World History SLO Review

In this adapted excerpt, Arthur Young describes his travels in France from 1787 to 1789.

In the south of France there is a taille (tax on the land and its produce). There is an injustice in levying the amount each person must pay. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little. Lands held by commoners are taxed heavily…

September 5, 1788: The poor people seem very poor indeed, The children are terribly ragged.

June 19, 1789: The lack of bread is terrible. Stories arrive every moment from the provinces of riots…The price of bread has risen above people’s ability to pay. This causes great misery.

July 1789: …I was joined by a poor woman who complained of the hard times. “The tailles and feudal dues (rents owed the lords) are crushing us,” she said.

What is one observation this traveler made about the life of peasants in France between 1787 & 1789?

• Peasants had to pay high taxes and rents

• The children had very stable lives

• Bread was eaten every day

• Poor women were working many hours

This diagram illustrates the three French estates in 1789 and the land each held during the Old Regime. What was the relationship between the percentage of the population in each estate and the percentage of land owned by that estate?

• Only the king owns the land.

• The first & second estate had the same amount of land as the third estate

• The first & second estate have a higher percentage of land per person than the third estate

• The third estate does not own land

These are excerpts from the cahiers (lists of grievances about the king, taxing, and voting) brought to the Estates General.

     That the king be forced to reform the abuses and tyranny of letture de cachet (a letter allowing a person to be jail without a trial).                            That every tax....be granted (by Estates General) only for a limited time.                                                                                                                                                 

That the tailless (a tax on land) be borne equally by all classes.                                                                                                                                                                    

The meetings of the Estates General ...should be scheduled for definite times.                                                                                                                                        In order to assure the third estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers,....its votes in the assembly should be taken and counted by head.

What change in the French government did the third estate demand?

• They did not make any demands

• The third estate wanted to keep the lettre de cachet

• They wanted the Estates General to meet regularly

• They wanted to abolish taxes

These are excerpts from the cahiers (lists of grievances about the king, taxing, and voting) brought to the Estates General.

That the king be forced to reform the abuses and tyranny of lettre de cachet (a letter allowing a person to be jailed without trial).

That every tax…be granted (by the Estates General) only for a limited time.

That the taille (a tax on land) be borne equally by all classes….

The meetings of the Estates General …shall be scheduled for definite times…

In order to assure the third estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers, …its votes in the assembly should be taken and counted by head.

What other change in the French government did the third estate demand?

• They did not make any demands

• They wanted to end the lettre de cachet

• They wanted to disband the Estates General

• They wanted taxes for all

In The French Revolution, historian Albert Mathiez claimed that leadership fell to the middle class because of what those people knew about Enlightenment ideas.

 

The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact….

The middle class…was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class. 

The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.

Source: Albert Mathiez, The French Revolution, Grosset & Dunlap, 1964 (adapted)

How did ideas impact the French Revolution, according to Mathiez?

• Both a & b

• None of the above

In The French Revolution, historian Albert Mathiez claimed that leadership fell to the middle class because of what those people knew about Enlightenment ideas.

The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact….

The middle class…was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them-the middle class. The working classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.

Why did the middle class, rather than the working class, drive the Revolution?

• The working class were well educated

• The middle class simply took control

• The working class was too busy working

• The middle class were educated & knowledgeable

Lord Acton, a professor at Cambridge University, suggested another point of view.

The condition of France alone did not bring about the overthrow of the monarchy….For the sufferings of the people were not greater than they had been before….The ideas of the philosophes were not directly responsible for the outbreak….

The spark that changed thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of American Independence….The American example caused the Revolution to break out.

Source: Lord Acton, Lectures on the French Revolution, Macmillan, 1910 (adapted)

What did Lord Acton believe caused the French Revolution?

• He believed that the examples of the American Revolution & the Declaration of Independence could be translated into action.

• He believed that the examples of the American Civil War & War of 1812 could be translated into action.

• He believed that the example of the American colonies being established could be translated into action

• He believed that the examples of the American capitalism & government could be translated into action

This excerpt describes the characteristics of “men.”

For all men in general this observation may be made: they are ungrateful, fickle, and deceitful, eager to avoid dangers, and avid for gain, and while you are useful to them they are all with you, but when it (danger) approaches, they turn on you. Any prince, trusting only in their works and having no other preparations made, will fall to ruin, for friendships that are bought at a price and not by greatness and nobility of soul are paid for indeed, but they are not owned and cannot be called upon in time of need. Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it, but fear is accompanied by the dread of punishment, which never relaxes.

Source: Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513 (adapted)

According to Machiavelli, what type of ruler must the prince be?

• A ruler must be feared.

• A ruler must be docile.

• A ruler must be complacent.

• A ruler must be accepting.

These ideas were expressed by King James I of England in 1609.

The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself they are called gods….Kings are justly called gods, for that they exercise a … divine power upon earth … God hath power to create or destroy, make or unmake at His pleasure, to give life or send death, to judge all, and to be judged nor accountable to none; to raise low things, and to make high things low at His pleasure….And the like power have kings.

10. What type of government does King James describe?

• Democracy

• Theocracy

• Monarchy

• Monopoly

This excerpt describes the characteristics of “men.”

For all men in general this observation may be made: they are ungrateful, fickle, and deceitful, eager to avoid dangers, and avid for gain, and while you are useful to them they are all with you, but when it (danger) approaches, they turn on you. Any prince, trusting only in their works and having no other preparations made, will fall to ruin, for friendships that are bought at a price and not by greatness and nobility of soul are paid for indeed, but they are not owned and cannot be called upon in time of need. Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared, for love is held by a bond of obligation which, as men are wicked, is broken whenever personal advantage suggests it, but fear is accompanied by the dread of punishment, which never relaxes.

Source: Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513 (adapted)

9. Why is it necessary for the prince to rule in this manner?

• The people must fear him rather than love him if he wants to maintain control.

• The people must love him rather than fear him if he wants to maintain control

• The people must appreciate what he has done for them.

• The people must disapprove and try to overthrow him.