Social Studies Name: _______________________

Directions: Complete the following questions using the link listed below. You will need
to go to the related websites and videos listed on the website in order to complete all of
the questions.

http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution

For question #1 use the video that plays at the top of the website.

1. According to the video, what makes the French Revolution significant to our lives
today (Western Society)? Explain.

1
 2. What were the Three Estates in French society? Explain each.

3. According to the website, what led to the explosive anger among the
representatives of the Third Estate?

The following picture is represents the three estates in France. Use it to answer question #4.

4. In what ways does the picture above represent French society before the French
Revolution?

2
 5. When did the French Revolution begin and when did it last until?

6. According to the website, what left France on the “brink of bankruptcy” near the
end of the 18th Century?

7. Besides the financial issues facing France, what else caused unrest to begin
among the French peasants?

8. What was the Estates-General?

9. What was request of the Third Estate at the Estates-General? Why would they
want this?

10. Who represented the Third Estate at the Estates-General?

3
 11. An argument between the Estates broke out during the meeting of the Estates-
General. What was the argument over?

12. France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic
members of the Third Estate now represented _____ percent of the people

13. The Estates-General struggled from the beginning over how best to proceed with
the meeting and never actually achieved much discussion in regards to how best
to approach the financial crisis facing France.
a. What did the Third Estate create after it decided to leave the Estates-
General?

b. Where did the Third Estate meet? What “oath” did they take at that
meeting?

c. Why are the actions of the Third Estate significant considering the
traditional structure of French society? Explain.

4
 14. What was the Bastille?

15. Briefly explain the events of the “Storming of the Bastille”. What happened?

16. Why is the Storming of the Bastille significant to the French Revolution? What
did it represent?

17. How did Louis XVI respond to the attack on the Bastille? What does this show
about the King in terms of his leadership of the crisis?

18. As the revolution began to pick up its pace, the “Great Fear” occurred. Explain
the significance of the “Great Fear”.

5
 19. The National Assembly abolished feudalism in France on August 4th, 1789. Why
would the National Assembly do this?

20. The National Assembly adopted a document on August 4th, 1789.

b. How were the principles of this document a dramatic change for French
society?

c. According to the website, what did this document reflect about the
National Assembly?

21. The National Assembly was replaced by the ____________________________.

22. Louis XVI, the King of France during the French Revolution was killed by the
revolutionaries.
a. How was Louis XVI killed?

b. What crimes was he found guilty of, that led to his death?

6
 c. Who else suffered the same fate of Louis XVI, just nine months later?

23. In June 1793, the ________________ seized control of the National Convention from
the more moderate _______________ and instituted a series of radical measures,
including the establishment of a new calendar and the eradication of Christianity.

24. Explain the Reign of Terror. What happened? How did the French people feel
about the events of the Reign of Terror?

25. Who rose to power at the end of French Revolution and overthrew the new
French government? (Now called the “Directory”)

7
Teachers Key Name: _______________________

Directions: Complete the following questions using the link listed below. You will need
to go to the related websites and videos listed on the website in order to complete all of
the questions.

http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution

For question #1 use the video that plays at the top of the website.

1. According to the video, what makes the French Revolution significant to our lives
today (Western Society)? Explain.

It led to the growth of the ideas of fraternity and brotherhood which would be
fundamental to our understanding of democracy in the western world.

8
 2. What were the Three Estates in French society? Explain each.

The First estate represented the Roman Catholic clergy.

3. According to the website, what led to the explosive anger among the
representatives of the Third Estate?

The inequality in distribution of powers and rights between these different estates was
the main cause of the explosion of anger amongst Third estate representatives.

The following picture is represents the three estates in France. Use it to answer question #4.

4. In what ways does the picture above represent French society before the French
Revolution?

Traditional French society was based on Feudalism in which the First and Second Estate
benefitted greatly from the Third Estate. The image represents the view of the Third
Estate that their hard work sustained the lifestyle of the other two Estates.

9
 5. When did the French Revolution begin and when did it last until?

The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s.

6. According to the website, what left France on the “brink of bankruptcy” near the
end of the 18th Century?

As the 18th century drew to a close, France’s costly involvement in the American
Revolution and extravagant spending by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) and his
predecessor had left the country on the brink of bankruptcy.

