AP Euro Chapter 19 Study Guide

How did the traditional social categories of France become problematic by the 1780s?

Economic growth created new inequalities and resentment between the estates; bourgeoisie and nobility have growing tensions

Why was France unable to manage its debt, even though that debt was much smaller, relative to its population, than the debt of either Great Britain or Holland?

France didn't have a central bank, a paper currency, or a system of national credit

How did Louis XV damage the sense of his sacred authority?

He allowed his common-born mistress to exert tremendous cultural and political influence (convinced him to be Austria's ally); people were also making portraits of them together, desacralized him

The string of French military victories after the winter of 1793-1794 was largely due to what?

Number and patriotism

What laws did the National Assembly pass?

French nobility was abolished; constitutional monarchy; civil constitution; created legislative assembly; women can seek divorce

How did the National Assembly alienate nearly all parties in Saint-Domingue in the years before the slave revolt?

The Assembly refused to extend French constitutional safeguards to the colonies; they also reaffirmed French monopolies over colonial trade, angering Creole planters as well

What was Abbe Sieyes's answer to the question, "What Is the Third Estate?"

The Third Estate was the strength of France; it was what made France great

How did the American Revolution affect the developing political tensions in France?

French expenses to support the colonists bankrupted the Crown, while the ideals of liberty and equality provided inspiration for political reform

On what basis have revisionist historians rejected the traditional interpretation that the French Revolution has its origins in growing tensions between the nobility and the bourgeoisie?

There were already many internal conflicts within the nobility and the bourgeoisie; however, the rev. clearly emerged from below as the peasants and the urban poor banded together to fight the abuses that they had long suffered

How did the French armies offer a mixed message to the people whom they conquered?

They presented themselves as liberators to the peasants and middle class, but they actually confiscated goods and property

As the Jacobins gained power, what was their reaction to women's political activity?

They suppressed women's participation in political debates and banned women's clubs

Why did members of the Convention turn against Robespierre on 9 Thermidor?

They thought he would kill them too

What was the political effect of the attack on the Bastille?

The King's plan to reassert his authority went down the drain, permitting the National Assembly to continue its work

Who forced the king and the royal family to abandon Versailles and return to Paris?

The Parisian women who stormed Versailles

Why did the conflict between the monarchy and the Parliament reemerge after the Seven Years' War?

The monarchy sought to retain emergency taxes after the war ended

By July 1794, how had the central gov. in Paris managed to reassert control over the provinces and gain momentum against the First Coalition?

They enforced policies dealing with price control (the bread), nationalism, terror, and the levee on mass

In the summer of 1789, what drove the National Assembly towards more radical action?

Action from the people, like the Parisian mob, peasants, and outside action from other normal people ??

In the wake of the Great Fear, how did the National Assembly restore order?

It created its Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen; driven to more radical action

How did the Concordat resolve the crisis over Catholicism in France?

It established Catholicism as the preferred religion of France; Napoleon was able to nominate bishops in France; allowed for religious toleration

What act, led by Toussaint L'Overture, did Napoleon consider seditious?

L'Ouverture had the colonial assembly in Saint-Domingue draft a constitution that reaffirmed the abolition of slavery and made L'overture governor for life

How did the delegates to the Legislative Assembly that convened in October 1791 differ from the delegates to the Estates General/National Assembly?

They were more inexperienced, young, and radical

What was the goal of the Committee of Public Safety?

To deal with threats from within and outside of France (dictatorial power to deal with the national emergency; headed by Robespierre)

Why did Great Britain seek to raise taxes on its American colonies in the 1760s?

To help pay for the British army

Why did the French commissioners in Saint-Domingue abolish slavery?

To prevent rebellion

How did the reaction of kings and nobles in continental Europe toward the Revolution change over the Revolution's first two years?

They were initially pleased with the weakening of France, then they became threatened by its increasingly radical message