#AP European History: French Revolution - The Night Before 🇫🇷

Hey! Let's get you prepped and confident for your AP Euro exam. We're going to zoom through the French Revolution, hitting all the key points you need to know. Think of this as your ultimate cheat sheet – concise, clear, and designed to make everything click. Let's do this! 💪

The French Revolution is a HUGE topic on the AP exam. Understanding its causes, phases, and key figures is crucial for both multiple-choice and free-response questions.

#🏛️ Causes of the French Revolution

#💡 Enlightenment Ideas

• New Thinking: The Enlightenment sparked ideas about liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty. People started questioning the old order.
• Challenging Authority: The idea that the nobility was divinely ordained was challenged, leading to resentment among the Third Estate.

#💰 French Financial Crisis

• Debt-Ridden France: France was drowning in debt after the Seven Years' War and supporting the American Revolution.
• King Louis XVI: A weak and indecisive leader, easily manipulated.
• Marie Antoinette: Known for her extravagant spending, earning her the nickname "Madame Deficit."
• Taxation Inequity: The burden of taxes fell heavily on the poor while the rich were mostly exempt.
• Food Shortages: Bad harvests led to skyrocketing bread prices, causing widespread starvation and anger.

King Louis XVI: A symbol of the old regime's incompetence.

#➡️ Heading to Revolution

#⚖️ The Three Estates

• First Estate: Clergy ⛪
• Second Estate: Nobility 👑
• Third Estate: Everyone else (peasants, middle class) – 98% of the population 🧑‍🤝‍🧑🧑‍🤝‍🧑🧑‍🤝‍🧑
• Estates-General: A meeting called by Louis XVI to address the crisis, but each estate only got one vote.
• Voting Injustice: The First and Second Estates always outvoted the Third Estate, leading to frustration.

#🎾 The National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath

• National Assembly: The Third Estate formed their own assembly after being continuously outvoted.
• **Tennis ...