Download American and French Revolutions Study Guide

World History CP
2012-13
American and French Revolutions Study Guide
To study well for this test, use this list, class notes, handouts/activity graphic organizers, & your textbook.
Review the who, what, when, where, how, and especially the why (significance) of the following terms,
people, and events. Remember: some terms are connected -- e.g. the American Declaration of
Independence was influenced by the Enlightenment ideas of John Locke and other philosophers. and, in
turn the American Declaration of Independence influenced the French Revolution, especially the
document known as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
American Revolution: who, where, when, why
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Paine
George Washington
the U.S. Constitution
the Bill of Rights
the three branches of the US government
republican form of government
federal system/ federalism
checks and balances
separation of powers
French Revolution: who, what, when, where, why, how
French Revolution (1789-1799)
sans-coulottes
Old Regime (Ancien Regime)
political clubs
KIng Louis XVI & Queen Marie Antoinette
Girondins, Jacobin
First Estate/clergy
war against Austria, Prussia, Britain, Spain
Second Estate (& members)
execution of Louis XVI
Third Estate (& members)
the guillotine
bourgeoisie
slogan of the Revolution: “Liberty, Equality,
causes of the Revolution, including the financial crisis
Fraternity” (brotherhood)
long-term and short-term causes!
National Convention/republic
Meeting of the Estates-General
La Marseillaise (French national anthem)
voting ʻby headʻ
Maximilien Robespierre
National Assembly
Committee on Public Safety
The storming of the Bastille
Reign of Terror (1793-94) and the Great Terror
The “Tennis Court Oath”
Jean-Paul Marat
key reforms of the National Assembly
Georges Danton
Declaration of the RIghts of Man and Citizen
Napoleon Bonaparte
Olympe de Gouges
The Directory (1795-99)
the Great Fear
Womenʼs march on Versailles
Constitution of 1791/veto
Legislative Assembly
factions & political terms: left/radical; right/monarchist or loyalist; center/moderate
Napoleon and Europe through 1815
Napoleon Bonaparteʼs rise to power
coup dʼetat (overthrow)/ dictatorship/ dates he ruled
Napoleonʼs major reforms, including the Napoleonic Code and how reforms related to the goals of the
Revolution
plebiscite
extent of empire/spread of some ideas of the French Revolution throughout Europe
nationalism
Napoleonʼs mistakes: Continental System, invasion of Russia and the Peninsular War
guerilla warfare & scorched earth policy
Napoleonʼs exile to Elba
Battle of Waterloo/ exile to St. Helena/ Napoleonʼs death
legacy of the French Revolution, both domestic (for France) and foreign (for Europe)
Congress of Vienna - goals, including balance of power
the Concert of Europe (which was NOT a musical event!)
CP World History
2011-12
Unit Focus questions (to help you study better) – You should answer these throughout the unit
1. What was the social structure of the Old Regime in France? Include a complete explanation of each of
the three estates
2. What economic troubles did France face in 1789 and how did these problems lead to further unrest?
3. What actions did delegates of the Third Estate take when the Estates-General met in 1789?
4. What was the significance of the storming of the Bastille?
5. What caused French peasants to revolt against the nobles?
6. How did the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen relate to John Lockeʼs Enlightenment
ideas?
7. What were the provisions of the Constitution of 1791 and how did the document reflect Enlightenment
ideas?
8. How did the rest of the world react to the French Revolution?
9. What occurred after the radicals took control of the Assembly?
10. Why did Robespierre think the Terror was necessary to achieve the goals of the Revolution?
11. What changes occurred in France after the Reign of Terror came to an end?
12. What changes occurred in France as a result of the French Revolution?
13. How did Napoleon rise to power so quickly in France?
14. What reforms did Napoleon introduce during his rise to power?
15. How did Napoleon come to dominate most of Europe by 1812?
16. What challenges faced Napoleonʼs empire and what led to the disaster in Russia in 1812?
17. How did Napoleon impact Europe and the rest of the world?
18. Explain the chief goal of the Congress of Vienna.