French Revolution

Marseillaise

: It is also known as "The War Song of the Army of the Rhine" composed by Rouget de Lisle. The Marseillaise was adopted as France's National Anthem in 1795. It was sung for the first time in public in Strasbourg.

Robespierre

A Jacobin radical, political the leader of the French Revolution in the 18th century. During his time it was the bloodiest part of the French Revolution. He was head of the Committee of Public Safety and was responsible for the Reign of Terror. During that period he was in charge of the government, when he authorized the executions of Marie Antoinette, former Girondins (including Olympe de Gouges) and thousands of other people were executed without trial and was later executed without trial. He is said to have "not a hair nor a phrase out of place."

Declaration Of The Rights Of Man

A charter of basic liberties proclaimed freedom and equal rights for all men and access to public office based on talent. It states that men are born with equal rights; which includes liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression, and innocence until proven guilty. It is similar to the American Declaration of Independence/ Bill of Rights

Revolution

A major change in the government that started in 1789. It stopped the absolute monarchy and started a representative government.

Corvee

A working labor tax which was first introduced in 1737. Peasants were forced to work on the noble's land such as roads while being unpaid.

Old Regime

Also known as the Ancient Regime. It was a set of the society and government in Europe in the 18th century. Everyone wanted to have the similar thing. Kings wanted to have as much absolute monarchy over the people, in every society in Europe there were privileged groups of nobility, they were born with more rights who were also unequal and unfair taxation.

Estates

During the reign of Louis XIV, there were 26 million French who lived under the monarchy and was divided into three social orders or classes.

Marquis De Lafayette

He flees to Austria. He is French soldier who fought alongside the Americans. He was the hero in the American Revolution and was the leader of the National Guard during the French Revolution.

Marat

He was a radical French revolutionary leader in overthrowing the Girondists. He edited a radical newspaper about wanting more blood. He wanted to get rid of the France's enemies of the Revolution. He was also stabbed to death in his bath tub by Charlotte Corday (1743-1793).

Danton

He was a radical supporter who was the head of Committee of Public Safety. He was executed by Robespierre during the Reign of Terror.

Napoleon

He was the Emperor of France and he seized power in a coup d'état (a quick, non-violent takeover of government by Napoleon) in 1799. He led French armies in conquering the majority Europe and placing his relatives in positions of power. He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo and the Austrians at Marengo, and he exiled on the island of Elba. He dispenses mob protesting constitution with a "whiff of grapeshots."

Louis XVI

He was the King of France who was a weak during the French Revolution. In 1789 he was forced to meet with the Estates-General for the first time in 175 years, due to a French financial crisis. He fails to make end meet and starts the French Revolution. He was put on trial for charges of treason and was then was beheaded.

Directory

Is a group led by 5 directors who were given executive control of France following the Reign of Terror which started a new government.

Reactionary

Is a group of people who wants to go back to another period of time. For example: Louis XVI wanted to go back in time to change what happened in the past.

Conservative

Is a group of people, liked the king, who doesn't want any more or very few slight changes or stay as it is and makes these changes slowly and carefully and is also opposed to violence. For example: The Republican Party is Conservative.

Radical

Is a group that hates the king who wanted drastic and extreme changes and was willing to use of violence in the name of the revolution. For example: The French Revolution is Radical because it wanted extreme change and violence.

Guillotine

Is a machine to behead people which are used to help model equality of punishment which is typically used to execute the monarchs. It's also a quick and convenient symbol before, during, and after the Reign of Terror.

Liberal

Is a person who wants to reform the political system using every legal means. For example: The Democratic Party is Liberal.

Gabelle

Is an unpopular tax on salt that was given to the third estate.

Right (wing)

It divides up the Political Spectrum with the conservative or reactionary section. They support the status quo and traditional values. It is also known as rightists, which were first used during the French Revolution.

Left (wing)

It divides up the Political Spectrum with the liberal, the socialist, or radical section. It is also known as leftists, which were first used during the French Revolution.

Estate General

It is a Legislative body or law making body of France who had not met for 175 years. They met in Versailles. The cahiers, which are lists of grievances by the people's expectation of optimistic changes. They could meet only with permission from the king. It is an assembly of representatives from all three estates in France because Louis XVI wanted to tax the nobility in 1789.

Counter Revolutionaries

It is a revolution that is overthrowing the government that was established by a revolution. For example: A counter revolutionaries are the monarchists who are supporters of the old Regime that followed the French Revolution.

