French revolution Ch. 9 Flashcards
Why did the French Revolution happen?
- powered were not balanced
- large population divided into three estates
- deficit spending
- money was spent on wars
- borrowed more money than they had
- lavish spending by nobles
- poor harvest
What event marked the beginning of the French Revolution?
The storming of the Bastille
Who are the Jacobins?
Wanted the right to vote to extend to all citizens not just property owners and believed the king had to die for true republic to take place they were willing to kill the king
Who write the San-culottes?
Working class men and women who pushed the revolution and demanded a republic they wanted king dead but didn’t want to do it themselves
Who were the Emigres?
Nobles and other ex who fled France to restore Louis to the throne
The “great fear”??
A wave of senseless panic when the gov. Started taking crops and people being imprisoned. Jean Paul wrote in newspapers and a revolt broke out all over France
Who was Louis the XVI???
- born into royalty
- married at 15
- very shy and loved boats
- had no children for seven years
- cared little about ruling
Who was Marie Antoinette??
- arch duchess of Austria
- married at 18
- loved life and luxury
- cared about fashion
- she put the country in debt
What were the three estates??
Clergy
Nobility
Commoners
The clergy??
- religious life
- 130,000 people
- .5% of population
- owned 10% of land
- didn’t have to pay (taille) taxes
The nobility
- royalty, Lords, ladies
- 350,000 people
- 1.5% of population
- owned 25% of land
- held many leading role is gov, military, and law
- did not have to pay taxes
The commoners????
- everybody else
- 26.5 million people
- 98% of population
- owned 40% of land
- payed taxes and divided into three groups
Bourgeoise
- top of the third estate
- middle class
- bankers, merchants, lawyers, doctors
Cahiers???
Grievances or concerns about the government that include demands for fair taxes, freedom of press, and regular meeting of the estates general
Tennis court oath
The 3rd estate tries to meet the doors were locked so they moved the meeting to an indoor tennis court and called it the “tennis court oath” which was a vow to meet until the new constitution was made
The estates general
Estates feed into three “party” constitutional government leaving one vote for each estate
- 1st and 2nd always voted together leaving the 3rd left out and stuck with taxes
- powers were unbalanced
- estates general had not been called upon in 175 years and he asked them to prepare cahiers
- the cahiers did not work so the 3rd estate created the National Assembly
National Assembly
- made the tennis court oath
- reformed clergy and nobles joined 3rd estate
- rumors started royal troops were going to take over the city
- a group of more than 800 peasants and commoners gathered in front of the Bastille demanding gun powder
Legislative assembly
Created by the 3rd estate
- legislative branch where representatives had power to make laws and approve/reject declarations of war
- they had problems like food shortages and debt
National convention
Created by the jacobins
- it replaced the legislative assembly and they wanted all men to have the right to vote, to declare France gov. w/o a king
- Robespierre and Marat were the leaders of the national convention
Committee of public safety
A -2 member committee in national convention they required all citizens to help with war
- Robespierre was the leader
Directory
- created by the national convention
- had two parts
- a five men directory: doing the job of a president
- two house legislature: elected by citizens of property
