The French Revolution Flashcards
What is an absolute monarchy?
One person (the monarch) has total control of the government.
What were the three main social classes in France?
The nobility, the bourgeoisie (middle-class businessmen), and the peasants.
List three characteristics of the lives of peasants.
Most were farmers or city workers. They were very poor because of high taxes and rent. Many were starving because of their inability to buy bread (a staple).
What was a public office?
A public office was a position of relatively high power that could be purchased in order to elevate social status and increase income. (For example, a man could purchase a position as a judge.)
Why did the bourgeoisie invest in education?
They believed it would bring about a brighter future for their children, and it allowed ideas to circulate.
List three functions of the Catholic Church in French society.
Providing public services (hospitals, education, orphanages, etc.), recording births, deaths, and marriages, and collecting tithes. (The church was also a means to make government decrees public.)
What were the parelements?
The thirteen most powerful/highest courts in France through which the king’s laws were established.
What were the goals of the Enlightenment?
To improve society and human happiness through logic and reason, and to implement logic-based decision making instead of relying on religion or tradition. However, philosophes did not advocate for revolution.
Who wrote Letters Concerning the English Nation?
Voltaire.
Who wrote The Spirit of Laws?
Baron de Montesquieu.
Who wrote Encyclopedia?
Denis Diderot.
Who wrote The Social Contract?
Jean-Jaques Rousseau.
What was the relationship between the percentage of the population in each Estate and the land owned by each estate?
The population-to-land-owned ratio was in favor of those who made up less of the population and paid fewer taxes (nobility and clergy) than those who made up more of the population and paid most of the taxes (peasants).
According to historian Mathiez, who influenced the Revolution more: the middle or working class?
The middle class (bourgeoisie) drove the revolution because they were educated and able to read and interpret new writings and ideas and then pass on the ideas to the working class.
According to Lord Action, what was the cause of the French Revolution?
The Declaration of American Independence.
List several possible causes (5) of the French Revolution.
The unfair taxation that favored the nobility but hurt the poor, the lack of bread, the Declaration of American Independence, the circulation of Enlightenment ideas by the middle class, the Estates General unequal representation.
Discuss three causes of the French Revolution that you think were most significant.
The way that the educated middle class passed along ideas, the American Revolution/Declaration, and the taxes on the peasants. The educated middle class was able to interpret and pass along new ideas from the Enlightenment philosophes. The American Revolution demonstrated to the people of France that they too, could escape the grasp of a monarchy and establish a better system. The taxes on peasants were incredibly high to the point where they could not pay them, while the other social classes had to pay very little or nothing at all.
Why did the government want to reform agriculture?
It was believed that cheap grain would lower production because of its low value, leading to starvation, and that making grain more valuable would create a more efficient system.
What happened when the government stopped regulating the cost of bread?
It became so expensive that many starved.
Why did France support the colonies in the American Revolution?
They wanted to hurt Great Britain and restore national pride.
What were two consequences of France supporting the colonies?
American ideals about independence began circulating throughout France, and France was left with serious financial issues.
What was Saint-Dominique and why was it valuable to France?
It was a French-owned colony in the Caribbean that was a massive source of income from sugar farming.
What caused France’s financial issues?
France fought in many wars, which were extremely costly, forcing the government to take out loans which it could not repay.
What was the Assembly of Notables and why was it called by the king?
It was a gathering of select nobles who were called to consider the plan for reform proposed by the king’s finances minister (Calonnes), who did not think that the parelements or the Estates General would approve of his plan.
What were the three groups of the Estates General?
The clergy, the nobles, and everybody else.
