Jared's Deck Flashcards
Enlightenment
an eighteenth-century philosophical movement of intellectuals who were greatly impressed with the achievements of the Scientific Revolution.
Old Regime
The “old” French social order, which was made up of 3 classes, or Estates
Amount of taxes by estate
First Estate/clergy: little
Second Estate/nobility: little
Third Estate: a lot
First Estate
~130,000 people, 40% of land owned (not necessary information)
The richest Estate of the 3
Second Estate
350,000 people, owned 25%/30% of land
Held leading positions in government, military, law courts, and the Roman Catholic Church
Owned most of the wealth, but didn’t have to pay a lot of taxes
Taille
France’s chief (most important) tax
Third Estate
Made up mostly of peasants, with 35%/40% of land
This Estate owed “duties” to higher Estates (serfdom all over again)
Couldn’t survive, as wages were low and cost of living (taxes) was high
Louis XVI/Marie Antoinette
Louis XVI was the King of France during French Revolution
Marie Antoinette was his wife (“the Austrian Whore”)
Estates General
A “French Parliament”
All Estates were represented in a voting body, yet all Estates had one vote –> corruption
National Assembly
a revolutionary assembly formed by the representatives of the Third Estate
Went against the first/second Estates, and passed the Declaration of Rights of Man
Tennis court oath
The oath that the Third Estate took while drafting a constitution on the tennis courts, after their meeting place had its doors locked. The Third Estate then declared that they would become their own National Assembly
The Great Fear
A vast panic, due to the sheer amount of civilian revolutions and the fear of their outcomes and consequences
The Declaration of Rights of Man
proclaimed that all men were free and equal before the law, that appointment to public office should be based on talent, and that no group should be exempt from taxation.
Raised the question “should women be included in equal rights?”
