Question 1

Source 1

The August Decrees were very important. Although there was still a great deal to be done, they marked the end of
noble power and the privilege of birth by establishing a society based on civil equality. All Frenchmen had the same
rights and duties, could enter any profession according to their ability and would pay the same taxes. Of course,
equality in theory was different from equality in practice. The career open to talent benefited the bourgeoisie rather
than the peasant or worker, who lacked the education to take advantage of it. Nevertheless, French society would
never be the same again – the old society of orders and privilege was gone.

From: Dylan Rees, France in Revolution (Hodder Murray 2005).

Source 2

The August Decrees prepared the ground for the creation of a constitution. Before this, the deputies drew up the
principles on which this should be based – the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. It condemned the
practices of the ancient regime and outlined the rights of citizens, as demanded by the cahiers of all three orders.

The Declaration would outlast the constitution to which it was later attached and was to be an important inspiration
to liberals throughout Europe. For all its well-meaning sentiments, the Declaration mainly represented the interests
of the property-owning bourgeoisie.

From: Dylan Rees, France in Revolution (Hodder Murray 2005).

a. Using Source 1 and your own knowledge, describe the Night of the Patriotic Delirium and the August
Decrees. 5 marks
b. Using Source 2 and your own knowledge, explain the ideas and rights recommended by the cahiers. 5 marks
c. Analyse the consequences of the August Decrees and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen had
upon the Revolution by 1792. Use the sources and other evidence to support your response.
Question 2
Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

The political rights of a citizen ar eto discuss and to make resolutions concerning the interests of the state ….do
women have the moral force and the physical strength required for each of these roles? Universal opinion says they
do not . Does a woman’s decency allow her to appear in public and to argue with men ? To argue with people on
questions affecting the safety of the republic? In general, women are not capable of elevated thought or careful
reflection….Their presence in popular societies would therefore give an active role to people who are easily fooled or
misled.

Extract from Darline Levy, Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789-95, 1980, pp213-217

a. Using Source 1 and your own knowledge, suggest reasons why the March of the Women on 5 October 1789 was
historically significant. 5 marks

b. Using the sources provided and your own knowledge, explain the impact of women in the French Revolution. 5
marks
c.Evaluate whether women’s lives changed during the French Revolution . Use the sources and evidence to support
your response. 10 marks

Question 3: VCAA 2021 Exam)

Source 1 This cartoon titled The Patriotic Fat Remover is from 1790. It shows revolutionaries forcing members of the
clergy into a press to reduce their size.

Translations: The text at the bottom-left corner of the image reads ‘Patience sir, your turn will come’. The text at the
bottom centre of the image reads ‘The Press’. The text at the bottom-right corner of the image reads ‘There is no
more remedy’.

SOURCE 2

Extract of the articles of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy from the National Assembly on 12 July 1790

Title I ARTICLE I. Each department shall form a single diocese1, and each diocese shall have the same extent and the
same limits as the department. …

XX. All titles and offices other than those mentioned in the present constitution … are from the day of this decree
extinguished and abolished and shall never be [re-established] in any form.

Title II

ARTICLE I. Beginning with the day of publication of the present decree, there shall be but one mode of choosing
bishops and parish priests, namely that of election. …

XXI. [The] Bishop elect shall take a solemn2 oath … to be loyal to the nation, the law, and the king, and to support
with all his power the constitution decreed by the National Assembly and accepted by the king. … Title III ARTICLE I.
The ministers of religion … shall be supported by the nation. …

Title IV

ARTICLE I. The law requiring the residence of ecclesiastics3 in the districts under their charge shall be strictly
observed. All vested4 with an ecclesiastical office or function shall be subject to this, without distinction or
exception.

