Enlightenment
By 1791 France had a new _______ and their government had become a _______ resembling that of Britain.
Constitution; Constitution Monarchy
Napoleon's strategy for strangling the British economy by forcing his allies to agree to not trade with her. It led to his downfall when Russia decided she would not obey the system any longer.
Continental System
Massive series of peasant uprisings that followed on the heels the outbreak of revolutionary violence in Paris. The manor homes of the aristocracy were pillaged and burned; many nobles were butchered.
Great Fear
A bloodless takeover of power. Napoleon gained power by this means in 1799.
Coup d'etat
What were the three Estates of old France?
1st Estate was the clergy, the 2nd was the Nobility, and the 3rd Estate was everybody else. The 3rd Estate was itself broken into three groups: the Bourgeoisie (educated Middle Class), the Urban Poor (Sans Culottes), and the peasantry.
This 1787 docment established the government of the United States of America as a strong Republic. Created to put an end to rising administrative chaos in the infant United States, this document created a strong structure that still preserved the rights of the states and of the individual citizens. With the right man at the helm, this document established a lasting republic built upon English Liberty and Enlightenment ideals. Since its ratification in 1788, it has only been changed 27 times, and it has been an enduring model for other nations.
Constitution
What kinds of articles were written for Diderot's Encyclopedia?
ALL kinds of articles, on every possible subject; that's why it was an encyclopedia!
The term used to describe the French government and way of life before the French Revolution.
Ancien Regime
The political theory which believes that the peace in Europe is best guaranteed if no one state is more powerful than the others. Peace comes from matching the strengths of the Great Powers, even if they are hostile to each other.
Balance of Power
Prison/Fortress in Paris - its storming by the people of Paris is usually used to mark the start of the French Revolution.
Bastille
Usually considered Napoleon's greatest victory, in this battle (Dec. 1805) he defeated the combined forces of Austria and Russia and forced them to make a peace favorable to France. Also called the "Battle of Three Emperors."
Battle of Austerlitz
This battle in September, 1812, was fought deep in Russia. Although Napoleon won a victory and took the city of Moscow, he lost thousands of men and failed to convince the Russians to make peace. It was a turning point in Napoleon's career.
Battle of Borodino
Also called the "Battle of the Nations" because of the number of countries represented, this battle in October, 1813, was one of Napoleon's worst defeats, and it led to his first abdication and exile. Well over half a million men were engaged.
Battle of Leipzig
Naval battle fought in October, 1805, in which the British Royal Navy defeated the combined fleets of France and Spain. Without a strong fleet, Napoleon had no hope of defeating the British. Britain, on the other hand, went on to be the dominant naval power for the next 135 years.
Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon's last battle, and his bitterest defeat. Nothing went right that day in June, 1815. Napoleon lost to combined British and Prussian forces; he would abdicate and go into his second (permanent) exile shortly after this loss.
Battle of Waterloo
In what ways was the French Revolution related to the earlier American Revolution?
Both are started in actions against their own monarchies, money/taxation issues - both inspired by Enlightenment ideas - many French fought in the American Revolution, and many were inspired by it.
Both James I and his son Charles I (r. 1625-1649) had trouble with the Parliament. What was the trouble?
Both kings were absolutists who only believed they should be accountable to God; they resented Parliament. More immediately, both kings always needed money, but only the Parliament had the power to tax.
How were the ideas of Thomas Hobbes different from those of John Locke?
Both philosophers wrote about a social contract, but Thomas Hobbes believed that people were naturally greedy and selfish - they must be controlled. Hobbes believed that people had only one right, the right to their own lives. Locke had a kinder view of human nature - people were reasonable. Locke identified three rights - Life, Liberty, and Property.
Why was Charles II (r. 1660-1685) invited to return to England and rule a restored English monarchy in 1660?
By 1660 the people of England were tired of a strict, Puritan military dictatorship. Cromwell and the Puritans had closed the theaters and ended many of the festivals (they were too "worldly").
The supporters of King Charles I were called _____________ - they were mostly nobles and high church officials - and the peasants (common soldiers) The supporters of the Parliament were called _______ - they were mostly the merchant class, the townsmen, and the lower clergy (the middle classes).
