HIEU 425 Midterm (Smith) Exam Questions with 100%
Correct Verified Solutions 2024/25 Update
"What is the Third Estate?" - ✔✔-written by Abbé Sieyes in January of 1789, stating that the
French people were the "true nation", and that the First and Second Estates were not necessary
-thus, the Third Estate should be doubled and voting should be by head, one-man-one-vote
style (in the Estates General)
-this pamphlet became one of the most influential documents of the Revolution
Cahiers - ✔✔-lists of grievances, demands, and proposed reforms drawn up by citizens,
communities, and interest groups (SO MANY OF THESE WERE WRITTEN)
-addressed a WIDE variety of issues, such as: administrative corruption, the justice system,
police regulations, freedoms of expression/petition/press, and church abuses
-all expressed respect for the institution of monarchy (Louis XVI still very popular), but wanted
some form of parliamentary regime with regular meetings of the Estates General
Tennis Court Oath - ✔✔-the delegates of the Third Estate were meeting separately from the
rest of the Estates General, with sympathetic members of the First and Second Estates,
declaring themselves the new National Assembly
-on June 20th, 1789, these delegates arrived to find their hall locked, and took it as a HUGE
insult meant to push them out of the government
-they found shelter from the rain in a nearby handball court, and led by Jean-Sylvain Bailly,
vowed to not cease meeting until a new constitution was drafted
Storming of the Bastille - ✔✔-news of the Tennis Court Oath sparked disturbances in the city
of Paris, inciting large, violent mobs; the War Ministry ordered more (foreign) troops into the
city to reinstate peace, which only served to increase resentment; the inciting incident came on
July 11th, 1789, when Louis XVI dismissed Necker as Finance Minister
-the streets filled with outraged citizens, who formed themselves into a National Guard, BUT
they needed gunpowder...
, -on July 14th, a massive crowd gathered in Paris and appropriated guns, and some 8,000 people
marched on the Bastille for powder/ammo
-the mob killed Launay, the governor in charge of the Bastille, as well as six other guards, and
paraded the severed heads on poles
-the National Assembly DID NOT explicitly condemn this act of violence (implicitly condoning it)
-in response, Louis reinstated Necker to office, withdrew soldiers from Paris, and donned the
Revolutionary cockade
-this event marked the mass of the French populace taking action
Municipal Revolution - ✔✔-after the Storming of the Bastille and Paris riots, royal authority
collapsed throughout France, with the local bourgeoisie taking control of their communities
-citizens looted public coffers and arsenals
Great Fear - ✔✔-during the summer of 1789, a widespread panic struck the peasantry about
the lack of food
-fears of aristocratic conspiracy led to acts of violence and property destruction
-dissipated by mid-August, but left its mark upon the French populace (easily incited to violent
action, still unsatisfied with the reforms)
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen - ✔✔-ratified on August 26th, 1789, this
document formed the basis for the Revolutionary sentiments
-"men are born free and equal in rights", and the State's purpose is to preserve those rights
-in reality, these ideals were "forcing men to be free" (equality>liberty), all in the name of "THE
PEOPLE"
-decreeing liberty and equality served the interest of the bourgeoisie, and the French people as
a whole
-echoed the American Declaration of Independence
National Assembly - ✔✔-functioned as the government of France during the Revolution's
early stages, eventually changed its name to the Constituent Assembly