1. Merriman identifies the French Revolution as the first time in Western Europe where popular sovereignty attacked the assumed claims of their traditional absolute monarchies. Similar events had happened in Britain in the previous century, but they were aided by a precomposed Parliament. Merriman attributes the revolutionaries' desire for a centralised and efficient French government, a strong will for socio-economic freedom, and a maintained sense of "modern nationalism". The French Revolution, although geographically was limited within the borders of France, ideologically, this revolution changed all of Europe.
2. The financial crisis of the 1780's was a short-term of the French Revolution. France was already in serious economic hardship before the revolution even began. The Wars of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War accumulated a great amount of war debt without funds to pay for it. In addition to these debts, France lent a significant amount of money to the American revolutionists as means of regaining honour over Britain. The long-term consequence of the revolution was the abolishment of the ancien régime as well as a new bureaucratised France.
3. The "noble revolt" (beginning around 1787) was perhaps the first phase of the entire French Revolution. Louis XVI wanted the Parliament of Paris to condone his attempts to impose land and stamp taxes, and when refused, he exiled the entire Parliament. Even though he invited them back by 1788, their presence existed as a constant struggle over power of policies and taxes, including a tax on the nobles themselves.
4. After the "noble revolt", different political parties began rising up, each having a problem with the monarchy. The Estates-General worked to sort through some of their complaints by asking them to write up les cahiers de doléances. At the National Assembly the third estate claimed authority equal to or greater than that of the monarch's. However, the King immediately declared their deliberations invalid. The starving people of France also were growing ever increasingly worse. Many that couldn't pay the ridiculous taxes imposed on them were imprisoned. In July of 1789, a large crowd gathered in Paris in protest. Eventually they gathered arms and raided the Bastille, killing any guards in their way, and liberating the revolutionist prisoners and killing the noble prisoners. The Estates-General as well as the monarch went into panic mode, known as "the Great Fear".
5. The French Revolution was consolidated in that it accomplished many goals in France at the same time, and in one revolution. The Assembly produced The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, to accomplish moral social issues within the government. Alongside these, religious reforms sought to distinguish Church and State. The Reforms of 1791 complete revolutionised the ancien régime and worked to replace the absolute monarchy with a constitutionalised one.
6. The Reforms of 1791 worked to limit the monarch's power through a set constitution. This one done mainly by the creation of a "bicameral legislature". National power is now divided between an executive branch (monarch and company) and the legislative (the Assembly). Socially, power had now available to every citizen regardless of class. Citizenship could not be granted to Protestants and Jews. Civil services (such as marriage and divorce) were made a national, not Church, policy.
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