Term
| What was the social structure of the Ancien Régime? |
|
Definition
| A rigid hierarchy of three estates: the First Estate (clergy), Second Estate (nobility), and the Third Estate (everyone else). |
|
|
Term
| What did Louis XVI claim was the source of his authority? |
|
Definition
| He claimed to rule by Divine Right, meaning his power was granted by God and he was not accountable to his subjects. |
|
|
Term
| What Enlightenment idea challenged absolute monarchy? |
|
Definition
| Popular sovereignty, which argued that political authority resides in the nation or the people rather than the monarch. |
|
|
Term
| Why was the 'Compte Rendu au Roi' (1781) significant? |
|
Definition
| It was the first time royal finances were made public, creating the idea that the King was accountable for how national money was spent. |
|
|
Term
| "What was the 'Aristocratic Revolt' of 1787-88?","The resistance of the Assembly of Notables and the Paris Parlement to the Crown’s attempts at fiscal reform, specifically Calonne's land tax [8, 9]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What argument did Abbé Sieyès make in 'What Is the Third Estate?'","He argued that the Third Estate was 'everything' and contained everything needed to make up a complete nation, while the privileged orders were 'nothing' [10, 11]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What were the 'cahiers de doléances'?","Lists of grievances and suggestions for reform written by each of the three estates and submitted to the Estates-General [12, 13]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What was the significance of the Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789)?","It was the first formal act of disobedience against the monarchy, where deputies swore not to separate until a constitution was established [6, 14]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What triggered the storming of the Bastille?","The dismissal of the popular minister Necker and the presence of royal troops around Paris, which led Parisians to seek gunpowder to defend themselves [6, 15]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What did the August Decrees (4-11 August 1789) legally achieve?","They declared that the National Assembly 'abolishes the feudal regime in its entirety,' removing legal privilege and seigneurial rights [16, 17]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What was the goal of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (DORMAC)?","To establish a new social order based on Enlightenment principles like equality before the law, liberty, and representative government [18, 19]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What was a major consequence of the October Days (Women’s March on Versailles)?","The King was forced to sanction the August Decrees and DORMAC and was moved to Paris, effectively becoming a 'prisoner of the revolution' [20, 21]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "What was the role of 'Active Citizens' in the new regime?","Men over 25 who paid a certain amount of tax were granted the right to vote and choose electors, creating a distinction based on wealth [22, 23]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "Why were 'assignats' introduced in late 1789?","They were government bonds issued against the security of nationalised Church lands to help pay off the state's massive debt [24, 25]." |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| "How did the August Decrees impact the French peasantry?","While feudalism was theoretically abolished, peasants were still required to pay 'indemnities' (compensation) to lords for many rights, causing ongoing rural unrest [16, 26]." |
|
Definition
|
|
