1789-92 Flashcards
Suspensive veto
The right of the king to delay laws passed by the Assembly for up to four years
Active citizens
Male citizens aged 25+ who paid the equivalent of three days unskilled labour in local taxes and were therefore able to vote in elections.
Passive citizens
Excluded from the franchise after 1789-92
Departments
83 administrative districts into which France was divided
Sections
48 administrative districts of Paris – some (e.g. Cordeliers Section) increasingly radical.
Émigrés
Aristocrats and royalists who left France in the wake of the Revolution
Biens nationaux
The land of the Church and the Émigrés that was sold off by the state.
Laissez-faire
Economic doctrine that promotes free markets, low tariffs and high levels of economic competition in order to promote prosperity and growth.
Anticlericalism
Hostility towards the Church seen in many of the reforms of the Constituent Assembly, including the abolition of the tithe and pluralism.
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Reform that brought the Church under state control, with bishops and priests paid by the state.
Oath of allegiance
All priests and bishops required to swear an oath to the constitution and the Assembly. The law was passed on 27 November 1790, and received royal assent one month later.
Refractory priests
Description of priests who refused the oath (over 50% of all priests in total). Only 7 out of 83 bishops agreed to take the oath.
Civil rights
Equal citizenship given to Protestants in 1789, and Jews in 1791.
Guillotine
An alternative method of execution introduced by the National Assembly, far more humane than some of the barbaric punishments under the Old Regime, such as ‘breaking on a wheel’.
The Jacobin Club
A club for wealthy, liberal constitutional monarchists in Paris, aimed at preserving the revolution. Over 1200 members in 1790. Divided in 1791, becoming much more radical.
Maximilien Robespierre
A lawyer from Arras who became a prominent figure in the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club. Known as ‘the Incorruptible’ because of his high principles and simple lifestyle.
The Cordeliers Club
A club with a low membership fee in the radical Cordelier district of Paris. Argued for direct democracy – membership fee was just 2 sols per month, much lower than other political clubs.
George-Jacques Danton
Founder of the Cordeliers Club – became Minister of Justice in August 1792.
The Monarchy Club
Founded in 1790 with a small, conservative membership. Lacked widespread appeal, and closed in 1791, although seen by many as evidence of counter-revolutionary conspiracies in Paris.
Sans-culottes
The name given to radical workers in the Paris sections, named after their plain style of dress. Seen by some as a threat to public order, but by others as the true voice of the revolution.
Citizen
Title by which revolutionaries greeted each other after 1789.
The Tuileries Palace
The palace in which the royal family resided between October 1789 and August 1792.
The flight to Varennes
The royal family’s disastrous attempt to leave Paris on 21 June 1791, which ended in capture at Varennes the following day. The intended target was the Austrian Netherlands.
Tocsin
Sounded in Paris to alert the people to the flight of the king. A common feature of revolutionary journées.