Cavaliers;Roundheads
Absolutist King of England (r. 1625 - 1649) , but his conflict with the English Parliament would be his undoing. When the conflict turned violent, the King's forces fought a bitter war against the armies of the Parliament. Eventually Charles was defeated and beheaded for making war on the English people.
Charles
What event touched off the English Civil War?
Charles I and his soldiers entered Parliament and tried to arrest members of Parliament. This was a major violation of the Rights of Parliament.
What finally forced Charles I to recall the Parliament in 1640 (the Long Parliament)?
Charles I was completely out of money, and he needed a lot of cash fast because he had lost an army fighting in Scotland.
The informal agreement of the Great Powers of Europe to maintain peace by maintaining the Balance of Power. Democratic movements and independence movements were usually deemed threatening, and the Great Powers acted together to limit or destroy those movements.
Concert of Europe
The peace conference (which settled the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Territorial changes were made, and France was made to pay a large indemnity, but the Congress mainly tried to re-establish Europe the way it was before the French Revolution.
Congress of Vienna
This 1776 document proclaims the existence of the United States of America as an independent state, no longer a British colony. Its ringing prose proclaimed English rights and Enlightenment ideals of Liberty and government by consent. It owed a debt to John Locke, but its author put his own stamp on the Enlightenment with this simple distillation of Enlightenment ideals.
Declaration of Independence
French revolutionary document that delivered the privileges of free citizenship to all French males.
Declaration of the Rights of Man
Why did the 3rd Estate go into open revolt and take the Tennis Court Oath?
Demanded a share of the power (97%) - Refused to follow the old voting rules - Refused to go home!
Statement of the Rights of Englishmen in the form of an Act of Parliament - 1689. This document is clearly the ancestor of the liberties found in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.
English Bill of Rights
How did ideas contribute to the French Revolution?
Enlightenment ideas have penetrated into the consciousness of the educated classes. - Enlightenment attacked the idea of monarchy.
Great meeting of the representatives of the social classes of France. When Louis XVI called them into session in 1789, they had not been called to meet since 1614.
Estates General
How did Robespierre fall?
Everyone was terrified that R. had them on his execution list, so they took him down.
What was the reaction of the other powers in Europe to events in France?
FEAR - Some countries threaten France with war (Austria and Prussia)
What did Montesquieu say in his works that had a great influence on the development of the US government?
Governments should have separation of powers and checks and balances between the different branches of government.
Why was Louis XVI forced to call the Estates General in 1789?
France has no money in the treasury - they are paralyzed.
What was Voltaire famous for defending?
Freedom of speech (or thought)
What was the reaction of French authorities to the publication of the Encyclopedia?
French authorities were suspicious of the project and of Diderot. Writing articles on science and nature was fine, but writing critiques of the monarchy or articles that called for equal rights and justice was not. Diderot and some other contributors spent some time under arrest or in exile.
At what point did the French Revolution turn violent?
From the beginning - the Storming of the Bastille
King of England (r. 1760 - 1810) at the time of the American Revolution. Although he was not the Absolutist or Tyrant that the American revolutionaries made him out to be, he di believe that the American colonists were subject to the Parliament and the Crown, and they had to submit.
George III
A Virginia aristocrat and soldier (1732 - 1799). Although he is not remembered as a great thinker, he made a bigger mark than any of contemporaries as a man of action who firmly believed in the Rights of Englishmen and the Liberty of man as taught by the Enlightenment philosophers. A commander of colonial troops in the French and Indian War (7 Years' War), he earned his fame commanding the Continental Army in the American Revolution and serving as the first President of the Republic (1789 - 1797). Offered a crown, he rejected it, resigned his commission, and returned home to his farm.
George Washington
After the English monarchy was restored in 1660, Charles II reigned quietly until 1685, but his brother (James II) was determined to rule as an Absolutist - and a Catholic! He was driven from the country in a bloodless revolt and a new monarch was invited to take the throne.
Glorious Revolution
What kind of government did Oliver Cromwell eventually establish?
He intended to establish a republic, but the republic (called "The Commonwealth") failed because Cromwell was unable to work well with Parliament either. Representative government was too messy and frustrating. Cromwell ended up ruling without Parliament, just as Charles I had done. Eventually the government was a military dictatorship.
How did a young Napoleon Bonaparte make himself the most trusted military officer for this new government?