Source: James H Robinson, Readings in European History, vol. II, Ginn and Company, Boston, 1906, pp. 423–426
1diocese – a district under the care of a bishop 2solemn – serious

3ecclesiastics – members of the clergy 4vested – officially given the right to

Source 3

A historical interpretation of the reforms of the Catholic Church made by the Constituent Assembly, published in
2002

The French Revolution had many turning-points; but the oath of the clergy was, if not the greatest, unquestionably
one of them. It was certainly the Constituent Assembly’s most serious mistake. For the first time the revolutionaries
forced fellow citizens to choose; to declare themselves publicly for or against the new order. And although refusers
branded themselves unfit to exercise public office in the regenerated French Nation, paradoxically1 their freedom to
refuse was a recognition of their right to reject the Revolution’s work. In seeking to identify dissent2, in a sense the
revolutionaries legitimized3 it. That might scarcely have mattered if, as the deputies expected, nonjurors had
amounted only to a handful of prelates4… But when, months rather than the expected few weeks later, the overall
pattern of oath-taking became clear it was found that around half the clergy of France felt unable to subscribe5

Source: William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
2002, p. 144

1paradoxically – in contradiction with itself 2dissent – differences in opinion 3legitimized – made it lawful
4prelates – high-ranking members of the clergy 5subscribe – agree with

a. Using Sources 1 and 2 and your own knowledge, outline the reforms made to the Church. 5 marks

b. Using Source 3 and your own knowledge, explain how Church reform created divisions within the Church
itself. 5 marks

c. c. Evaluate how reforms to the Church challenged the consolidation of the new regime. Use evidence to
support your response. 10 marks
Question 4

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN AND CITIZEN

Olympe de Gouges

"Woman, wake up!" Thus did Olympe de Gouges (d. 1793), a self-educated playwright, address French women in
1791. Aware that women were being denied the new rights of liberty and property extended to all men by the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, Gouges composed her own Declaration of the Rights of Woman and
Citizen, modeled on the 1789 document. Persecuted for her political beliefs, she foreshadowed her own demise at
the hands of revolutionary justice in article 10 of her declaration. The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and
Citizen became an important document in women's demands for political rights in the nineteenth century, and
Gouges herself became a feminist hero.

ARTICLE I

Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the common utility.

ARTICLE II - The purpose of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of
woman and man; these rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression.

ARTICLE III- The principle of all sovereignty rests essentially with the nation, which is nothing but the union of
woman and man; no body and no individual can exercise any authority which does not come expressly from it [the
nation].

ARTICLE IV- Liberty and justice consist of restoring all that belongs to others; thus, the only limits on the exercise of
the natural rights of woman are perpetual male tyranny; these limits are to be reformed by the laws of nature and
reason.

ARTICLE V- Laws of nature and reason proscribe all acts harmful to society; everything which is not prohibited by
these wise and divine laws cannot be prevented, and no one can be constrained to do what they do not command.

ARTICLE VI- The law must be the expression of the general will; all female and male citizens must contribute either
personally or through their representatives to its formation; it must be the same for all: male and female citizens,
being equal in the eyes of the law, must be equally admitted to all honors, positions, and public employment
according to their capacity and without other distinctions besides those of their virtues and talents.

ARTICLE VII- No woman is an exception; she is accused, arrested, and detained in cases determined by law. Women,
like men, obey this rigorous law.

ARTICLE VIII- The law must establish only those penalties that are strictly and obviously necessary....

ARTICLE IX-Once any woman is declared guilty, complete rigor is [to be] exercised by the law.

ARTICLE X-No one is to be disquieted for his very basic opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she
must equally have the right to mount the rostrum, provided that her demonstrations do not disturb the legally
established public order.

A. Using the source and your own knowledge, explain how women were denied rights in the French Revolution.
( 5 marks)
Question 5

Source A Louis accepting the Constitution

Source B

The occurrence which has just taken place has confirmed us more than ever in our plans. The very guards who
surround us are the persons who threaten us most. Our very lives are not safe; but we must appear to submit to
everything until the moment comes when we can act; and in the meantime our captivity proves that none of our
actions are done by their own accord…our position is frightful, and we must absolutely put an end to it next month.
The king desires it even more than I do.

Source: Letter from Marie Antoinette to Count Mercy d'Argenteauon (the Austrian Ambassador in Paris) on 20 th
April 1791. Taken from Alfred Ritter von Arneth (ed.), Marie Antoinette, Joseph II und Leopold II., ihr briefwechsel
(Vienna: 1856), pp. 155-156.

