HIST 1020-Test 2 Study Guide
What was Louis XV's famous quote for his justification of how bad things have gotten in France? What does it translate to? What does it mean?
"Apres Moi, le deluge." It translates to "After me the flood" in English. He acknowledges that he is bad. He is saying if you thing this is bad, just wait until after him.
What were some of his major accomplishments and reforms he implemented in France (6)? Explain them.
1. Creates a merit-based government and education system: He makes privilege and hard work needed to be paid to attend school. 2. Economic effort: Helps people in France by lower food costs and lowering unemployment. 3. Creates the Bank of France: Helps to stabilize the economy and currency in France. 4. Creates a fairer tax code. 5. Redeemed the relationship with the Pope: Pope was made before because France stole land but he makes friends with him again, so it's a blessing. 6. Wants to create a fairer law code: Napoleonic code is created that combined al the different codes and go rid of redundant ones.
What changes did Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety make in France (4)? Why did he do this?
1. He replaces the Christian calendar to a new calendar based on the Roman gods, etc. 2. Gives descriptive names to months 3. He renamed streets (St.Peter is not Peter) to make them less Christian 4. Kills the monks and popes. He wanted to get rid of Catholics and the spread of Christianity and replace it with enlightenment (more secular) values and symbols.
What two main things did Robespierre want to accomplish as the leader of the Committee of Public Safety?
1. He tried to eliminate Christianity and replace it with a "Republic of Virtues" 2. He tried to reform France along "Enlightenment lines" like with Deism and this is what drives him.
List the goals of the Moderate phase of the French Revolution (2).
1. Maintain monarchy (limit their power). 2. Keep the Catholic church as it is in France.
What were the TWO major results of the first ten years of the French Revolution?
1. Old system based on birth/bloodline was destroyed by the Revolution: It's replaced with one based on equality, merit and law. 2. It globally gave people hope apart from religion: although many people died, it gave people hope that their own country's system could change too (since France was an old country that changed from monarchy to representative govt).
What is the significance of the death of Louis XVI?
1. The rest of the monarchs began to become fearful that they might die and they become enemies (anti-revolution) of the revolution. 2. Creates enemies within France and abroad. Some people wanted a representative government, some not and many thought this was too far.
Why did Louis XVI go back on his word to double the 3rd Estate (2)?
1. Winter of 1788 was one of the coldest winters: Bad for agriculture production and killed a bunch of crops, caused a famine and starvation from the end of 1788 to early 1789, and people began to steal bread. 2. The Great Fear of the summer of 1789: Fear that the King and nobility would punish the commoners in response to their riots and not paying money.
List the voting by estates for the Estates General system.
1st estate - Clergy (1 vote) 2nd estate - Nobles (1 vote) 3rd estate - Commoners (1 vote)
The 3rd estate or the commoners, made up how much of the French population?
95%.
Committee of Public Safety
A 12 member committee established and led by Robespierre of the National Convention. It fixed bread prices and Robespierre made reforms to Christianity. This also instigated the Reign of Terror.
Robespierre
A Jacobin (leader of the radicals) who wanted to see major change. He was also the leader of the Committee of Public Safety and chief architect of the Reign of Terror.
Revolt of the Paris Housewives
A bunch of Paris housewives march on the King's palace at Versailles threatening the monarchy in response to the demonstration between the royal guards' uniform issue.
What was the National Convention, who could serve in it, and why is it historically significant?
A new legislative body that takes the place of the legislative assembly and is more radical because of the communes; all men have the right to vote and serve in it; it was dominated by the Jacobins and started the radical phase.
National Constituent Assembly and the Tennis Court Oath
A result of Louis XV not doubling the 3rd estate where much of the 3rd estate continued to meet at the Tennis court until France has a constitution. The people called themselves the "National Constituent Assembly" and spoke for their estate and France.
What was the Legislative Assembly and who could serve in it?
A single government chamber that limits the power of the monarchy in order to vote for a representative. The only people who could vote in it were the people who had enough money to pay three day wages of taxes (only 15% of the population was wealthy enough).
Universal Male Suffrage
All men have the right to vote and serve in government without property restrictions passed by the National Convention.
Bastille (2)
An ancient prison that is stormed by the Sans-cullotes mobs and partly used as an armory for the government. This attack on a prison was like attacking the ultimate symbol of authority.
Estates General (2)
An assembly that represented the entire French population (the 3rd estate/commoners) through three groups, known as estates; King Louis XVI called this in May 1789 to discuss the financial crises and the tax reform.
What was the Thermidorean Reaction? What was the result?
An uprising against Robespierre and the National Convention happen to overthrow the new government because people didn't appreciate the government without Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The National Convention arrest Robespierre and the middle class regained both control and power over the convention.
What was the war of the first coalition (2)? How did the revolutionaries react?