Letters De Cachet

It is a sealed order of those people who were imprisoned without trial and were formally abolished which was issued by the King Louis XVI.

Legislative Assembly

It is the legislative branch of government created in September, 1791 that is elected in to power and voted to start a war with Austria. It was forced to step down from power. It is split into 3 factions: Left, center and right. The left is people who wanted to radically change government. The center is people with moderate views and wanted some change, but not too much. The right is people who want no change in government.

National Convention

It is the legislative branch of government who got rid of King Louis XVI from his title. They wanted to rewrite constitution and wanted the city to be purified. In the first Act declared the French Republic and all men were equal. The second Act was the execution of the king.

Girondins

It is the moderate party of the revolutionary factions. They supported a constitutional monarchy and resisted extremes. These were the liberals of France. They wanted to keep the King alive. Two major factions within the National Assembly and were later in the National Convention. One group represented the provinces and feared the power of the Paris radicals, and the other represented those radical inter-ests and would eventually win the power struggle between them.

Reign of Terror

It is the period in France where Robespierre ruled and used terror to quite his rule. Thousands of citizens were executed who were suspected to be untrustworthy to the committee of Public Safety who was led by Robespierre.

Tennis Court Oath

It was a pledge (vow) for the members of the 3rd Estate delegates to meet after the creation of the National Assembly and until the French Constitution was produced and written, in response to these events that Louis stationed a Swiss mercenary army outside of Versailles.

National Assembly

It was created by the 3rd Estate after they were refused by the Estates-General of 1789. The 3rd estate declares itself from 1789-91. They said it was the only true and official government in France. It would recognize a monarch whose powers were limited by a constitution. They took an oath to not give up until France had a Constitution National Assembly. The oath came to be known as the Tennis Court Oath.

Committee of Public Safety

It was established on April 6, 1793 and launched the Reign of Terror. It ran for 12 months from 1793-1794 in which it took control of France. Robespierre began and led the Committee of Public Safety along with Danton, and Desmonlius who included the organizations of the nation's defenses of France against Austria, controlled all foreign policy, and centralized authority such as the ministers from 1792-1795. They also ordered arrests and trials of counter-revolutionaries. It is part of the branch of the Nationals Convention which was led by Danton and Robespierre. In 1793, it ordered a universal mobilization of the nation.

Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

Liberty means freedom. Equality stands for being equal. Fraternity means the idea of community which is associated with brother/sisterhood and doing things together as a group. It is the motto of the French Revolution.

Civic Constitution of the Clergy

Made all Catholic Clergy agents of the State. They forced the revolutionaries to choose between God and revolution. It was an absolute attack on the Church.

Charotte Corday

She believed that her country would be saved if Marat was killed. She assassinated Jean-Paul Marat in his bathtub in which started the Reign of Terror. In 1793 she was executed under the guillotine by the Jacobins, who was the leader of Jean-Paul Marat.

Marie Antoinette

She is an Austrian who became queen of France before the Revolution. Is the wife of Louis XVI. She is known for her luxurious lifestyle and also "madame deficit" due to her overspending and gambling. She ended up being executed along with her children because the Committee of Public Safety wanted to eliminate royalist plot to put royal family back on the throne.

Tithe

The first estate collected 10% of their income that was donated to the Catholic Church and paid taxes.

Bastille

The people of Paris were alarmed that the king and his army were "closing" the National Assembly. They went to a fort that is used to store gun powder that was owned by the King to get cannons and to free the political prisoners on July 14, 1789.

Sans Culottes

The poor people in the 3rd Estates of Paris without "fancy breeches". This term is used to label them to poverty or working class status but it's more used to indicate revolutionary patriots.

Jacobins

They are a radical republican party that instituted the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. They were led by Maximilien Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety. They killed and executed King Louis XVI.

Emigre

They are nobles and clergy who left Revolutionary France during peasant uprisings and hoped to come back to the old system.

Bourgeoisie

They are the educated middle class of the 3rd Estate during the French revolution. They are the merchants and lawyers that looked into the ideals of the Enlightenment. They wanted more political power.

Coup D'Etat

This was brought about at the end of the directory and the French Revolution which was quick non-violent takeover of government by Napoleon. It was painful but bloodless.

Cahiers

people wanted social reform so they wrote a list of grievances.