The French Revolution & Enlightenment Flashcards
Jean Jacques Rousseau
What books did Jean Jacques Rousseau write?
- A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, 1750
- Emile, 1762
- The Social Contract, 1762
Jean Jacques Rousseau
What did Jean Jacques Rousseau believe in?
He believed that people are born good and innocent, but when they interact with society, they become corrupted.
John Locke
What did John Locke believe were the three Natural Rights?
Life, Liberty, and Property
Define the Age of Enlightenment
Period in the 1700’s when philosophers believed that they could apply the scientific method and use reason to explain human nature logically.
John Locke
What did John Locke define what a human being must become?
a Rational Creature
John Locke
Define Free Will for human beings
- They should be prepared for freedom
- Obedience should be out of conviction, not out of fear
John Locke
What did John Locke think about kings or the wealthy?
Neither kings nor wealth are divinely ordained.
Thomas Paine
What books did Thomas Paine write?
- Common Sense, 1776
- The Rights of Man, 1791
Montesquieu
What books did Montesquieu write?
The Spirit of Laws, 1758
Montesquieu
What three branches of goverment did Montesquieu want equal powers throughout?
- Monarchy
- Republic
- Despotism
Montesquieu
What did the seperation of political powers ensure?
Freedom and Liberty
Denis Diderot
What books did Denis Diderot write?
The Encyclopèdie, 1751- was 28 volumes and 1500 lires a set - complete cycle of knowledge (changed way of thinking)
Denis Diderot
What did Denis Diderot believe in?
- All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception, and without regard for anyone’s feelings
- We will speak against senseless laws until they are reformed; and while we wait, we will abide by them
Voltaire
What books did Voltaire write?
Candide, 1759
Letters Concerning the English Nation
Voltaire
What did Voltaire fight against?
Intolerance and Injustice
Hobbes
What book did Hobbes write?
Levithon, 1651
Hobbes
What did Hobbes believe in?
He thought that people lived in anarchy where they chose the king; 1st state of nature
Jacobins
What were the Jacobins?
- the midrange of liberal views (Robespierre was their leader)
- [Group in the Political Spectrum]Consisted of the Mountains (Radicals) and the Plains (Centralists)
Marie Antoinette
Who was was Marie Antoinette’s husband?
King Louis XVI (married for the alliance of Austria and France)
Marie Antoinette
Who was Marie Antoinette’s mother?
Austrian Empress, Maria Theresa
Marie Antoinette
What was the cause of her hatred towards the French people?
Her influence in politics caused her hate towards the French people.
Reign of Terror
What was the Reign of Terror?
It was revolutionary Tribunal of Paris alone- executed 2,639 victims in 15 months
-total # of victims nation wide was > 40,000
‘Let Terror be the order of the day!’
The Directory
What was the Directory?
- It lasted from 1795-1799. The Wealthy controlled the government; the poor (san-culottes) suffered as a result.
- It was forced to disband by Napoleon after going bankrupt.
Committe for Public Safety
Which group was the Committe for Public Safety made by?
It was made by the Convention
- Stabalize France:
- Skyrocketting food prices
- Mounting dent from war
Guillotine
What was the Guillotine?
It was a machine used to execute people (by slicing their head off of ther body).
Tennis Court Oath
Why was the Tennis Court Oath created?
- The Third Estate refused to vote seperately, so the King had them locked out of their meeting place.
- They met in a nearby Tennis Court and refused to stop metting until they had written a constitution for France.
- The King gave in and allowed the 3 estates to meet together.
The Estate System
What did the Estate System do to France?
It seperated France into 3 classes:
1st: Nobility
2nd: Clergy
3rd: Peasant
Storming of the Bastille
Explain the Storming of the Bastille
- Crowds didn’t want the high prices of bread to continue
- The King fired his ministers
- The people of Paris were searching for weapons to defend the National assembly against the royal troops
Estates General
Why was the Estates General called?
He was called in order to fix France’s financial crisis. It consisted of the 3 estates (First Estate, Second Estate, and Third Estate).
However, the Third Estate was angered that they were left out of the meeting.
- Eventually, the king let them meet
The Great Fear
What did the Peasants fear from the rumors they heard?
Peasants believed rumors that the nobles planned to send bandits into the country-side to crush them and the French Revolution. They also feared that the nobles would hoard grain and starve them into submission.
The Great Fear
How did the peasants react because of the rumors?
As a result, peasants attacked manor houses and monasteries. They burned the hated documents that recorded rents, feudal dues, etc.
King Louis XVI
When was King Louis XVI executed?
He was executed in 1793
King Louis XVI
How did King Louis XVI try to cope with France’s Financial Crisis?
He called the Estates General (1789)
King Louis XVI
What did King Louis XVI do after the Old Regime was gone?
He attempted to flee after the Old Regime was gone, but was forced to return to Pars
National Assembly
The National Assembly felt they could deal with revolutionary violence by doing what?
They felt that thy could deal with revolutionary violence only by removing opression and injustice that produced it.
National Assembly
How did the National Assembly reform France?
They reformed France’s administrative structure, abolished the old provinces and divided France into 83 equal districts called departments.
National Assembly
When did the National Assembly write a constitution for France?
They wrote a constitution for France in 1791
Maximilion Robespierre
Who was Robespierre?
He was a powerful Jacobin who controlled the National Convention. The ‘Reign of Terror’ was a result.
Revolutionary Tribunal arrested, tried and executed many oeioke under suspicion of going against it.
Robespierre carried out a policy of extreme suppression, convinced that only he could protect the Revolution from its enemies.
What did Rousseu believe in?
Liberty, Equality, and fraternity
What were the characteristics of the Enlightenment?
Rationalism, Cosmology, Secularism, Scientific Method, Utilitarianism, Tolerance, Optimism and Self-Confidence, Freedom, Education of the masses, Legal Reform, Constitutionalism, and Cosmopolitanism
