| A | B |
|---|
| natural laws | These govern human nature. |
| Thomas Hobbes | His works included the "Leviathan", which argued that people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish and thus had to enter into a social contract to allow themselves to be governed. |
| social contract | An agreement by which people gave up the state of nature for an organized society. |
| John Locke | Wrote "Two Treatises of Government", which said people formed government to protect their natural rights. |
| natural rights | Rights that belonged to all humans from birth. These included the right to life, liberty, and property. |
| Montesquieu | Published "The Spirit of the Laws" and wrote how Britain had protected itself by forming its government into three branches to provide as a checks and balance to protect liberty. |
| philosophes | Means "lovers of wisdom". |
| Voltaire | He was an outspoken proponent of freedom of speech. |
| Rousseau | Wrote "The Social Contract" which he believed that only a minimal amount of controls should be placed upon people only by a freely elected government. |
| laissez faire | Allowing business to operate with little or no government interference. |
| Common Sense | Published by Thomas Paine. This pamphlet called upon the colonists to declare their independence from Britain. |
| Thomas Jefferson | He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. |
| popular sovereignty | This states that all government power comes from the people. |
| Declaration of Independence | This document stands as one of the most important documents in all of history. It still serves as inspiration for people all around the world. It begins, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.." |
| Treaty of Paris | American, French, and British diplomats signed this to end the Revolutionary War. With it, Britain recognized the independence of the United States. |
| federal republic | When power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the states. |
| U.S. Constitution | In 1789, this became the supreme law of the land in United States. It set up a representative government with an elected legislature to reflect the wishes of the governed. |
| The Clergy | This group enjoyed enormous wealth and privilege. They owned 10% of the land, collected titles, and paid no direct taxes to the state. |
| The Nobles | This group was the titled nobility of French society. They held top jobs in government, the army, the Courts, & the Church, but all under strict royal control. |
| The Third Estate | The group made up 98% of the French population. The bulk of this group, or 9 out of 10, were rural, poor peasants. |
| bourgeoisie | The middle class. They included prosperous bankers, merchants, and manufacturers. |
| deficit spending | When a government spends more money than it has. |
| King Louis XVI | The King of France who left the country deeply in debt due to the Seven Year's War and the American Revolution. He would be to blame for France's problems. |
| Estates General | This is a group that represented all three Estates. The King could call this group to convene in times of deep economic and political troubles. |
| The Tennis Court Oath | The National Assembly swore "never to separate and to meet wherever the circumstances might require until we have established a sound and just constitution." |
| storming the Bastille | On July 14, 1789, 800 Parisians stormed this grim medieval fortress which was used as a political prison. They sought guns and powder and this event is looked upon as the beginning of the revolution. |
| Bastille Day | The French celebrate this day, July 14th, as their national holiday, much like we celebrate July 4th. |
| factions | Small groups who competed to gain power. |
| Marquis de Lafayette | The aristocratic hero who headed the National Guard in response to the arrival of royal troops on Paris. |
| tricolor | The red, white, and blue badge, which was eventually adopted as the national flag of France. |
| Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen | This document was modeled in part on the American Declaration of Independence and said all men were “born and remain free and equal in rights.” |
| “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” | The slogan of the French Revolution. |
| Civil Constitution of the Clergy | Issued in 1790, this stated that bishops and priests become elected, salaried officials. |
| Constitution of 1791 | This set up a limited monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries. |
| émigrés | The nobles, clergy, and others who had fled France and its revolutionary forces. |
| republic | Government ruled not by a monarch, but by elected officials. |
| Jacobins | Mostly middle class lawyers or intellectuals who wanted to abolish the monarchy and promote radical changes. |
| Napoleon | He would dominate France and Europe from 1799 - 1815. |
| plebiscite | A ballot in which voters say yes or no. |
| Concordat of 1801 | Napoleon made peace with the Catholic Church. |
| Napoleonic Code | This embodied Enlightenment principles such as the equality of all citizens before the law, religious toleration, and advancement based on merit. |
| Women | They lost most of their newly gained rights under Napoleon. |
| annexed | Added outright. |
| Great Britain | Remained outside of Napoleon’s European empire. |
| Battle of Trafalgar | British admiral Horatio Nelson smashed the French fleet off the southwest coast of Spain. |
| blockade | Involves shutting off ports to keep people or supplies from moving in or out. |
