The French Revolution - OverSimplified - Part 1

What was the main reason France was in severe financial debt before Louis XVI became king?

• Too many parties for the nobles

• Losing a war with Britain that kicked them out of North America

• Building too many boats for Marie Antoinette's hair

• Paying for the American Revolution

Who became King of France in May 1774, and what was one reason he was seen as a weak leader?

• Marie Antoinette; she spent too much on fashion

• Louis XVI; he was easily manipulated and lacked wisdom

• Marquis de Lafayette; he was a dirty peasant

• Jean-Paul Marat; he lived in a bathtub

How did helping the American colonies' revolution affect France's money problems?

• It made France rich from trade

• It put France in even more debt because the money wasn't paid back

• It stopped all taxes on the poor

• It ended the Age of Enlightenment

What nickname did Marie Antoinette earn because of her lavish spending?

• Madame Party Queen

• Madame Deficit

• Queen of the Boat Hair

• Friend of the People

What was one unfair part of France's tax system that made the poor angry?

• Nobles and clergy paid no taxes, while the poor paid many types like salt and window taxes

• Everyone paid the same amount of taxes

• Taxes only went to build tennis courts

• Peasants got free Porsches from the king

What natural disaster worsened the food crisis in France and led to riots?

• A big flood that destroyed Versailles

• Harsh summers and winters that ruined harvests and made bread too expensive

• An earthquake that shook the Bastille

• A storm that sank Marie Antoinette's hair boat

Why was the voting system in the Estates General unfair to the Third Estate?

• They got one vote just like the smaller Clergy and Nobility, even though they were 98% of the population

• They voted first and always won

• They had to pay taxes to vote

• Only nobles could attend meetings

What promise did the Third Estate make at the Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789?

• To play tennis every day until reform

• To keep meeting until the king agreed to more equality and economic changes

• To join the Jacobin Club and execute the king

• To march to Versailles for cake

What event on July 14, 1789, started with people raiding the Bastille for gunpowder and ended with the governor's head on a pike?

• The Women's March to Versailles

• The Storming of the Bastille

• The Tennis Court Oath

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man

What happened during the Women's March to Versailles on October 5, 1789, that forced the king to share power and move back to Paris?

• They demanded cake, but the king gave them Porsches instead

• A huge crowd of women confronted the king about hunger, broke into the palace, and killed guards

• The National Assembly locked the king out

• Jean-Paul Marat wrote a newspaper telling them to revolt