Austria, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands and GB vs. France; it was when the Duke of Brunswick declares war as a deliverance for the French Royal family from captivity. The revolutionaries think it seems like the enemies of the nations were in "kahoots" with their own monarchies and the enemies of the nations say they are here to save the monarchy. But the revolutionaries were upset and led to an outbreak (2nd revolution).
Why did the Revolutionaries start the revolution?
Because of the Great Fear the revolutionaries wanted to revolt against the king before he could revolt against them.
What was the Second Revolution and why did it break out?
Because of the revolutionaries upset about the enemies taking their own sides to their own countries. It was a major insurrection in paris that broke out because they were convinced their king was conspiring with the enemies of the nation in France.
Why is the French Revolution considered such a pivotal event in world history?
Because the monarchy could be overthrown in such an established European country. This meant that in Europe the norm of bloodline changes to talent and wealth (merit).
Louis XVIII
Brother of Louis the 17th; stated clearly that his goal was to become an absolute monarch in France and bring it back.
When was Napoleon crowned emperor of France?
Dec. 2nd, 1804.
What was the Declaration of Pillnitz and why was it important?
Declaration of Pillnitz was issued by Leopold of Austria and Fredrick William II of Prussia to establish Louis XVI as an absolute monarchy in France, making the revolutionaries excited.
What was the Great Fear?
Fear that the King and the nobility would come down hard on the 3rd estate for all of the riots and not paying their stuff in 1789.
Moderate Phase of French Revolution
First phase of the revolution that was determined by the middle, liberal minded clergy/nobles and had moderate goals.
National Assembly
French Revolutionary assembly that was first called as the Estates General, made reforms in name of the French people and passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789.
Girondists vs. the Mountain
Girondists: People in the national convention who wanted to keep the king alive because they were scared if things don't work out they could bring him back in power. Mountain: The people in the national convention who were for killing the King because they were fearful he might come back and create and absolute monarch, etc.
Louis XV
Great grandson of Louis XIV who who summoned the Estates General and allowed France to go downhill and to the road of the French Revolution.
Why didn't Napoleon allow the Pope to crown him emperor, but instead did it himself?
He wants a clear statement that he is the only one who can declare himself the Emperor and he has the power as dictator to crown himself.
Internal vs. External Threats to the Revolution.
Internal: o People in the country side were devoutly catholic and resented the revolution led by Robespierre. Many of them were outraged by Robespierre's destruction of Christianity and didn't show up to the draft. External: o Called for a universal military draft that forced young French men to serve in the military and triple the army size to a million men. This works well in the 1st Coalition and scared other monarchies.
Declaration of Verona
Issued by Louis XVIII that stated clearly that his goal was to become an absolute monarch in France; however, the Dictionary couldn't let this happen so they have an uprising suppressed by Napoleon.
"Declaration of the Rights of Man"
Issued by the National Assembly for the people of the commune and as an effort to came things down in the cities.
Why was the Estates General a struggle at first?
It hasn't been called in centuries, so people actually forgot how it works.
Explain the demonstration of the royal guards.
It was a demonstration by the king's royal guards that broke out over the colors of their uniforms. Royal guards wore red and gold of the monarchy (bourbons). The royal guards were not playing along with the revolution and this whole demonstration was because they were not in the change.
Was Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's bad reputation earned or was it too harsh an assessment of them? Why?
It was a harsh assessment of them. They were thought of as uncaring, "out of touch", immoral, and to have lived extravagant lives without concern of the suffering of the French people.
What happened on Bastille Day? Why was it so symbolically important (3)?
It was a symbolic revolt of the Sans-Cullotes in Paris after the Great Fear against the authority of the king by attacking the Bastille with hostile behaviors; it's celebrated as the French independence day, it was the real start of the revolution, and it was the first clear strike against authority.
What did the Second Constitution do? Why was it created?
It was created by the moderate middle class to regain power over the convention and put someone in place of Robespierre; the 2nd Constitution eliminated the "Committee of Public Safety" and replaced it with the Directory.
Who was Napoleon Bonaparte? How did he rise to power?
Italian who became emperor (consul to emperor) as a dictator of France after the French Revolution and made reforms for the French people; the Directory invited him to take over the current government and trusted him because he was a great military leader.
What was the result of the Great Fear?
Louis XVI began to fear them more than the nobility (this is why he refused to double the 3rd estate); Estates general breaks up and the Tennis Court Oath is created.
When were the people called to convene verses when did the Estates General actually happen?
Louis XVI puts this call out there to convene in August 1788 but it doesn't happen until May 1789.
What were the THREE phases of the French Revolution?
Moderate, Radical and Reactionary/Directory.
What was the significance of the THREE major problems facing the new government (3)?
National assembly has been telling people the King will want to give up some power, so we should keep him around. But this is false because he tried to sneak out of France and the revolutionaires realized he wasn't willing to play his role. This made the constitution useless since Louis XVI wasn't following the limitation of his power.
What is the correct imagery of the French revolution? How is this different from the American revolution?
