Key People & Terms Of French Revolution

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Louis XVI

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The French king during the French Revolution. He reigned from 1774 to 1792. Two words that describe him are weak and indecisive.

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Marie Antionette

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The wife of King Louis XVI and, in the French commoners’ eyes, the primary symbol of the French royalty’s extravagance and excess. When Marie Antoinette was executed in 1793, she was dressed in a plain dress, common to the poorest in French society.

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Madame Deficit

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Nickname of Marie Antionette, given to her by the French people.
The wife of King Louis XVI and, in the French commoners’ eyes, the primary symbol of the French royalty’s extravagance and excess. When Marie-Antoinette was executed in 1793, she was dressed in a plain dress, common to the poorest in French society.

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The Incorruptible

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Maximilien Robespierre
A lawyer who believed that France could not be secured until the "criminals" lost their heads. He became a leader and an eventual victim of the Revolution.

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Jacobins

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The radical wing of representatives in the National Convention, named for their secret meeting place in the Jacobin Club, in an abandoned Paris monastery. Led by Maximilien Robespierre, the Jacobins took control of the convention, and France itself, from 1793 to 1794.

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Girondins

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The name given to the moderates in the National Convention. The Girondins controlled the legislative assembly until 1793, when, with the war going poorly and food shortages hurting French peasants, the Jacobins ousted them from power.

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Bastille

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A large armory and state prison in the center of Paris that a mob of sans-culottes sacked on July 14, 1789, giving the masses arms for insurrection. It is still celebrated today as the French holiday Bastille Day.

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Declaration Of The Rights Of Man

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A document, issued by the National Assembly on August 26, 1789, that granted sovereignty to all French people. The declaration, which drew from the ideas of some of the Enlightenment’s greatest thinkers, asserted that liberty is a “natural” and “imprescriptible” right of man and that “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”

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Constitutional Monarchy

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Also known as limited monarchy, a system of government in which a king or queen reigns as head of state but with power that is limited by real power lying in a legislature and an independent court system.

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Liberty, equality, fraternity

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The pillars of the French Republic, as inspired by the Enlightenment.

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Maximillien Robespierre

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A brilliant political tactician and leader of the radical Jacobins in the National Assembly. As chairman of the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre pursued a planned economy and vigorous mobilization for war. He grew increasingly paranoid about counterrevolutionary opposition, however, and during the Reign of Terror of 1793–1794 attempted to silence all enemies of the Revolution in an effort to save France from invasion. After the moderates regained power and the Thermidorian Reaction was under way, they had Robespierre executed on July 28, 1794.

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National Assembly

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The name given to the Third Estate after it separated from the Estates-General in 1789. As a body, the National Assembly claimed to legitimately represent the French population. The assembly dissolved in 1791 so that new elections could take place under the new constitution.

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Oath Of The Tennis Court

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A June 20, 1789, oath sworn by members of the Third Estate who had just formed the National Assembly and were locked out of the meeting of the Estates-General. Meeting at a nearby tennis court, these members of the Third Estate pledged to remain together until they had drafted and passed a new constitution.

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National Convention

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The body that replaced the Legislative Assembly following a successful election in 1792. As one of its first actions, the convention declared the French monarchy abolished on September 21, 1792, and on the following day declared France a republic. Though originally dominated by moderates, the convention became controlled by radical Jacobins in 1793.

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Reign Of Terror

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A ten-month period of oppression and execution from late 1793 to mid-1794, organized by Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety to suppress any potential enemies of the radical Revolution. The Reign of Terror ended with the fall of Robespierre, who was arrested and executed in July 1794. Robespierre’s execution ushered in the Thermidorian Reaction of 1794–1795 and the establishment of the Directory as the head of France’s executive government.

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The Directory

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The new executive branch established by the constitution written during the moderate Thermidorian Reaction of 1794–1795. The Directory was appointed by the legislative assembly. However, after 1797 election results proved unfavorable to elements in the Directory, it orchestrated an overthrow of the assembly and maintained dubious control over France until it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799.

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Estates General

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The legislative body of France.

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Sans-Culotte

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Urban workers and peasants, whose name-- literally, "without culottes," the knee-breeches that the privileged wore-- signified their wish to distinguish themselves from the high classes. The mob mentality of the sans-culottes constituted the most radical element of the Revolution.

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Jean Paul Marat

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French revolutionary leader (born in Switzerland) who was a leader in overthrowing the Girondists and was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday. A member of the radical Jacobin faction during the French Revolution, he helped to launch the Reign of Terror.

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Republic

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A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch. France became republic on Septermber 1792.

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Clergy, nobles, peasants

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These groups of people made up the Estates General.

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National Razor

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Instrument of execution that consists of a weighted blade between two vertical poles; used for beheading people. This is also called guillotine. It was used during French Revolution to execute enemies of Revolution.

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Denounce it

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This was the European reaction to the French Revolution.

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The Clergy

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These people made up the 1st Estate.

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The Nobles

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These people made up the 2nd Estate.

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Those not in the 1st or 2nd Estate

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These people made up the 3rd Estate. A large majority were extremely impoverished.

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Bourgeoisie

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Those people who were at the top of the 3rd Estate.

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The 3rd Estate

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This estate paid all of the taxes prior to the Revolution.

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American Revolution
Royal court extravagances
Poor harvest

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These were the three major causes of France's financial problems.