Key Terms: Revolution and Reaction, 1789-1850

Question 1

Parlements

Answer 1

French regional courts dominated by hereditary nobles. Paris claimed the right to register royal decrees before they could become law.

Question 2

Girondins

Answer 2

Moderate republican faction active in the French Revolution 1791-1793. The party favored a policy of extending the French Revolution beyond French borders.

Question 3

Jacobins

Answer 3

Radical republican party during French Revolution. Led by MAximilien Robespierre, they unleashed the Reign of Terror. Other leaders are Marat, Danton, and Mirabeau.

Question 4

Sans-Culottes

Answer 4

Working people of Paris who were characterized by long working pants and radical politics support.

Question 5

Levee En Mass

Answer 5

French policy of conscripting all males into army. Created a new type of military force based upon mass participation and a fully mobilized economy.

Question 6

Thermidorian REaction

Answer 6

Name of the reaction against the radicalism of the French Revolution. Associated with the end of the Reign of Terror and reassertion of bourgeoisie power in the Directory.

Question 7

Legitimacy

Answer 7

Principle that rulers who have been driven from thrones should be restored to power.

Question 8

Balance of Power

Answer 8

Strategy to maintain an equilibrium, in which weak countries join together to match or exceed the power of a stronger country. One of the guiding principles of the Congress of Vienna.

Question 9

Liberalism

Answer 9

Political philosophy that in the 19th century that advocated representative government dominated by propertied classes, minimal government interference in the economy, religious toleration, and civil liberties such as freedom of speech.

Question 10

Conservatism

Answer 10

Political philosophy that in the 19th century supported legitimate monarchies, landed aristocracies, and established churches. Conservatives favored gradual change in the established social order.

Question 11

Nationalism

Answer 11

Belief that a nation consists of people who share similar traditions, history, and language. Argues that every nation should be sovereign and include all members of a community. A person’s greatest loyalty should be to a nation-state.

Question 12

Romanticism

Answer 12

Philosophical and artistic movement in late 18th and early 19th century Europe that represented reaction against the Neoclassical emphasis upon reason. Artists, writers, and composers stressed emotion and the contemplation of nature.

Question 13

Chartism

Answer 13

Program of political reforms sponsored by British workers in the late 1830s. Demands included universal manhood suffrage, secret ballots, equal electoral districts, and salaries for members of the House of Commons.

Question 14

Zollverein

Answer 14

Free-trade union established among major German states in 1834.

Question 15

Carbonari

Answer 15

Secret revolutionary society working to unify Italy in the 1820s.

Question 16

Luddites

Answer 16

Social movement of British textile artisans in early 19th century who protested against changes produced by the Industrial Revolution. Believed that the new industrial machinery would eliminate jobs. Responded by attempting to destroy mechanized looms and other new machines.

Question 17

Utilitarianism

Answer 17

Theory associated with Jeremy Bentham based upon the principle of “the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” Bentham argued this principle should be applied to each nation’s government, economy, and judicial system.

Question 18

Utopian Socialists

Answer 18

Early 19th century socialists who hoped to replace overly competitive capitalist structure with planned communities guided by cooperation.

Question 19

Marxism

Answer 19

Political and economic philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Believed that history is the result of a class conflict that will end with triumph of the industrial proletariat over bourgeoisie. New classless society would abolish private property.