Studied by 2 peoplepopular sovereignty
The political idea that power comes from the people, not God, and that it remains with the people.
separation of powers
The political concept, advocated by Montesquieu, where government’s powers are divided into different branches, such as executive and legislative.
American Revolution (1775 – 1783)
The first successful revolt by a colony against rule by a European mother country. The 13 British colonies revolted against foreign rule. It ended in an American victory and the establishment of the first federal republic in history.
French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)
This was the North American theater (region) of the European conflict called the Seven Years’ War. It was fought between Britain and its American colonies against France and its French colonies in North America. Most Native Americans fought for the French side in the conflict. It ended in a major british victory.
Declaration of Independence
One of the most important political documents ever written, it was inspired by the social contract theory of Locke and was written by Thomas Jefferson. It lays out the reasons for the American rejection of British rule.
First Estate
Pre-Revolutionary term for the Catholic clergy of France.
Second Estate
Pre-Revolutionary term for the nobility of France.
Third Estate
Pre-Revolutionary term for the masses of French society prior to the Revolution. It included peasants, bourgeoisie, and the urban poor.
peasants
One of the lower classes, they are rural, agricultural free laborers.
sans-culottes
This was a slang term that referred to the urban working poor.
bourgeoisie
Term referring to the urban, educated middle and upper classes.
taille
A hated tax paid only by the common people of France, not by the clergy or the nobility.
Estates-General
The historic parliament of France, it was a body that the French king could consult at will. It lacked the same type of powers that the British Parliament possessed.
cahiers de doleances
These were lists of grievances drawn up by each of the three estates; they were reform suggestions and included demands such as fair taxation and equal voting rights.
National Assembly
and the formation of the National Assembly as the new parliament of France. It waThe delegates of the Third Estate declared the end of the Estates-General s dominated by the bourgeoisie.
Tennis Court Oath
On June 20, 1789 the King ordered that the National Assembly be locked out of their meeting room. The delegates regrouped on a tennis court at Versailles and swore not to disband until they had written a constitution for France.
militias
A military force that is made up of civilians rather than soldiers, usually put together in times of emergency.
Bastille
A large fortress in the heart of Paris that served as a hated prison. On July 14, 1789 a Paris mob stormed the Bastille in search of weapons. The mob killed several soldiers. This is a major event of the Revolution.
Great Fear
In the summer of 1789 a panic swept across France that the nobility was going to crush the new Revolution. Angry peasant mobs attacked the estates of the nobles and burned many to the ground.
manorial obligations
These were ancient requirements that peasants needed to work several days each month on the lands of the nobility.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Written by delegates of the National Assembly during the summer of 1789, this is the first constitution of France. It promised equal rights for all French men.
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
This is considered to be one of the first mistakes of the Revolution. This law required all French Catholic clergy to swear an oath of loyalty to the nation over the Church. It turned the Church into an enemy of the Revolution.
metric system
The most common system of measurement used in the world. It uses the meter, liter, and gram as units of measure. It was first adopted by France during the Revolution.
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
This became the famous three-word motto of the Revolution; it sums up the ideals of the Revolution
Women’s March
On October 5, 1789 thousands of Parisian poor women marched to Versailles to demand that King Louis XVI do something to lower the price of bread. It grew violent. The women forced the King and his family to leave Versailles and return to Paris.
Haitian Revolution
This was the first successful slave revolt against European rule to occur. It began in 1791 when Black slaves overwhelmed the French planters in the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue. The slave rebels established the first Black ruled republic in world history and successfully defended their independence against Napoleon’s attempt to reestablish French control
inflation
A general increase in prices and a decline in the purchasing power of the money.
emigres
French term for those French nobles who fled from revolutionary France and went to other European nations. Many helped the foreign powers against France.
Declaration of Pillnitz
A 1792 agreement between Austria and Prussia pledging to work together to crush the Revolution and to restore the old order in France.
Note
Flashcard