Nobility (rich people) against the monarch (king). The American revolution is basically a underdog (not rich people) revolution rising up to the monarch.
What did the Jacobins want?
Overthrow the monarchy and create a republic.
Marie Antoinette (2)
Queen of France (wife of Louis XVI) who was unpopular. Her extravagance and opposition to reform contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy.
Jacobins
Radicals from the commune in Paris who wanted the National assembly to enact more change in govt. during the French Revolution and was led by Maximilien Robespierre.
Bastille Day
Revolt of the Sans-Cullotes by attacking the Bastille to show a clear attack against the monarchy of France.
What was the result of the election in 1797?
Royalists won; directory doesn't want to accept their loss.
What was the phrase attributed to Marie Antoinette that caused her to be viewed negatively? Why did this happen?
She apparently said "Let them eat cake!" when asked about the starvation of the poor. Revolutionaries attributed this to her because they wanted her to seem bad, although she never said it.
What was the "doubling of the 3rd Estate?"
So commoners can have more votes the votes of the 3rd estate was doubled.
Royalists
Supporter of the return of the monarchy during the 1797 election of France.
What was the Great Terror/Reign of Terror?
The Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre responded to the threats to the Revolution by killing the people who speaks out against the revolution and those who weren't completely on board with the Revolution.
Communes
The city government filled with radical leaders that called for the National Assembly to go for radical change.
What was the Republic and what was the result?
The first act of the National convention that abolished the office of king and got rid of monarchy; this caused a debate in the convention regarding what should be done with Louis XVI since there is no king needed.
What was the major tax reform Louis XVI proposed in 1787? What was the response of the rich?
The nobles need to pay taxes and tax cuts are put for others; the clergy also has to pay (with the nobility). The rich people were used to their tax exempt status, but they didn't outright refuse. Instead, they tell him that if he wants to raise taxes on us then he has to call the Estates general or they won't pay.
Right (2) vs. Left (2) of the National Assembly
The right: o People who sat on the right of the national assembly. o Conservatives who wanted the king to have power of veto. The left: o People who sat on the left of the national assembly, o Liberals who wanted the people to have the power of veto.
Why did Abbe Sieyes call for the Coup d' etat 18 Brumaire? What did it do?
The royalists won the election and if the Directory accept the result, this would mean the Directory would be gone. The leader director, Sieyes, invites Napoleon to overthrow the current government and to become "consul" in 1799.
"2nd Revolution"
The second phase of the French Revolution, during which the fall of the French monarchy introduced a rapid radicalization of politics.
Sans-Cullotes
The working class of Paris wanted change to come faster and were the ones who attacked the Bastille. It translates to "without pants" because the working class didn't wear the fancy capri pants the rich people wore, they wore pants to their ankles made of heavy denim.
Brumaire vs. Thermador
Thermador = July Brumaire = November
What did the National Convention eventually decide to do with King Louis XVI?
They decided to execute him by beheading him with the Guillotine.
The Estates General was the French's equivalent of Parliament. T or F
True.
The French Revolution was more important than the American revolution. T or F
True; The French revolution changed the face of Europe and the world.
What kinds of problems did the Directory face almost immediately when they took power?
Uprising and the Royalists win the election, winter causes starvation and economic problems and they want to go back moderate phase without radicals.
How did we get the terms "right" and "left" in politics?
Veto the acts of legislation; people were split on the idea of who the power of veto should go to. The right and the left were the two sides of the National Assembly.
Was Marie and Louis XVI victims of their time in regards to the hate they received?
Yes because they just happened to be in power and were victimized. They were portrayed negatively and to have a bad reputation because they were disliked.
Were the housewives successful?
Yes, the monarchy and the royal guards moved to France from Versailles.
Can he be considered and Enlightened Despot? Why or why Not?
Yes; Because he does good things for the people along enlightenment lines but doesn't check with legislation so they can be harmful to him becoming corrupt with all the power to do what he wants.
Name the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man (2).
o Called for individual rights. o Everyone is equal before the law.
Name some other changes of the 2nd constitution (4).
o Executive body is put instead with 5 members. o Convention was replaced with the 500. o The new legislative body that works with the directory o The legislative body reinstitutes a wealth qualification to be able to serve in govt. and vote because of Universal Male Suffrage.
What were the THREE major problems facing the new government and how did they try to address those problems? Explain them.
o Existing Financial crisis: Government ceases a lot of land (from monasteries, convents, etc) and used the money to pay church officials and to pay off the national debts. o Continuing agitation in Paris: Radicals (jacobins) in Paris wanted the national assembly to enact more change in government and to get rid of the monarchy. o King's refusal to play along with the revolution: King wanted to be an absolute monarch so he flew to Varennes to escape to Austria but end up having to go back to Paris.
