The French Revolution Flashcards
Who takes over after Louis XIV dies?
Louis XV
What happens during Louis XV’s rule?
Nobility comes back to power
Describe France at this time
France had the largest empire, military, and wealth.It had a good favorable balance of trade and was the cultural hub of Europe
What is the Old Regime?
it was a political system made up of the three estates.
Describe the First Estate.
They were the church officials and clergy
They owned 10% of the land in France and payed not taxes
1% of population
Describe the Second Estate.
Nobility
Owned 20% of the land in France, paid no taxes
2% of population
Describe the Third Estate
They were everyone else, the commoners. They were very diverse (both rich and poor)
Owned 70% of the land and paid ALL the taxes
97% of the population
Who were the Bourgeoisie?
Rich people in the Third estate that weren’t born into nobility or the clergy. They paid A LOT of the taxes
What idea did the Bourgeoisie support? Why?
They supported mercantilism (the idea that $=power), because they had the money, and wanted some power
What is the difference between Bourgeoisie and the Workers/Peasants?
The Bourgeoisie (middle class) were fancy, educated and wealthy, and basically they were like the nobles, except they paid taxes, agreed with the Enlightenment thinkers, and they were not born in Europe. The workers (urban) and peasants (rural) were the poor working classes that paid taxes as well.
What are three reasons France was in debt?
War expenses (Seven Years War and American Revolution), monarchs spent too much on luxuries, and Enlightenment Philosophers began to question government structure.
What are some reactions to these three reasons?
France was in debt and people were starving, so they started to fight each other for food. They would raid anyone on the streets for things such as bread and broke into bakeries.
Who were the monarchs of the French Monarchy in THIS time period?
King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of Austria
What was the queen also known as? (Alias)
Madame Deficit, or The Austrian Whore.
What is the mythical/rumored quote that the queen said? (disproved by historians)
“Let them eat cake!”
What was the story behind this myth/rumor?
Poor peasants that were starving came to the palace to ask for food, so the butler said that he would check with the king and queen. The story says that the butler interrupted the party the king and queen were in and told the queen about the peasants, to which she laughed and replied “Ha, bread? Let them eat cake!” In reality, the butler probably would never interrupt the queen during a party to ask about peasants.
Who was Jacques Necker? Whose side was he on? What happened to him?
He was Louis XVI’s financial advisor. He was on the side of the people and sympathetic to the 3rd estate. He told Louis to slow his spending but Louis ignored Necker and fired him.
Why is Marie Antoinette known as Madame Deficit?
She spent too much money on luxuries and gambled a lot, though she was not very good at it. She spent a lot of time and money on outrageous hairstyles and fashion accessories
What meeting did Louis XVI call?
Louis XVI called the Convocation of the Estates-General.
What was the objective of The Meeting of the Estates General?
The objective of this assembly was to have representatives of each estate meet and make decisions for all of France by voting. Each estate got one vote, and most of the time the first and second estates’ votes were very similar so it would cancel out any vote the third estate had. This was an unfair system because all 3 Estates got the same number of votes even though the 3rd estate is 97% of the people.
Who usually voted the same?
The Clergy and the Nobles (the first and second estates)
Why is this true?
The clergy and nobles were very rich and didn’t pay taxes, which was very different from everyone else, who were poor and paid heavy taxes. Therefore, every time the third estate tried to make a reform, the first and second estate would vote together against their proposal
What did Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès say?
“What is the third estate? The third estate is everything! What are we treated like? Nothing! What is it we demand to be? Something!”
When was the last time the Convening of the Estates General was in session?
175 years ago (1614)
What was the third estate eventually called? What did they start doing?
The National Assembly of the People of France, They started to make laws and Louis eventually recognized them as a governing body.
What did the Tennis Court Oath say?
The National Assembly would not stop until they got the French Constitution that they wanted.
What did Louis XVI do in reaction to this? Did anyone notice?
Louis XVI called in troops to surround Paris. He didn’t say anything publicly but people did notice.
What was the Bastille?
A prison where political prisoners were held, but was in the process of being turned into a warehouse for weapons.
What happened on July 14, 1789?
Bastille Day - The people of France stormed the Bastille, a political prison, to release the 7 prisoners it held and to take the many weapons and ammunition stored in there.
On Bastille Day, how many died, how many were wounded, how many guards killed, and how many prisoners were there?
18 died total, 73 wounded, 7 guards killed, 7 prisoners released.
What happened about a week after this?
The rebels became paranoid about what might happen next. This was called The Great Fear.
What is the Great Fear?
The rebels who stormed the Bastille thought that the government would take action, and, to prevent that, the revolutionaries took action first and raided nobles.
How convinced were the people of the 3rd estate that the govt. would attack them?
They were so convinced that the government was going to try and make an attack on them that they took action before the government could.
What was the new tradition for killing a guard?
