retreated all summer, drawing the

French deep into Russia. When the winter began the French began an

epic retreat.

scorched earth

- A military defensive tactic where a retreating army burns all resources

that an advancing enemy could possibly use, including structures,

towns, and fields of crops.

Congress of Vienna

- One of the most important diplomatic events in European history, the

Congress went from November 1814 to June 1815. The goal of the

diplomats was to restore European order after the defeat of Napoleon.

Prince Metternich

- he served as the Austrian Foreign Minister and later the Chancellor

(Prime Minister) during most of the first half of the 1800’s. His

conservative views dominated European international politics for

decades after the Congress of Vienna.

restoration

- The act of returning a monarch to their throne, a government to power,

or the control of a previous regime.

legitimacy

- Something that is legal, rightful, or appropriate.

Hundred Days

- The period from March to July 1815 when Napoleon escaped from

Elba and attempted to restore his control over France. It ended with

his defeat at Waterloo and his capture and exile to St. Helena.

Battle of Waterloo

- Decisive June 1815 battle, the last in Napoleon’s career. He was

defeated by Prussian and British forces led by the Duke of Wellington.

Napoleon was later taken prisoner and sent to his final exile.