What happened during Louis XV's reign (5)?
o He was not prepared to work for the monarchy (bad work ethic) so the government is declining. o The nobility took back a lot of their power because they were tax exempt and "ran over" Louis XV. o He allowed corruption to seep back into the government. o Poverty and unemployment arose. o Estates-General was introduced, Great Fear emerged and the doubling of the 3rd estate became a thing.
What was the result of the o The Tennis Court Oath (3)?
o Louis XVI decides to double the 3rd estates vote but the commoners refuse. o The commoners tell him they will come up with a constitution on what they want to be required of the King. o Louis XVI knows that if they create a constitution, he will lose power.
What distinguished each phase from the other?
o Moderate: Started when Louis XVI tried to raise money to pay off debt and wouldn't double the 3rd estate plus moderate goals. o Radical: King was not willing to play along and the radicals wanted change and radical goals. o Reactionary: Reactionary was the reaction to the abuses and extremist of the radical phase, wanted to go back to moderate goals without radicals.
Explain the three long-term causes of the French Revolution.
o Population growth and food shortages in 1700-1789s: Food prices skyrocket and the drought caused crop production to go down, causing food to have shortages. 2. Growing middle class has the highest tax burden and began to resent the nobles: This is because they held the tax burden and the nobles were partying and tax-exempt while the middle class had to pay the majority of the money. 3. Enlightenment ideas were spreading that led to the revolution: Enlightenment thinkers/philosophes were social reformers and they often criticized or thought about criticism of the government.
What was the "Crisis" in authority in Europe in the 17th century? Be able to trace the developments of how different countries (France, England, Germany, etc.) solve this "crisis" differently (Absolute Monarchy, Limited Monarchy, etc.) Be able to define absolutism and determine to what extent France's government in the seventeenth century can be labeled an absolute monarchy. What methods did Louis XIV employ to become an absolute monarch? What were the results of the Wars of Louis XIV? Be able to discuss how England became a Limited (Constitutional) Monarchy. What role did the Stuart dynasty play in this process? What was the significance of the Glorious Revolution? Who were some of the great political theorists that came out of England and what did they believe?
o The 17th crisis of authority in Europe was a period o time where nations were trying ti distinguish who had the power: the people or the king (monarchy). o In France Louis XIV took over and became an absolute monarch. He had a grandiose view about himself and was very confident. After Marzanini dies, Louis XIV is able to consolidate his power as monarchy because decides to rule on his own from the age of 22 ot 76 years old. Louis XIV was famous for his quote "Le etat c'est moi!" meaning that he is the state. This means that he thought france revolved around him and he had all power and sovereignty. o The 4 reforms Louis XIV makes to make France an absolute monarchy are: government, military, economy, and religion related. For government, he increases the amount of government officials from 600 to 10,000 so he could know what was happening at all times in France as the monarchy. For military, he increased the size of the army to 400,000 which becomes helpful in the future wars he partakes in. For the economy, he moves the court from Louvre Palace to Versailles and brings money back to the royal coffers. Louis XIV uses this money for propaganda and to increase his self image. When he does this he builds a massive palace to show his greatness and increase his public image. He nullifies the nobilities power by keeping them in Versailles, away from any trouble (like the Fronde) and not able to cause trouble for him. For religion, Louis XIV punishes all religious dissenters who aren't mainstream catholic and revoked the Edict of Nantes. This took away the rights of the Hugenots and thus many of them left; Louis XIV lost the majority of his rich population who paid the taxes. o The League of Augsburg was a war between Louis and the other allied countries over land in Germany. France was against Holland, Spain, the HRE and England. This ended up in the French defeat and lorraine was lost for France. There was one more war: the War of Spanish Succession. This war was between Louis XIV and Leopold I of Spain. Leopold wanted his son Joseph to take the throne after Charles II died (last of the hHpsburgs) but Louis XIV wanted his grandson, Philip have the same spot on Spain's throne. Joseph ends up dying and Charles (his uncle) steps in. The rest of Europe has three options - go with Louis XIV's grandson, go with Charles, or let them fight it over. The second option was the best and ends up being chosen. However, Louis XIV fights for what he wants and Philip becomes the new king of Spain in the Peace of Utrecht. o The Peace of Utrecht ended the war of Spanish Succession, France made a promise not to unite the crowns of Spain and France and Frances falls into debt because of Louis XIV's wars. As a result, England rises to be the winner, while France and Spain decline in power. Another result was the French nobility was destroyed because the respect of the nobility was non-existent since Louis XIV let them live in Versailles. The nobles were supposed to be respected because of their fighting ability, not having fund partying. o The Stuart Dynasty restored with Charles II after the English civil war. Charles had two goals: stay on the throne and ensure the Stuart dynasty remains on the throne. Charles II had religious problems with parliament because he married a Catholic princess. Parliament was protestant and didn't approve of his wife, so they passed Clarendon code. This code penalized non-anglicans and made catholic people second-class citizens. o Charles had a brother named James (Duke of York) who decided to convert o be ing catholic. Charles II wanted to appease parliament, but James angered them more as a catholic. The Test Act of 1672 is passed by Parliament, saying that to serve in office you had to take communion at an anglican church. BUt, as a catholic James couldn't do this, so he steps down in office. This was a clear statement by parliament to fight against catholicism since James was catholic. o James married Mary of Modena (catholic) and upsets parliament further. They hope they do not have a male child because they had two daughters that Charles II raised protestant to appease parliament. If they had a male heir then he would jump his half-sisters to the throne and be a catholic heir. This is the opposite of what Parliament wanted. After this, the TItus Oates plot became popular. This was a jesuit plot to assassinate Charles II and put James on the throne. Charles didn't believe it but parliament and the rest of the people did. It never acutally happened, but parliament told Charles to divorce his catholic wife and marry a protest so they can have a male heir who