He protected the Directory from a mob of Sans Culottes and enforced some order.
An agreement made by the kings of the most Conservative powers of Europe: Austria, Prussia, and Russia. They were committed to monarchy, to defeating democratic and republican governments, and to preserving the places of nobility and Christianity in the society. They were bound together in a military alliance.
Holy Alliance
What disturbing conclusion did many philosophes and other Enlightened intellectuals arrive at? (disturbing to those in power, that is)
Humans have rights, and they come from the Creator. Those rights cannot legitimately be taken away (except for crimes). Monarchy and privilege do not stand up to the examination of reason because "All men are created equal..." Further, the people have the right to revolt and over- throw an unjust government that takes away the people's natural rights.
The period between March and July of 1815 in which Napoleon escaped from his first exile and returned to France. His attempt to regain power in Franced ended in war and defeat.
Hundred Days
What did Voltaire get most angry about?
Injustice - lack of rights and liberty
Cromwell kept a firm grip on England and Scotland, and he also brutally put down a revolt in ____. Cromwell also challenged _______ at sea to become Europe's greatest naval power.
Ireland; the Dutch (Netherlands)
The most radical "political club" - they formed a faction in the Legislative Assembly that seized power in 1793; its leaders launched the Reign of Terror.
Jacobins
When Charles II died, his brother ____ became king, but his Catholic and absolutist leanings made him unacceptable. In 1688 the English drove him out, a bloodless event called
James II; The Glorious Revolution. And the next monarchs (William and Mary) would have to sign the English Bill of Rights.
Swiss/French Enlightenment philosopher (1712 - 1778). In his political and philosophical works he focused on the restrictive nature of civilized society, and he believed that people retain significant freedom. He said the best sort of government would allow the maximum amount of liberty for its citizens. He also believed that even children should be liberated from rules as much as possible.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
English Enlightenment philosopher (1632 - 1704) - the favorite of the American revolutionaries. In his works he developed a theory of inalienable rights, government by consent, and the right to overthrow governments that take away inalienable rights.
John Locke
The political principle followed at the Congress of Vienna which said that monarchy was the proper form of government. New governments and states (including France itself) were created around monarchies. Even France received a king again as the price of peace.
Legitimacy
Last king of France before the outbreak of the French Revolution. He was doomed by his failure to either deal forcefully with the Revolution in its early stages or to bargain with the revolutionaries in good faith. He was executed in January of 1793.
Louis XVI
What did many Enlightenment thinkers believe about God?
Many Enlightenment thinkers were Deists (Deism). They believed that God was a creator, but not a personal God. They did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God or that he was the Word or that He was an eternal member of the Trinity. To Deists, God was a cosmic clockmaker who set the universe in motion and then stepped away to let it run itself.
Last queen of France before the outbreak of the French Revolution. She was hated in France because of her extravagance and because she was Austrian. She also was executed - October 1793.
Marie Antoinette
Leader of the Jacobins and the chairman of the Committee of Public Safety - with these positions he dominated the French government and directed The Terror. When he eventually turned the Terror on his own allies, they turned against him. Executed
Maximilian Robespierre
Name the chief Jacobins who instituted the Reign of Terror:
Maximilian Robespierre, Georges Danton, Jean-Paul Marat
French Enlightenment philosopher (1689 - 1755) who developed ideas about Separation of Powers, Branches of Government, and Checks and Balances. He pronounced the English Constitutional Monarchy far better than the French Absolute Monarchy.
Montesquieu
Military dictator and (after 1804) Emperor of France. His short-lived empire was held together by his military genius, which is still celebrated today. He is the single most important figure of the French Revolutionary Era, and his career had a massive impact on Europe.
Napoleon Bonaparte
The laws passed by Napoleon which made the French legal system rational and equal for all French citizens. It has been widely copied in other lands.
Napoleonic Code
Commander of the Parliament's New Model Army and Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth (a republic). He also failed to get along with Parliament and dismessed them, ruling as a dictator backed by the army until his death in 1658.
Oliver Cromwell
What were some other contributing factors to the outbreak of the French Revolution?
Peasants are done with feudal arrangements - weak administration (weak king) - bourgeoisie excluded from - bad harvests
Napoleon's unwinnable war in Spain (1808 - 1814). Napoleon's army was weakened by having thousands of units tied down by Spanish resistance, which the British eagerly joined.
