Vocabulary Flashcards
taxation without representation
is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution.
The stamp act
was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.
George Washington
The first president of the United States, and the commanding general of the victorious American army in the Revolutionary War. The best known of the Founding Fathers, Washington is called the father of his country.
King George
The king of Britain during the American Revolutionary War. He was known for insisting on royal privilege. The stubbornness of George and of his government officials is often blamed for the loss of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
Redcoats
a British soldier
Continental Army
was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of Americ
seven years war
A war fought in the middle of the eighteenth century between the German kingdom of Prussia, supported by Britain, and an alliance that included Austria, France, and Russia. Prussia and Britain won, and their victory greatly increased their power.
loyalist
person who remains loyal to the established ruler or government, especially in the face of a revolt.
Patriots
a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.
Thomas Jefferson
A political leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; one of the Founding Fathers; the leader of the Democratic-Republican party. Jefferson was principal author of the Declaration of Independence and served as president from 1801 to 1809, between John Adams and James Madison.
Declaration
n
a formal or explicit statement or announcement.
The Three estates
France under the Ancien Régime (before the French Revolution) divided society into three estates: the First Estate (clergy); the Second Estate (nobility); and the Third Estate (commoners). The king was considered part of no estate. The First Estate (Fr. premier état) was the clergy.
Louis xv
king of France from 1774 to 1792; his failure to grant reforms led to the French Revolution; he and his queen (Marie Antoinette) were guillotined (1754-1793) Example of: King of France. the sovereign ruler of France.
Marie Antoinette
French queen, wife of Louis XVI. A daughter of Maria Theresa, she married the future Louis XVI of France in 1770.
Versailles
A city of north-central France west-southwest of Paris. It is best known for its magnificent palace, built by Louis XIV in the late 1600s, where the treaty ending World War I was signed in 1919.
National Assembly
an elected legislature in various countries.
estate general
of 1789 (French: Les États-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estat
declaration of Rights of man
passed by France’s National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights.
Constitution of 1791
French constitution created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting.
Emigres
a person who has left their own country in order to settle in another, usually for political reasons.
radicals
a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform; a member of a political party or part of a party pursuing such aims.
Moderates
1.
average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.
Conservatives
holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.
Region of terror
a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, in particular Reign of Terror, the period of the Terror during the French Revolution
Jacobin’s
a member of a democratic club established in Paris in 1789. The Jacobins were the most radical and ruthless of the political groups formed in the wake of the French Revolution, and in association with Robespierre they instituted the Terror of 1793–4.
Maximilian Robespierre
was a French lawyer and politician. He was one of the best-known and most influential figures associated with the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
Guillotine
machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people.
Conscription
compulsory enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces.