is protestant (this was an act to prove his loyalty to Parliament). o The Acts of Exclusion was an act that barred any catholic from the throne of England. Charles doesn't allow this to pass and Parliament is dissolved until he dies because he vetoes it. James takes over after his death. o James became the new king of England and passed the Declaration of Indulgence. This act let all men in England be equal under hte law regardless of their religion. James also let Catholic practices be allowed in public since he was a catholic. Him and Mary of Modena have a male child and his succeeds the two protestant half-sisters of his. Parliament is furious because the monarch is catholic and they decide to invite an outside power to take James' spot as the monarch instead. o The Glorious Revolution happens as a result of James' being on the throne. This when Parliament invites Mary and William of Orange to bring military forces to overthrow James in England. Basically, Mary (James' daughter) and her husband had to overthrow him on the throne sent by parliament. This is called the Glorious Revolution because there is no bloodshed and Mary takes over the throne. The consequence of this is that the Stuarts lost the throne forever and Constitutional monarchy comes to england. This is because Mary and her husband actually had to agree to stay within the lines of legislation and certain rules before they took over. o Mary and William had to agree to the "bill of rights", which had the principles that the King was subject to the law (couldn't set it aside)< no taxes and no army without parliamentary consent, and they had to agree to a certain set of English rights. Thus, the monarchy must stay within certain limits and the constitutional monarchy came to england. The Act of Toleration was brought and this made toleration for other protestants only. The Act of Succession came with it and said that the English ruler needs to be Anglican. This also included the spouses of the monarchs. o The two political theorists that came out of England were John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes believes that an absolute monarch was the best form of government because of the universal laws. He thought that people were naturally corrupt and selfish, so if this is the universal law than the government needs to be strong to force the people to do the right thing. He wrote the book "Leviathan" in 1651, which reiterated his believes that the government needs to be a sea monster that imposes laws upon people. He didn't like the Glorious Revolution and didn't have good view on the common peoples. o The other political theorist that came out of England was John Locke. Unlike Hobbes, Locke believed that the people are born with certain rights (life, liberty and property). Until this point, people thought that the government grants these rights to the aristocratic bloodlines and the founding fathers used this as a basis for the "same arguments" when the Americans revolted against the King of England. Lock believed that the government had the duty to ensure and protect these rights of the people. He wrote the book "The Two Treatises of Government" saying that if the government does not do this than the people have the right to overthrow it. He also viewed the Glorious Revolution as a good thing, contrasting to Hobbes.
Why is the 18th century also called the "Age of Reason?" Why are people considered "enlightened" during this period? Who were some of the most influential philosophes and what did they contribute in the field of politics and religion? Who challenged the limits of Reason and on what basis?
o The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that spread from France (where it began) to America. It's called the Age of Reason because thinkers use logic and reason for reforms. o Back then in the middle ages, people would only think to pray about it. People were enlightened because they thought of the middle ages as a dark age that only relied on faith. After the scientific revolution and the idea of universal laws, new ideas of discovery emerged. In the Enlightenment, thinkers use reason and logic to figure things out. Poverty and Political corruption violate the universal law, so in essence, thinkers are trying to make this point to fix society. o Philosophes were what the Enlightenment thinkers were referred to. Some of the most influential philosophes were Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau. o Voltaire was a French central figure of the Enlightenment and sets the tone for the rest of this period. He spoke out against the French government and got kicked out of France. He set a good example of how Philosophes look at England as the Gold standard. He and many philosophes think that France should strive to be like England (a limited/constitutional monarchy). He wrote the "Philosophic Letters on the English" and it included two principles for trying to reform France from an absolute monarchy to a limited/constitutional monarchy. The first principle was religious tolerance. Voltaire was a Deist and not a religious person, however, he advocated for people to be free to practice their own religion. The second principle was allowing for individual freedom of speech because he wanted people to be able to speak up, even though he might not support them. Voltaire thinks these principles advocate the best reforms for France. o Montesquieu was another philosophe who wrote "Spirt of Laws" and took a scientific approach to the study of government. He said that there are 3 types of government: democratic, limited monarchy, and absolute monarchy. Like Voltaire, Montesquieu favored a limited monarchy, following the example of England. Along with this, Montesquieu said there was a separation of powers and each branch would check and balance each other. He indirectly criticizes France since he is saying England's government is the best. o Rosseau wrote the social contract, which called for individuals to surrender their self-interests to the general will of the people. He thinks that England should be more democratic and wanted more direct democracy. Direct democracy is a system of government where everything happens in terms of government and all citizens have voted on it; the downside is it could crush minority rights. Rosseau doesn't suck up to England with this criticism. o Hume challenged the limit of reason on the basis of his two principles. He argued each human has a different sensory experience of the world. With this principle, he says because each human has different experiences we cannot reach absolute truth or certainty. Secondly, he argues how a human's unique background and experience influences someone's conclusion on the same thing. Meaning, different backgrounds can single different conclusions and memories of different experiences. Each human has a unique background and life experience, which imposes connections and patterns to sensory experience. This leads to different conclusions about the same thing than someone else would conclude. Thus, this means that one cannot trust their own powers of reason entirely since certainty and absolute are impossible due to these two reasons Hume theorized.