7. Besides the financial issues facing France, what else caused unrest to begin
among the French peasants?

Not only were the royal coffers depleted, but two decades of poor cereal harvests,
drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread prices had kindled unrest among
peasants and the urban poor. Many expressed their desperation and resentment toward
a regime that imposed heavy taxes yet failed to provide relief by rioting, looting and
striking.

8. What was the Estates-General?

The Estates-General was an assembly representing France’s clergy, nobility and

9. What was request of the Third Estate at the Estates-General? Why would they
want this?

The Third Estate knew that this couldn't serve them as the First and the Second Estate,
which represented only 3% of the population, would be able to vote every time against
them. They decided to ask for double representation.

10. Who represented the Third Estate at the Estates-General?

Maximilien de Robespierre

10
 11. An argument between the Estates broke out during the meeting of the Estates-
General. What was the argument over?

The voting process could not be agreed upon at the Estates General. The Third Estate
wanted one vote per head (per person at the meeting), while the other two Estates
wanted the vote to be by order (one per Estate).

12. France’s population had changed considerably since 1614. The non-aristocratic
members of the Third Estate now represented 98 percent of the people

13. The Estates-General struggled from the beginning over how best to proceed with
the meeting and never actually achieved much discussion in regards to how best
to approach the financial crisis facing France.
a. What did the Third Estate create after it decided to leave the Estates-
General?
The new government called the National Assembly that would be headed by the Third
Estate.

b. Where did the Third Estate meet? What “oath” did they take at that
meeting?
They met and took what would be called the “Tennis Court Oath”.

c. Why are the actions of the Third Estate significant considering the
traditional structure of French society? Explain.
The meeting of the Third Estate was significant because it signalled a change in French
society away from the rule of the King. The Monarchy had begun to lose its authority
over the people.

11
 14. What was the Bastille?

Bastille was a prison that was a symbol of the King's absolute and arbitrary power.

15. Briefly explain the events of the “Storming of the Bastille”. What happened?

A popular insurgency culminated on July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in
an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons. The revolutionaries killed the guards a
freed the few prisoners. The Bastille was destroyed.

16. Why is the Storming of the Bastille significant to the French Revolution? What
did it represent?

Many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the
start of the French Revolution.

17. How did Louis XVI respond to the attack on the Bastille? What does this show
about the King in terms of his leadership of the crisis?

Louis XVI didn’t seem worried or interested in the attack on the Bastille. This shows his
inability to solve the crisis and the see the plight of the peasants.

18. As the revolution began to pick up its pace, the “Great Fear” occurred. Explain
the significance of the “Great Fear”.

The wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria quickly swept the countryside.
Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax
collectors, landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as the Great Fear, the agrarian
insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the
National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789.

12
 19. The National Assembly abolished feudalism in France on August 4th, 1789. Why
would the National Assembly do this?

Feudalism represented the old regime and the National Assembly, which represented
the Third Estate, sought more equality in society.

20. The National Assembly adopted a document on August 4th, 1789.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

b. How were the principles of this document a dramatic change for French
society?

The document proclaimed the Assembly’s commitment to replace the ancien régime
with a system based on equal opportunity, freedom of speech, popular sovereignty and
representative government.

c. According to the website, what did this document reflect about the
National Assembly?

Adopted on September 3, 1791, France’s first written constitution echoed the more
moderate voices in the Assembly, establishing a constitutional monarchy in which the
king enjoyed royal veto power and the ability to appoint ministers.

21. The National Assembly was replaced by the National Convention.

22. Louis XVI, the King of France during the French Revolution was killed by the
revolutionaries.
a. How was Louis XVI killed?

By guillotine.

b. What crimes was he found guilty of, that led to his death?

High treason and crimes against the state.

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 c. Who else suffered the same fate of Louis XVI, just nine months later?

His wife, Marie Antoinette.

23. In June 1793, the Jacobins seized control of the National Convention from the
more moderate Girondins and instituted a series of radical measures, including
the establishment of a new calendar and the eradication of Christianity.

24. Explain the Reign of Terror. What happened? How did the French people feel
about the events of the Reign of Terror?

The bloody Reign of Terror was a 10-month period in which suspected enemies of the
revolution were guillotined by the thousands. Many of the killings were carried out
under orders from Robespierre, who dominated the draconian Committee of Public
Safety until his own execution on July 28, 1794. Many though the Reign of Terror was
excessive.

25. Who rose to power at the end of French Revolution and overthrew the new
French government? (Now called the “Directory”)

Napoleon Bonaparte

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