American Revolutionary War and French Revolution: Causes & Effects

American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War; War between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies which declared independence as the United States of America.

French and Indian War (Seven Years' War)

French & Indian War (Seven Years' War): French and Native Americans vs. British and the 13 colonies. The war involved guerrilla warfare, which included hit-and-run attacks, ambushes, and concealment (hiding). The turning point of the Seven Years' War was the Battle of Quebec. Why was the Battle of Quebec so important in the Seven Years' War? The British attacked the strongest French fort in Quebec and won the battle. Who won the Seven Years' War?

Questions and Answers

• A: The British and colonists
• Q: What treaty ended the Seven Years' War?
• A: The Treaty of Paris
• Q: What did the Treaty of Paris say?
• A: The French had to give up all of their lands in North America

French Revolution

Old Regime and Estates

Old Regime

Estates (First & Second vs. Third)

Key Figures

Louis XVI: He was the King of France who was weak during the French Revolution. In 1789 he was forced to meet with the Estates-General for the first time in 175 years due to a French financial crisis. He failed to make ends meet and this contributed to the start of the French Revolution. He was put on trial for charges of treason and was then beheaded.

Marie Antoinette: Marie Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI. She was from Austria, and Austria was a traditional enemy of France, so many French people disliked her.

Institutions and Events

Estates-General: France's traditional national assembly with representatives of the three estates, or classes, in French society: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners.

National Assembly: Delegates of the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly and began writing a constitution.

Tennis Court Oath: A pledge made by the members of France's National Assembly in 1789, in which they vowed to continue meeting until they had drawn up a new constitution.

French Revolution continued

Great Fear: It led to the storming of the Bastille, the March on Versailles, and contributed to the creation of a constitution.

The constitution

Legislative Assembly: A French congress with the power to create laws and approve declarations of war, established by the Constitution of 1791. It replaced the National Assembly.

Sans-culottes

Jacobins: The dominant group in the National Convention in 1793 who replaced the Girondins. It was headed by Robespierre.

Maximilien Robespierre: A young provincial lawyer who led the most influential and radical factions during the Revolution's Terror.