Putting their heads on a long stick or pike and parading it around for everybody to see
What was the rumor about Marie Antoinette?
She was hoarding grain in the palace of Versailles
What did this rumor cause?
A mob of peasant women stormed Versailles, thirsty for the queen’s blood.
What did they force the monarchs to do?
They forced the royal family to move to Paris so that Louis and Marie could see the poverty around them, and so that the people could keep an eye out on them.
What is the tri-color? (Tree-Colour)
The flag of the Revolution. The red and blue represented Paris and the white of the Bourbon family was a division.
What happened to the old Regime?
The old regime is completely gone.
What was the new French Constitution called?
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
This constitution was influenced by? (Two things)
The Enlightenment and the Declaration of Independence.
What was the next move for the people of France?
The National Assembly took over the Church (under the influence of Robespierre)
Why did they want to do this?
They do this to gain the churches land so that they can sell it and gain money to pay off the country’s debt.
Who is Olympe De Gouges (1745-1793)?
The woman who created The Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen.
What did she have an issue with? Why?
She had an issue with the way women were treated, she believed women and men should be treated equally.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen did not give rights to women.
What did she write? (Timestamp)
The Declaration of The Rights of Women and of The Citizen (1791).
Was it successful?
No, and because she wrote it, she was guillotined two years after it came out.
What was the Civil Constitution of the Clergy?
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was issued by the National Assembly and it gave the NA power over the Church. This caused people to choose between church and government.
Why did they do this?
To pay off their debt. They would use the Church’s land
What are some reactions to this?
The Peasants didn’t like this because they didn’t want the National Assembly to have control of the church because they thought it would give the government too much power.
Where does he (Louis XVI) want to run to? Why?
Austria because Marie Antoinette is from Austria and they can get an army and attack the revolutionaries.
What happens in 1791?
The Royal Family attempts to flee from Paris, but they get stopped in Varennes. Once recognized ,Louis and Marie are sent back to Paris.
Who does Louis get help from?
A Swedish Count named Hans Axel von Fersen (Marie Antoinette’s lover) escorted them when they attempted to flee the country.
What did some people see Louis XVI running away as?
People saw him abdicating (leaving) the throne and viewed it as treason for quitting on them.
Did everyone want to kill him? Why?Did everyone want to kill him? Why?
No, because some people thought that killing him was taking it too far and just wanted him exiled or something of that nature.
Because people saw Louis running away as him leaving the throne, what did the Assembly want to do because of it?
They saw that as abdication of the throne and wanted to get the “traitor” out.
What is the first thing the assembly does when they meet?
They make the king a figurehead and force him to sign documents taking power away from himself.
What is their new name?
Legislative Assembly, which focused on political debate and law making.
There is still an executive branch, what do they do?
They enforce the laws made by the Legislative body.
What do Radicals think?
Change is a good thing and it should happen now and as much as possible.
What do Moderates think?
They were okay with change but not too quickly or in large proportions.
What do Conservatives think?
They didn’t like change at all and they wanted things to stay the same.
(Relate those 3 groups to the American government) What are those 3 groups also known as now if a person lives in the USA?
Democrats and Republicans. (Left and Right wings named for where the original groups would sit)
Who were The Emigres?
The Emigres were conservative nobles leaving France because it became too dangerous or they wanted to keep the money they have.
Who made up the Sans-Culotte(without knee britches)?
The middle-lower class.
Sans-Culottes were (Conservative/Moderates/Radicals)?
Radicals
Does anyone want Louis XVI back in power? Why?
Austria wants him back in power. The reason being is so that Austria’s king and Queen daughter was Marie Antoinette and they wanted her to be known for power. They also didn’t want the revolution to succeed because they were afraid that it would inspire a revolution in their country.
Prussia also wanted Louis back in power so that they could avoid other conflicts.
Who declares war on who, and who joins in the battle?
France declares war on Austria and then Prussia joins Austria
What document did the Prussians release?
The Brunswick Manifesto
What did this document say?
If any harm or humility comes to the king, we will destroy Paris. We (Prussia) are attacking France to put Louis XVI back in full power.
Who do the French capture?
Louis XVI and his family.
What does the French tell Prussia and Austria?
They tell Prussia and Austria that if they want Louis back in charge, you’re going to have to stop the war. They have their prize as prisoner, if you keep fighting, then we’ll kill him.
Does this work?
yes
Another government change happen. What was the next convention?
National Convention
What was said at this convention?
“Let terror be the order of the day”
What was the reaction?
People are killed and afraid.
Who were the Jacobins?
The Jacobins are wealthy Radicals.
Describe the Jacobins
The Jacobins were Radical politicians who wanted Louis dead
What did the Jacobins start as?
The Jacobins started out as bunch of rich men debating about government.
Where did the Jacobins hold meetings?
In the library of a former Jacobin monastery in Paris
Who is Jean-Paul Marat (Mah-RAH)?
