Chapter 22 Flashcards
What ideas helped to shape the French Revolution?
- The ideas of the French Revolution were drawn from the Enlightenment, influenced by the British political system, inspired by the American Revolution and shaped by local grievances.
- The best known expression of French revolutionary ideas was the slogan “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity”, though this was simplistic and did not span all ideas of the revolution.
- The early part of the revolution was motivated by Enlightenment political concepts put forth by Rousseau and Robespierre regarding the Social Contract fueled the enlightenment spirit. Ideas such as popular sovereignty and constitutionalism, which aimed to create a more effective system of government.
- Another key revolutionary idea was the codification and legal protection of natural rights: individual rights and freedoms that could not be ignored or removed by law or government.
- Another important revolutionary idea was anti-clericalism, which sought to reform the Catholic church, particularly the actions of its clergy, reducing political influence, interference and corruption.
Who made up the Three Estates?
1st estate: made up of clergy members made up of 130,000 members and owned 10% of the land
they did not hay to pay the taille
2nd estate: made up of nobility that contained 350,000 members that owned a total of 30% of the land the 2nd estate did not have to pay the taille
3rd estate: the 3rd estate was 80% made up of peasants they owned 40% of the land they made up 90% of the population and had to pay the taille
Taille
an annual tax usually on land, provided income for the French monarchy
Estates General
in 1789, an assembly of representatives from all thre estates in France that was called because Louis wanted to tax the nobility
Battle of Waterloo
when Napoleon left exile to once again take power in France, European forces quickly took up arms and ended Napoleon’s last bid for power
Why did the Third Estate declare itself to be the National Assembly?
the reason that the third estate declared itself to be the National Assembly was because they felt that it was not fare that even thought they had a higher population that they had the equal amount of votes as the first and second estate. this allowed the first and second estate to out vote the third estate 2 to 1 . when they told the king about there problem he ignored them and said he like the current system. the third estate then declared themselves the National Assembly and said that they would draft a constitution.
Coup d’etat
a sudden siezure of power; a “blow to the state”–when Napoleon used the armed forces under his command to dissolve the National legislature and assume power as a dictator
The Directory
the end of the Reign of Terror and the adoption of a new constitution set the stage for a new government in France. The government was separated into 2 houses, and 5 men (The Directory)- held executive power.
Napoleonic Code of 1804
a comprehensive system of laws that gave the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated many injustices; it limited liberty and promoted order and authority over individual rights and restored slavery in the French colonies of the Carribbean
Continental System
Napoleon’s policy to make continental Europe more self-sufficient; also intended to destroy Great Britain’s commercial and industrial economy
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was held from September of 1814 to June of 1815. After the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, this international conference was called to create a balance among the European powers in such a way so as to prevent future wars and maintain peace and stability on the European continent.
The Tennis Court Oath
On 20 June 1789, the members of the French Third Estate, who had begun to call themselves the National Assembly, took the Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume), vowing “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established”.
Storming of the Bastille
On 14 July 1789, a state prison on the east side of Paris, known as the Bastille, was attacked by an angry and aggressive mob. The prison had become a symbol of the monarchy’s dictatorial rule, and the event became one of the defining moments in the Revolution that followed.
National Assembly
created by the Third Estate after they were refused better representation in the Estates-General of 1789, they passed laws and reforms in the name of the French people; in effect proclaiming the end of absolute monarchy and beginning of representative government-first deliberate act of revolution
The National Convention
National Convention: assembly that governed France from September 20, 1792, until October 26, 1795, during the most critical period of the French Revolution.
The National Convention was split into three main factions. The Girondins, led by Jacques-Pierre Brissot, were relatively moderate. They wanted to keep a constitutional monarchy and promoted a decentralized government. The Montagnards, on the other hand, were radical and ultra-democratic.
