French Society Before the Revolution
This monarch led France immediately before the French Revolution.
Louis XVI
France accumulated massive national debt in the 1770s and 1780s primarily by providing loans, troops, and naval support to this foreign war.
The American Revolution
After being locked out of their meeting hall on June 20, 1789, Third Estate delegates gathered nearby and swore not to disband until they wrote a constitution.
Tennis Court Oath
Celebrated by its inventor as an egalitarian and painless method of execution, this mechanical blade became the primary instrument of the Terror.
The guillotine
This young artillery general gained national fame in October 1795 by forcefully suppressing a royalist uprising against the Convention in Paris.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Numbering over twenty million people, this largest social class sat at the very bottom of the Old Regime hierarchy and faced extreme poverty and heavy taxation.
The Third Estate
Terrible summer storms in 1788 destroyed grain harvests, causing the price of this staple food item to skyrocket and triggering widespread riots.
Bread
On July 14, 1789, an armed Parisian crowd stormed this medieval fortress and prison primarily to secure gunpowder.
The Storming of the Bastille
Led by Maximilien Robespierre, this twelve-man executive council was given dictatorial powers to eliminate enemies of the revolution.
Committee of Public Safety
Created by the Constitution of 1795, this executive branch of government consisted of a five-member council
The Directory
Responsible for education, healthcare, and aid to the poor, this institution provided vital services to commoners while collecting tithes.
The Catholic Church (First Estate)
Outbreaks of bread riots occurred across France in the years leading up to 1789, including this famous 1775 conflict over rising flour costs and scarcity
The Flour War
Adopted on August 26, 1789, by the National Assembly, this foundational document guaranteed natural rights to liberty, property, and security.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Meeting for the first time on September 22, 1792, this newly elected legislative body formally abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.
National Convention (or the Convention)
An area of emphasis for Napoleon domestically was to bring social stability to France. In order to do so, he wished to heal the divides with this group.
The Catholic Church
Despite accumulating wealth and investing in education, this prosperous group within the Third Estate lacked political influence under the Old Regime.
The Bourgeoisie
Convened by King Louis XVI in 1787, this group of hand-picked nobles refused to support Calonne’s land tax reforms without reviewing budget estimates.
The Assembly of Notables
Granted to the King under the 1791 Constitution, this constitutional power allowed Louis XVI to delay proposed Assembly legislation for up to six years.
The suspensive veto
Passed in September 1793, this law vastly expanded the definition of political crimes and stripped away judicial protections for accused suspects.
The Law of Suspects
Unlike the radical phase of the revolution, the Constitution of 1795 ended universal male suffrage by restricting voting rights to this specific group of citizens.
Tax-paying male property owners
This political doctrine held that King Louis XVI’s authority came directly from God, giving him absolute monarchical power over France.
The Divine Right of Kings
King Louis XVI’s dismissal of this popular finance minister in July 1789 outraged the people of Paris and directly triggered the storming of the Bastille.
Jacques Necker
In June 1791, King Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee Paris in disguise toward Varennes but were caught by these people.
Sans culottes
This radical campaign replaced the Christian calendar, closed churches across France, and renamed Notre-Dame Cathedral "The Temple of Reason".
de-Christianization
Following the arrest and execution of Robespierre in July 1794, this reactionary movement dismantled the policies of the Reign of Terror.
Thermidorian Reaction