He was one of they key Jacobins and the owner/writer of a newspaper called The Friend of the People.
What does he do that impacts the society?
He got many of his messages out through writing. He would call the deaths of many people, and they would all listen to him and his writings.
Why is this the only way he can impact the society?
He has a skin disease that requires him to spend hours of his day in a medicinal bath.
What does he do to help his disease?
He sits in a bath all day with medicinal water.
What is a common theme in all his writings?
Violence, the execution of everyone having different beliefs than the revolutionaries.
What was Marat’s policy?
Anybody could come in, open door policy.
Who assassinated Marat? How?
Charlotte Corday. She came to talk to him and then stabbed him in his bath tub.
What happened to this person?
She was executed via guillotine
Who is Maximilien Robespierre?
He is the head of the committee of Public Safety. A confident speaker. takes over after Marat dies.
What was the committee of Public Safety there for?
Making laws, making it safe, etc. Ironic answer below.
Were they good at giving safety?
No, actually they caused harm to the people of France.
What are ALL the major changes to calendar that Robespierre made?
10 months, 10 day in a week, and 100 minutes in an attempt to get rid of Sundays so no one would know what days to go to church. He also eliminated all religious holidays (save for the worship of reason, as atheism did not appeal to Robespierre).
What did Robespierre do to churches?
He took the power away from them and closed them
What was this time known as? (Because of “Enemies of the revolution”)
Reign of Terror
What did he speed up? How?
The rate of execution, quick trials and the use of the guillotine.
What was the final vote to convict Louis? Convicted of what?
He was guilty of Treason, the greater vote was to kill him.
What was his punishment?
Death by the guillotine.
Who created the machine used in Louis’s punishment?
Joseph Guillotin
What type of idea was the guillotine?
Enlightenment idea; Beccaria; Equal deaths.
The guillotine was created and accepted as a more civilized and equal way to kill someone.
Who had this idea? (Also say what The Person Thinks this.)
Beccaria; Everyone should be equal and die equally
What was this believed to be?
Equal. People wanted all people to die “humanely” and in the same way.
Why was it believed to be equal?
Because everyone died the same way; Clergymen, Nobles, Royals, and Commoners.
In the end, Louis XVI’s blood line was….
cut off.
What was the order of the governments?
Old Regime to the National Assembly (Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen). The National Assembly to the Legislative Assembly (The Constitution 1791). The Legislative Assembly to the National Convention (Jacobins). The National Convention to the Two-House Legislature and an Executive Body (Directory).
Why did the third estate support enlightenment ideas?
They could only gain from it. They wanted change and equality.
What were the forces of change that started the French Revolution?
American Revolution, Enlightenment Ideas, Huge debt, Bad weather
How did the American Revolution start the French Revolution?
It was inspirational to the french people and bankrupted France.
How did Enlightenment ideas start the French Revolution?
The people wanted to have the power (Locke Idea) and the separation of power (Montesquieu idea)
How did huge debt start the French Revolution?
The third estate was taxed even more
How did bad weather cause the French Revolution?
There were bad harvests, prices of bread went up, and people couldn’t get food.
What did the third estate want in terms of voting in the Estates General?
The number of representative of the third estate doubled or to vote by head in the Estates General
What did Louis do?
Double the number of votes of the third estate
Where does Louis goes to before going to the General estates?
The Assembly of Notables (failed, first and second estates)
Which political system abolished the peasant system?
National Assembly.
What happened during the Women’s Bread March?
Women could not feed their families so they marched to Versailles to demand attention and kill the Queen. They came back with the royal family and they moved them to live in Paris so they couldn’t ignore the problems.
What is the saying in the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
“Liberty! Property! Resistance to Oppression!”
Why did some people want to exile the king instead of killing him?
Murdering him would cause chaos and could risk undoing everything they had worked so hard to keep together.
Why did some people want to execute the king?
He abandoned the people, he could come back if exiled.
What reforms did Robespierre make?
Created the Committee of Public Safety Emphasized Republic of Virtues Closed all churches Created New Calendar "enemies of the revolution" were killed The Festival of the Supreme Being was started Marie Antoinette was executed
What happened before Robespierre’s trial?
He was shot in the mouth (we don’t know by whom)
How was Robespierre killed?
Guillotine, face up
What was the Thermidorian Reaction?
The people turned on Robespierre and killed him. A new form of government was created; Two-house Legislature and the Executive Body (5-person Directory) The End of the Reign of Terror
After the king left, France decided that it needed a new Constitution. Doing this created what new governing body? What was its impact on France?
The new constitution called for the creation of the Legislative Assembly. This turned France from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, limiting the king’s power.
What was the Jocabin’s goal?
The Jacobins wanted to get rid of the monarchy by replacing it with a republic. They also wanted a strong government that controlled the economy.
What was the motto to the French Republic?
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity or Death”