Peninsular War
What did Rousseau believe about people, government, and society?
People are basically good Yet, there is evil and injustice in society. The problem is society itself Power and privilege in the hands of a few creates injustice and loss of natural liberty A good government would be one that preserves the most rights and liberty
A vote of the population, often used to prove that the population supports a given action - usually just a yes-no vote.
Plebiscite
The dominant personality of the Congress of Vienna. His ideas regarding the importance of France to the Balance of Power were very influencial, and France remained a key nation in Europe (with little military power).
Prince Klement von Metternich
Many of the members of the House of Commons (½ of the British Parliament) did not trust Charles I because he was an absolutist. They also were fearful of his intentions because he was a "High Church" Anglican, but they were ________ who wanted to purify the Anglican Church.
Puritans
The wave of trials and executions unleashed by the Jacobins in 1793 and 1794. All real and suspected enemies of the Revolution were its targets.
Reign of Terror
What is the approximate time period for the Enlightenment?
Roughly 1650 - 1800.
The urban poor of France (especially Paris) - too poor for knee-breaches and tights. They formed the street muscle of the most radical factions of the French Revolutionary governments.
Sans Cullottes
Military strategy in which commanders order their men to destroy their own people's land and property - anything of value - to prevent the enemy from using any of it.
Scorched Earth
What was the contribution of Mary Wollstonecraft to Enlightenment thought?
She applied the logic of Enlightenment to women. If all people were born with their natural rights from the Creator, why were women consistently held in subservience to men in society? Why were women accorded fewer rights and privileges? Her writings came out strongly in favor of a society in which women were fully equal to men.
Why was Marie Antoinette so hated in France?
She was Austrian, she lived in luxury, her influence was viewed with suspicion.
Action taken by the members of the Third Estate when they were locked out of the meetings of the Estates General on the king's orders. They vowed to not return to their homes until France had a Constitution.
Tennis Court Oath
What government took over in France after the fall of Robespierre and the Jacobins?
The Directory
In what ways was French society of the ancien regime fundamentally unjust?
The First and Second Estates had privileges and paid little tax. The Third Estate (97% of the population), had to pay most of the taxes and enjoyed no privileges.
What events enabled the Jacobins to seize power in France?
The Insurrection of the Sans Culottes in Paris forced the government to declare a Republic. The Sans Culottes supported the radical Jacobins.
Who won the war? What was the fate of Charles I?
The Parliamentarians won the war under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. Charles I was executed for making war on his own people.
How are the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution (roughly the same time) different, and how are they similar?
The Scientific Revolution was all about science and technology, but the Enlightenment was about addressing the problems of human society. Both movements relied on reason and logic instead of religion or tradition as a guide to Truth.
What event illustrated the great danger the king and queen were in?
The Women's March.
How did Louis' escape attempt change the French government?
The idea of a Constitutional Monarchy died - everyone wanted a Republic.
What part did Louis and Marie play in bringing about their own end?
They attempted to flee France (to France's enemies)
Virginia aristocrat (1743 - 1826) and one of the great geniuses of American history. His most famous work would inspire the world in a few short paragraphs. He began his political career in the Virginia House of Burgesses, served as governor of Virginia, US ambassador, Secretary of State (for Washington), Vice President (for Adams), and 3rd President of the United States (1801 - 1809)
Thomas Jefferson
French Enlightenment philosopher (1694 - 1778). An author who wrote widely in almost every possible category, his ideas about the importance of personal liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, and freedom of expression have had a deep impact on modern thinking about the rights of individuals. He firmly believed that the Church and the State should be separated.
Voltaire
The new joint monarchs after the ouster of James II in 1688. She was the daughter of James II, and he was the leading lord of the Dutch Republic. In order to take the throne, they had to sign Acts of Parliament that formally recognized the "Rights of Englishmen"
William and Mary of Orange (William III, Mary II)
French nobles who fled France during the early stages of the French Revolution. Many took up arms against the French Revolutionary state.
emigres
Napoleon's agreement with the Vatican (Roman Catholic Church) which restored the religious position of the Church in France, but it did not give it any influence in French politics, the French economy, or French education.
the Concordat