The Social Structure
What name describes the political and social system in France before the Revolution, based on inequality and privilege?
The Old Regime (the political and social system in France before the Revolution).
By the late 1700s, what major financial problem was France facing?
Massive national debt.
What was the Enlightenment in one sentence?
An intellectual movement promoting reason, natural rights, and questioning authority.
What was the Estates‑General?
A meeting of representatives from the three Estates.
What did the Third Estate do when they were locked out of the Estates‑General meeting?
They met in a nearby indoor tennis court.
Into how many social classes, called Estates, was French society divided under the Old Regime?
Three Estates.
Give one major cause of France’s massive national debt.
Expensive wars (including aid in the American Revolution) OR lavish royal spending.
Give one Enlightenment idea that directly challenged the idea of absolute monarchy.
The idea that government exists to protect people's natural rights (consent of the governed).
Why did King Louis XVI call the Estates‑General in 1789?
To address the government’s financial crisis.
What is the Tennis Court Oath?
A pledge not to disband until they had written a constitution for France.
Who made up the First Estate?
The Catholic clergy.
How did rising bread prices affect members of the Third Estate?
Made food unaffordable, increasing anger and desperation; higher risk of famine.
How did the American Revolution influence political thinking in France?
It provided a successful model showing that a colony could rebel and create a republic, inspiring French reformers and radicals.
Before 1789, when was the Estates‑General last called?
1614.
Why was the Tennis Court Oath considered a revolutionary act?
Because it asserted that authority derived from the people, not the king.
Approximately what percentage of the population belonged to the First Estate?
About 1%1%.
Why did the nobility resist reforms that would change taxes or privileges?
Because they benefited from privileges and feared losing economic and political advantages.
Why were Enlightenment ideas considered dangerous by King Louis XVI and his supporters?
Because Enlightenment ideas undermined the divine right of kings and encouraged people to challenge absolute rule.
How did voting normally work in the Estates‑General and why was that unfair to the Third Estate?
Each Estate had one vote; the First and Second Estates could outvote the Third despite the Third representing the majority.
What new name did the Third Estate take for itself after forming together?
The National Assembly.
Name two privileges held by the First Estate (choose two).
Owned land; collected tithes; paid little or no taxes. (Any two correct privileges)
Describe briefly how taxation and privilege under the Old Regime contributed to social unrest.
The tax burden fell mainly on the Third Estate while the First and Second Estates paid little, creating deep resentment.
Explain how Enlightenment thought and economic hardship together made revolution more likely.
Enlightenment ideas gave ideological justification for change, and combined with economic hardship they fueled widespread demands for reform and revolution.
What specific voting reform did the Third Estate demand and why would it have helped them?
Voting by head (one vote per representative) so the more numerous Third Estate would not be easily outvoted.
Explain what the formation of the National Assembly represented in terms of political power.
It represented a transfer of political legitimacy from the king’s exclusive authority to a body claiming to represent the nation (popular sovereignty).