What were some of the criticisms made by the Enlightenment thinkers(3)? What was the purpose of this?
o The government could be doing a better job. o They are technically violating the natural law since people are starving. o This serves as a voice of complaints for the lower class and middle class.
What happened in the 2nd revolution (2)?
o The mob that arise wanted to king the monarchy but the national assembly tries to protect them. o The mob threatened that the legislative assembly to get the king to suspend his duties until a new convention could be created to form a new government
You should be able to discuss the French Revolution in its entirety. What were the underlying causes? What were some of the most important developments in the Moderate phase? Why is it called moderate? Why did the French Revolution enter a radical phase? What did the radical phase accomplish? What role did the Great Terror play in the Revolution? In what way was the Directory phase a reaction to the radical phase? How did Napoleon, at the same time, both repudiate and strengthen the accomplishments of the French Revolution?
o The three main long-term underlying causes of the French Revolution included political, social, and economic factors in France. The social, economic and political causes all intertwine with one another. o The background of the revolution was the issues with the monarchy and the revolution actually started on Bastille Day. But, the actual background of the start of the revolution included the reign of Louis XV and Louis XVI after the death of Louis XIV. Louis XV took over as the great-grandson of Louis XIV and set France up for a downhill path. Because Louis XV didn't have a great work ethic or was willing to put in the work for the monarchy, France was declining in many ways. Louis XV's reign was significant in that his poor leadership as King allowed corruption to seep back into the government, poverty and unemployment broke out, and he didn't improve the situation of France. His famous quote in response to the people's complaints to his disregard for their suffering was "Apres Moi, le deluge." His quote essentially threatened the people that the monarch after him would be worse than he could ever be. This was important because this quote served as Louis XV's ultimate justification for the situation in France and how he allowed things to get so terrible. Case in point, Louis XVI was indeed worse as Louis XV promised, and this too is a backdrop to the French revolution. Most people know Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette because of the harsh criticism they received from the public. After the reign of Louis XV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were popular, if you will, because people believed that they were bad monarchs. The revolutionaries pinned the quote "Let them eat cake" to Marie Antoinette in order to prove that she didn't care for the people of France. While both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were looked upon as uncaring and "out of touch" for the people, this was not completely true. In fact, Antoinette didn't actually say the quote attributed to her and both of them didn't deserve the bad reputations formed around their rule before the French Revolution. o The political cause of the French Revolution was the spread of Enlightenment ideas. This would be no surprise considering that the Enlightenment began in Paris and spread to other countries, like America. At the time, Enlightenment thinkers and philosophes were thought of as the social reformers, because they often criticized the government. The philosophes had criticisms towards the government, especially for how it could be improved based on their standards. Because of the reign of Louis XV and then Louis XVI, France had been taking a downfall for the worst, as mentioned previously. Even more so, the philosophes criticize the French government in multiple ways and caused the Enlightenment ideas that they believed in to spread. The philosophes believed that the government violated the natural law because the people of Paris were starving and the government should fix this issue. This was very significant for the lower and the middle class because the Enlightenment thinkers' ideas served as a voice for complaints about the suffering people of France. As this was happening, both classes (middle and lower) were becoming literate and the Enlightenment ideas were able to spread further because of the philosophes. The short-term effect of this political cause was the acute financial crisis that Louis XVI has to deal with in the 1780s; this too becomes important to the road to the French Revolution since the major debt was caused by the French assistance of the American Revolution. Supplementing this, the debt also led to multiple reforms for France to financially recover. France was also about to hit bankruptcy and this becomes more of a burning issue for the monarchy to resolve. o The social causes of the French revolution were that the middle class had the highest tax burden and began to resent the nobles. Since the nobles were not contributing to the taxes for their country, this causes fury for the middle class who paid the majority of the taxes for the government. Back when Louis XIV was the monarch, the nobles were still living a luxurious lifestyle in Versailles and were tax-exempt. This meant that the growing middle class had to deal with paying the highest amount of taxes and the nobles did not. This enhanced the anger of the middle class against the nobles because they were the only ones required to help France financially by paying the taxes. o Thirdly, the economic causes of the French Revolution consisted of population growth and food shortages in the 1700s. Food prices began to soar in France and the drought (that occurred during this period) only exacerbated this economic issue. The economy was already struggling from the