French Revolution

Louis XVI

king of France from 1774 to 1792 his failure to grant reforms led to the French Revolution; he and his queen (Marie Antoinette) were guillotined (1754-1793)

Estate

one of the three classes into which French society was divided before the Revolution

Marie Antoinette

queen of France (as wife of Louis XVI) who was unpopular her extravagance and opposition to reform contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy; she was guillotined along with her husband (1755-1793)

Mercenary Army

skilled professional army under the command of of generals who sold their services to European rulers

Old Regime

the social and political system in France, before the revolution, where the people were divided into three social classes or estates

Causes of the French Revolution

*War Debts (American Rev) *Unequal system of taxation (tax the 3rd Estate) *High taxation of the poor *Gambling debts (the Queen's) *Dissatisfaction with the Old Regime *Bad weather led to poor harvests-->famine *Gov't did not try to make any improvements

Order of French governments throughout the revolution

1. Old Regime/Estates-General 2. National Assembly 3. Legislative Assembly (Constitutional Monarchy) 4. National Convention (Republic) **Committee of Public Safety**(Reign of Terror) 6. National Convention 7. Directory

Legislative Assembly

A French congress with the power to create laws and approve declarations of war, established by the constitution of 1791.

Jacobins

A political club comprised mostly of middle class lawyers or intellectuals, leader was Robespierre, started out not so radical but under Robespierre they became radical and led the Reign of Terror.

Girondins

A political party that emerged in revolutionary France after the fall of the monarchy in 1792 when the jacobins split into two factions. Named for the region in southwestern France where many of their leaders were from. They were members of the professional class (lawyers and merchants) who wanted a constitutional governemnt, opposed the growing influence of Parisian miltants, and championed the smaller provinces bewond the city of Paris. They agreed the king was guilty of treason but were reluctant to execute him, arguing for exile or a referendum on his fate. They were first to be targeted as the beginning of the Terror.

Coup d'état

A sudden overthrow of an existing government, usually by a small group

electors

An individual qualified to vote in an election.

September Massacres

As the perceived threat of counterrevolutionary conspiracy grows, along with the increasingly mounting losses in the war and the violent rants of Marat, Parisian mobs descend on the jails and begin brutally slaughtering the prisoners, most of whom are there because of suspicion not crimes. The horrific violence leads to European-wide condemnation of the Revolutionary as barbaric and uncivilized.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Charter of basic rights adopted by the National Assembly in 1789. Lists the abuses of the old system and promoted equality, individual liberty, and democracy.

Committee of Public Safety

Committee created by the National Convention and led by Robespierre, tried so-called "enemies of the republic" had them executed during the Reign of Terror

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Document, issued by the National Assembly, which stated that priests and bishops became elected, salaried officials; ended Papal authority over the French Church and dissolved the convents and monasteries. This upset the peasants and they started to pull away from the revolution.

Estates-General

France's traditional national assembly with representatives of the three estates, or classes, in French society: the clergy, nobility, and commoners. The calling of the Estates General in 1789 led to the French Revolution. (p. 585)

"Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity"

French motto that originated in the French Revolution, providing a base for a new society. "Liberty" states that all people have rights, and that government has no arbitrary power. The French document "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" states that all French men are equally citizens, no one should be discriminated because of their religion, and it abolished all titles of nobility. "Equality" states that everyone is equal before the law. "Fraternity" claims relationships between men should be out of friendship and respect rather than power, and instills a sense of pride in one's nation (nationalism).

Sans-culottes

In the French Revolution, a radical group made up of Parisian wage-earners, and small shopkeepers who wanted a greater voice in government, lower prices, and an end of food shortage.

The Mountain

Most Radical political faction in the Convention. Became fierce critics of the Girondins. The Mountain & Jacobins will eventually become synonymous. Claimed to represent the aims of the Sans-culottes. In the end they ousted the Girodins from the National convention as they saw them as too conservative.

Great Fear

The panic and insecurity that struck French peasants in the summer of 1789 and led to their widespread destruction of manor houses and archives.

Reign of Terror

The period, from mid-1793 to mid-1794, when Maximilien Robespierre ruled France nearly as a dictator and approx. 40,000 political figures and ordinary citizens were executed.

Maximillen Robespierre

The radical jacobin that lead the Committee of Public Saftety into its Reign of Terror where many opposers of the Revolution were killed by the guillotine. He had the idea that a "republic of virtue" was a perfect government but to do this he had to purge society by removing all enemies to the republic.

National Convention

This was the new government of France created in September of 1792 after the Legislative Assembly set aside the Constitution of 1791. This government abolished the monarchy, declared France a republic and publically executed the king and queen.

National Assembly

a French congress established by representatives of the Third Estate, to enact laws and reforms in the name of the French people

Tennis Court Oath

a pledge made by the members of France's National Assembly in 1789, in which they vowed to continue meeting until they had drawn up a new constitution

Directory

committee of five who governed France from 1795 to 1799 after the Reign of Terror was over; known mainly for corruption

Bourgeoisie

educated, middle class of France which consisted of merchants, industrialists and professional people; provided force behind the Revolution