FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEON

CH. 23

George-Jacques Danton:

• Revolutionary orator; gave a passionate speech in which he called for volunteers to join the Army to defend their revolution against Austria and Prussia. Eventually he met with the fate of so many others in being executed by the guillotine after calling for an end to the “Terror”

Battle of Valmy

• Huge French military victory in the war against Austria and Prussia; boosted the spirits of the revolutionaries;

• temporarily saved the Revolution from falling apart

National Convention

• Legislative assembly of the Revolution that met in Paris to create a new government for France;

• put an end to the monarchy and made France a republic

Jacobins:

• Political party; • name for the extreme radicals in

the National Convention

Robespierre,Marat:

• Politicians; members of the Jacobins; extreme revolutionaries;

• met violent deaths themselves – Robespierre and Danton on the guillotine and Marat was assassinated by a royalist

Sans-culottes:

• Paris shopkeepers, artisans and other workers who demanded respect from the upper classes;

• supporters of the Revolution and overthrow of the monarchy;

• literally translated – without britches – referring to the fashionable type of pants worn by the aristocracy

Girondists

• The more moderate political party; most came from the Gironde region of southern France;

• felt the Revolution had gone far enough and wanted to protect the wealthy middle class from radical attacks.

Conscription:

• Another word for the “draft” into the military; called up all men between the ages of 18 and 45 for service

“Republic of Virtue”:

• Jacobin term used to describe a democratic republic made up of good citizens; encouraged universal education, agricultural reforms, and religious toleration; abolished slavery in France’s colonies.

“the Terror”:

• Period of time during the French Revolution when there were large numbers of executions by guillotine, and the radicals had charge of the government and the direction of the Revolution

“The Directory”:

• Name given to the governing Executive Council of the French government after the fall of Robespierre; ruled with a two house legislature; it revoked many of the reforms gained under Robespierre, i.e. universal male suffrage; government was now under the control of the wealthy middle class.

Guillotine:

• Name of the machine that carried out many executions during the Revolutionary period in France- beheaded its victims; invented by Dr. Joseph Guillotin

Napoleon Bonaparte

• Corsican-born military leader and general of the French Army;

• rose to prominence during the Revolution;

• managed to take control of the France in a coup d’etat, first as Consul then assumed the title “Emperor of the French”, crowning himself Emperor in 1804

Josephine de Beauharnais

• 1st wife of Napoleon; Empress of France 1804-1809

• Divorced her because she was unable to bear him an heir

Coup d’etat

• Quick seizure of power in an overthrow of a present government

• 1. What steps did the National Convention take to create a new government for France?

• The Convention insisted that all 3 estates meet together and that each delegate have a vote (known as one-man-one vote).

• This would enable the members of the Third Estate to outvote the First and Second Estates.

• Renamed themselves the “National Assembly”

• Proclaimed the end of absolute monarchy• Created a representative government with a

constitution

• 2. What did the mew government do to rid itself of the shadow of the “Old Regime”?

• Abolished the absolute monarchy• Created a limited monarchy with a

constitution and legislative assembly• Passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man

making all citizens “free and equal”• Guaranteed citizens equal justice, freedom

of speech, and freedom of religion• Took over control of the Catholic Church• Sold Church lands to pay off France’s debts

• 3. Explain the beliefs of:• Jacobins – a radical political organization; opposed

the monarchy and favored sweeping changes in the way the government was run. Believed in a very strong centralized government at the expense of the local or regional governments

• Girondists – individuals from the Gironde region of France – advocated war with Austria Educated middle class people who favored a constitutional government; failed to prevent the trial and execution of Louis XVI

• Plain – occupied the central section of the National Assembly in terms of seating; large number of centrists whose votes were extremely important to all sides of an issue. Voted for the execution of Louis XVI and for the overthrow of Robespierre.

• 4. What did France try to do to spread the ideas of the Revolution?

• Declared war on several nations that also had monarchies in an attempt to overthrow those monarchies – Austria, England, etc.