debt and the people in France were starving because of the lack of food. The crop production decreased from the lack of rain, causing the poor to struggle to find the basic foods to survive. The standard of living decreases and people start to become furious towards the government and monarchy because of their suffering; as this goes on, they start to believe the monarchy needs to be overthrown if they will not help their people and increase their standard of living. o The moderate phase was the first phase of the French Revolution. It was called this because there was moderate goals by the middle, liberal minded clergy and nobles. The goals of the moderate phase was the maintain monarchy by limiting the power and to keep the Catholic church as it was in France. This phase started with Bastille day. This was when the Sans-Cullotes invaded the Bastille in mobs and acted violently. This was a clear strike against authority because the commoners attacked the ultimate symbol of authority (the monarchy). The commoners let out prisoners and beheaded the commander that controlled the Bastille. It's considered the start of the revolution and is celebrated as French independence day. o The communes were city government filled with radical leaders that called for the National Assembly to go for radical change. This was part of the moderate phase and was significant because they were more radical in their right for change and didn't have moderate goals. They wanted freedoms of individuality and kept pressuring the national assembly to be more radical. The national assembly implements more reforms because the people are scared of the monarchy's potential to harm them. Manorial dues are eliminated for peasants and the Declaration of the Rights of Man is issued for individual rights of the communes. It included equality before the law and the national assembly splits because of the veto of acts of legislation. The left are the liberals who think the people should have the power of veto, and the right are are the people who think the King should have the power of veto. The 1st Constitution is made and the problems facing the new regime is that there is a financial crisis of debt and continued agitation in Paris. The Declaration of Phillnitz was issued by Leopold II of Austria and Fredrick William II of Prussia to establish Louis XVI as an absolute monarch again in France. The revolutionaries are excited because if they beat those countries they can implement radical ideas in the rest of Europe. o The Radical phase started with the war of the 1st Coalition. This was france against Austria, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands and GB. This was when the Prussian Commander declares the war was a deliverance for the French Royal Family from captivity. This set off the revolutionaries because it seems like the enemies of the nations were in "Kahoots" with their own monarchies. This led to the next outbreak since the revolutionaries were upset. The 2nd revolution was a major insurrection in Paris where people were convinced that their king was conspiring with the enemies of the nation. The mob threatened that the legislative assembly to get the king to suspend his duties until a new convention could be created to form a new government. The National convention is a new legislative body that takes the place of the legislative assembly and has Universal Male Suffrage. This means that all men have the right to vote and serve in government without property requirements. It was dominated by the Jacobins and they wanted to have no monarchy starting the radical phase of the French Revolution. o Great terror was when the "Committee of Public Safety" and Robespierre met the threat of the people of the countryside with the Great Terror. This is when Robespierre comes along with the radicals and start to kill people who are against the revolution or those who are on the fence. People started to turn against the revolutionary government and realize that the monarchy wasn't as bad compared to this. This caused the Thermidorian Reaction, which was an uprising against Robespierre and his buddies to overthrow them. This ends up in Robespierre being arrested and the moderate middle class regains power/control of the Convention. The second constitution eliminated the "Committee of Public Safety" and replaced it with the Directory, the convention was replaced with the 500 and a wealth qualification is now needed to be able to serve in government. o Directory phase is when the Directory took over the "Committee of Public Safety" and Napoleon rose to power. In this phase Louis XVIII is in power and he issues the Declaration of Verona, which stated that his goal was to bring back the absolute monarch in France. In 1797, the election results in the Royalists' winning - the ones who favored the monarchy. The Directory didn't want to accept this so they invite Napoleon to overthrow the Directory and form a new government. o Napoleon is invited by Abbé Siéys (lead directory of the directory) to take over as the "consul." In essence, he is actually a dictator of France. The result of the years 1789-1799 was the old system of bloodline was replaced with merit (from the revolution) and it globally gave people hope that their own system could change if France could. o Napoleon' was Italian and crowned himself as the Emperor of France to show he held absolute power over the pope. He was considered an Enlightened despor because he brought good things for the people along Enlightenment lines yet because he didn't check with legislation this leaves room for him to become a corrupt leader. His accomplishments were 6 reforms: creates a merit-based government and education system, economic efforts to help those starving, creates the Bank of France to stabilize the economy, creates a fairer tax code, repaired France's relationship with the Pope to be on good terms and he wanted a fairer law code.
