Lesson 11 — The French Revolution — Worksheet Questions

PART A — Quick Check (multiple choice / short answers): Select the best choice: Before the French Revolution, the economic and social conditions in France promoted _______.

• the will of the people

• a fair division of labor

• the sharing of resources

• an unjust system of inequality

PART A — Quick Check (multiple choice / short answers): How did the bourgeoisie and nobles view French society before the Revolution?

• as a society based on privilege and inequality that needed reform

• as harmonious and essentially fair to all orders

• as an efficient meritocracy where status reflected achievement

• as egalitarian with equal taxation and rights for all

PART A — Quick Check (multiple choice / short answers): What were the three Estates in Old Regime France? Match each Estate with one key characteristic.

• clergy; enjoyed many privileges and were largely exempt from most taxes

• Second Estate

• commoners; paid most taxes and had few political privileges

• First Estate

• nobility; held high offices and significant land with feudal rights

• Third Estate

PART A — Quick Check (multiple choice / short answers): What caused representatives of the Third Estate to act at the Estates-General in 1789?

• frustration with voting by order and the decision to declare themselves the National Assembly

• a formal royal invitation to lead the Estates-General

• famine alone without political disputes

• the threat of immediate foreign invasion of Paris

PART A — Quick Check (multiple choice / short answers): What was the immediate effect of the storming of the Bastille?

• it signaled the collapse of royal authority in Paris and energized the popular revolution

• it restored confidence in the monarchy and ended protests

• it forced the National Assembly to dissolve itself

• it led to France’s immediate victory over foreign enemies

PART B — Key Documents & Actions (short answer): What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen? Give one key principle from the document.

• a charter proclaiming equality before the law and natural rights such as liberty and property

• a royal decree restoring noble privileges and feudal dues

• a tax code reorganizing revenue collection by the Estates

• a diplomatic treaty ending war with Austria and Prussia

PART B — Key Documents & Actions (short answer): What was the Women’s March on Versailles and why did it matter?

• a mass protest over bread shortages that brought the royal family to Paris and increased pressure on the government

• a ceremonial parade celebrating the king’s constitutional oath

• a rural uprising that abolished feudal dues in the countryside

• a military march that expelled foreign troops from Paris

PART B — Key Documents & Actions (short answer): What did the Constitution of 1791 accomplish for France’s government?

• established a limited constitutional monarchy with a Legislative Assembly

• created an absolute monarchy strengthened by emergency powers

• formed a theocratic state led by the clergy

• abolished representative institutions in favor of direct royal rule

PART C — The National Convention & Reign of Terror: How did the Paris Commune influence the National Convention of 1792?

• it pressured the Convention to adopt radical policies and suspend the monarchy

• it persuaded the Convention to restore the king’s absolute powers

• it dissolved the Convention and replaced it with provincial councils

• it shifted the Convention toward pacifism and immediate disarmament

PART C — The National Convention & Reign of Terror: Explain the causes that led to the creation of a republic and the execution of Louis XVI in 1792. Select all that apply.

• defeats and foreign threats that heightened fears of treason

• the king’s perceived betrayal and actions undermining the Revolution

• economic crisis and bread shortages fueling popular radicalization

• widespread support for restoring feudal privileges