Old Regime and the Three Estates
This social class made up about 97% to 98% of France's population and paid virtually all of the taxes under the Old Regime
What is the Third Estate?
On July 14, 1789, an angry Paris mob attacked this medieval royal prison searching for gunpowder and arms, marking the start of the Revolution .
What is the Bastille?
This beheading machine became the supreme symbol of terror and equality during the French Revolution
What is the Guillotine?
"Let them eat cake" - Madame Deficit
Queen Marie Antoinette
Created by the Constitution of 1791, this lawmaking body had the power to create laws and approve declarations of war, but was split into three main political factions.
What is the Legislative Assembly?
Well-educated merchants, bankers, lawyers, and artisans who belonged to the wealthiest sub-group of the Third Estate. What was that class called?
Who are the Bourgeoisie (or middle class)?
The famous pledge made by Third Estate delegates, promising not to separate until they wrote a new constitution
What is the Tennis Court Oath?
The Jacobin leader who headed the Committee of Public Safety and governed France virtually as a dictator during the Reign of Terror .
Who is Maximilien Robespierre?
The French journalist and playwright who wrote a declaration demanding equal rights for women, but was later executed as an enemy of the Revolution
Who is Olympe de Gouges?
In the Legislative Assembly, this group sat on the left side of the hall, opposed the monarchy completely, and wanted radical, sweeping changes in government.
Who are the Radicals?
This privileged estate was made up of Catholic clergy, owned 10% of French land, and made up just 0.5% of the total population
What is the First Estate?
Facing financial ruin, Louis XVI was forced in May 1789 to summon this assembly of representatives, which had not met in 175 years .
What is the Estates-General?
The most radical political club in Paris during 1792, led by middle-class men who wanted to remove the king and establish a republic
Who are the Jacobins?
The sympathetic clergyman who wrote a famous pamphlet asking "What is the Third Estate?" and suggested they form the National Assembly .
Who is Emmanuel-Joseph Abbé Sieyès?
Sitting in the center of the Legislative Assembly hall, this political group wanted some changes in government, but not as many as the radicals on the left.
Who are the Moderates?
The old political and social system of feudalism left over from the Middle Ages that divided France into three social classes .
What is the Old Regime?
The wave of senseless panic that rolled through the French countryside in the summer of 1789, leading peasants to burn manor houses
What is the Great Fear?
Meaning "those without knee breeches," this radical group of Parisian shopkeepers and wage earners wore long regular trousers to show equality.
Who are the sans-culottes?
Louis XVI’s financial advisor who recommended cutting court spending and taxing the nobility before being fired by the king
Who is Jacques Necker?
Formed in September 1792, this revolutionary governing body abolished the monarchy, declared France a Republic, and gave adult male citizens the right to vote and hold office.
What is the National Convention?
Representing 1.5% to 2% of the population, this estate owned 20% of the land and held the highest government offices while paying almost no taxes
Who are the Nobility (or Second Estate)?
In October 1789, 6,000 Parisian women rioted over bread prices and marched 12 miles to this royal palace, forcing the king and queen to return to Paris .
What is Versailles?
Adopted by the National Assembly on August 26, 1789, this foundational document guaranteed liberty, property, security, and equal justice
What is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?
The three-word revolutionary slogan adopted by French leaders that captured the core goals of the movement .
What is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"?
Set up in July 1793 and headed by Robespierre, this 12-man committee held dictatorial power to protect the Revolution from internal and external "enemies."
What is the Committee of Public Safety?