What did the Paris Housewives want Louis XVI to do(3)?
o They demanded food. o For change to come faster. o For the monarchy to move to paris to see the suffering they were enduring firsthand.
Why were the communes significant (4)?
o They were more radical in their desire for change than the National assembly. o They wanted to see change by getting rid of the monarchy and changing the catholic church. o They don't want moderate goals. o They want freedoms of individuality and pressed the national assembly to become more radical .
Be able to discuss the findings of the scientists of the Scientific Revolution and how those findings affected the way men saw themselves and their place in the universe. How did science begin to affect people's religious outlook? What was the main focus of religion as opposed to science? Did the Scientific Revolution affect political philosophy? If so, how? Make sure that you could talk about specific scientists and their findings.
o Up until 1600, the growth of knowledge about the world around us was based on superficial observations at best; science lacked experimental and real observations because in the middle ages, the greatest people went into theology and only were interested in things related to God. European civilization was the first to make a distinction between the study of religion (why things exist and things happen) and science (how things work and processes). o The Scientific Method was unique because it included careful observation of controlled, repeatable experiments with repeated and repeatable results and rational interpretation of the results, preferably using math. o The medieval view of the Earth and the Universe was that the universe was a sphere rounded by the earth. They thought the earth was motionless and in the center (everything revolved around the Earth in perfect circular, same speed revolutions). o Heavenly perfection was the belief that heavenly beings lived here and it was a physical place where spiritual things lived. Earthly Imperfection was the belief that the Earth is a corrupt, constant sin, place of decay and imperfection, because of the sin of man. Thus, people believed that certain laws that governed Earth didn't apply to the heavens since they were so different. o When the early scientists came this changed this view completely. The Early Scientists who changed the medieval perspective of the people were Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. o Aristotle: He focuses on motion and came up with the prime mover theory. The prime mover theory said that there must have been a prime mover or someone who initiated (push or pull). The universe into motion He noticed most things move and that the normal state of things is the state of rest. He and the other early scientists were not really scientists, but greek authors making theories. o Ptolemy: He focuses on how the universe looks and how things present themselves in the universe. He believes that the Earth was at the center of the universe and all the other heavenly bodies orbit the earth in perfect, circular orbits (Perfect=Circular). He had some inconsistencies in his and people believed his ideas of heavenly perfection. o Copernicus: He knew and concluded that there is no way the Earth can be the center of the universe and studied Plotmy's system and tried to make it work. He wrote "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres" in 1542 on the heliocentric theory that basically proved that the earth is not the center of the universe, but the sun was (because of its beauty). There was no mathematical reason or logic. o Kepler: He focuses on how things move and not the center of the universe. He overturned the idea that everything is revolving around the sun at the same time at the same speed and proves that different celestial bodies orbit the sun at different times. He deduced that the orbits of the heavenly bodies are an ellipse, not a perfect circle. This takes a stab at the belief of a perfect heaven because the orbits of the heavenly bodies are implied to not be circular. People slowly start to believe that the heavens apply to the same scientific laws as the earth. o Galileo: He was the first to systematically use the telescope to observe the heavens. He had an intuition that the way things move on the earth move the same way in heaven. He used the telescope and discovered the moon had craters and spots on the surface. As he observed space, he realized the heavens are not perfect as everyone believes, but is in fact just as imperfect as the Earth. This changes the medieval views of the people and what was believed by the previous scientific because the universal laws seem invalid. The universe seems to be asymmetrical and uneven, sharing characteristics of the earth and now making specific laws to govern each wrong. The church was furious at Galileo's discovery and asked him to recant his views otherwise he would be sentenced to death. Galileo doesn't keep quiet and continues with his ideas. Christians are salty about his discovery because it ruins their idea that the heavens was unique, imperfect and very different from the earth itself. This negated their typical view that the earth was governed by different laws and had a special connection with God in the name of religion. o Newton: Considered the main central figure of the scientific revolution. He invented calculus to calculate the force (gravity) and wrote "Principia Mathematica" in 1667. This is significant because he offers one universal law that explains all motion. He had a theory that the same force that hold the moon in orbit is the same force that brings an apple to the ground from a tree. This unifies there is no difference between the laws that govern the heavens and earth. People are given a new way to understand the universe and people no longer understand the universe in only a theological way. o Scientific truth becomes a new prism for people to explain and understand the world around them. People can predict things, make progress and the obsession of religion-related topics ends. Christians hated this because these new scientific discoveries make the spiritual connection with God and the Earth invalid and not special since the same laws govern both the Heavens and the Earth. o The scientific revolution did affect the political philosophy because the divine right monarchy view dies. This view is challenged because of the scientific discoveries because people now think God no longer picks the king. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke begin to as if there are natural laws that govern human society because scientific laws govern the universe. Hobbes thinks universal laws exist and people are corrupt so a strong government is needed to keep people in place. Locke thinks that people are good and the government needs to protect people's rights of life, liberty and property.