Source C

The motives of my departure were the insults and outrages I underwent on the 18th of April, when I wished to go to
St. Cloud. These insults remained unpunished, and I thereupon believed that there was neither safety nor decorum
in my staying any longer in Paris. Unable to quit publicly, I resolved to depart in the night, and without attendants;
my intention was never to leave the kingdom. I had no concert with foreign powers, nor with the princes of my
family who have emigrated. My residence would have been at Montmedy, a place I had chosen because it is
fortified, and that being close to the frontier, I was more ready to oppose every kind of invasion. I have learnt during
my journey that public opinion was decided in favour of the constitution, and so soon as I learnt the general wish I
have not hesitated, as I never have hesitated, to make the sacrifice of what concerns myself for the public good.”

Source: Louis’ testimony to the commissioners of the Assembly. Taken from Alphonse de Lamartine, History of the
Girondists: Personal Memoirs of the Patriots of the French Revolution (London: 1848), pp. 155-156

A. Identify and describe two ideas present in the image that show Louis signing the Constitution is a positive
event ( 4 marks )
B. Using Source B and C your own knowledge, explain the reasons why the royal family fled to Varennes. ( 6
marks)
C. Evaluate the role that Louis had in destabilsing the revolution . Use two of the sources and your own
knowledge. ( 10 marks)
Question 6
Source A : Sieyes on passive and active citizens

All inhabitants of a country should enjoy in it the rights of passive citizens : all have the right to protection
of the person, of their property, of their liberty. But all do not have the right to play an active role the
formation of public authorities : all are not active citizens. Women ( at least at the present time),
children, foreigners, and those others who contribute nothing to sustaining the public establishment
should not be allowed to influence public life actively. Everyone is entitled to enjoy the advantages of
society, but only those who contribute to the public establishment are true stockholders of the great
social enterprise. They alone are truly active citizens, true members of the association.

Source B : The revolutionary tyranny crushed by the friends of the Constitution of Year III (1795)

This image shows a man of property crushing a radical sans culottes, while pointing to the safe Constitution of 1795
Source C
An excerpt about a sans culotte from Jean-Bapiste Vintergnier, cited in Leonard W Cowie, The French Revolution,
Documents and Debates

A sans culotte always has his sharp sabre ready to cut off the ears of the malevolent. Sometimes he
marches with his pike. But at the first sound of the drum, he can be seen leaving for the Vendee, for the
Army of the Alps or for the Army of the North.
A. Identify three groups that Sieyes mentions in Source A who should be passive citizens ( 3 marks)
B. Using Source B and your own knowledge, explain the circumstances behind the decline of the san culottes in
1794-95 ( 6 marks)
C. Evaluate the impact the san culottes had upon the revolution by 1795. Refer to two sources and any other
evidence. 10 marks
Question 7

Source A : This engraving is a representation of the women’s march to Versailles on October 5-6 1789. The artist
correctly shows that some members of the crowd were men dressed as women

Source B : The Law of Maximum, 29 September 1793

1. The articles which the National Convention has deemed essential, and the maximum or highest price
of which it has believed it should establish, are: fresh meat, salt meat and bacon, butter, sweet oil, cattle,
salt fish, wine, brandy, vinegar, cider, beer, firewood, charcoal, coal, candles, lamp oil, salt, soda, sugar,
honey, white paper, hides, iron, cast iron, lead, steel, copper, hemp, linens, woolens, stuffs, canvases, the
raw materials which are used for fabrics, wooden shoes, shoes, turnips and rape, soap, potash, and
tobacco. . . .
7. All persons who sell or purchase the merchandise specified in article 1 for more than the maximum
price stated and posted in each department shall pay, jointly and severally, through the municipal police,
a fine of double the value of the article sold, and payable to the informer; they shall be inscribed upon
the list of suspected persons, and treated as such. The purchaser shall not be subject to the penalty
provided above if he denounces the contravention of the seller; and every merchant shall be required to
have a list bearing the maximum or highest price of his merchandise visible in his shop.
8. The maximum or highest figure for salaries, wages, manual labor, and days of labor in every place shall
be established, dating from the publication of the present law until the month of September next, by the
general councils of the communes, at the same rate as in 1790, plus one-half.
9. The municipalities may put in requisition and punish, according to circumstances, with three days'
imprisonment, workmen, manufacturers, and divers laborers who refuse, without legitimate grounds, to
do their usual work. . . .
17. During the war, all exportation of essential merchandise or commodities is prohibited on all frontiers,
under any name or commission whatsoever, with the exception of salt.
A. Using Source A, identify two weapons which show that the Women’s March would be violent ( 2 marks)
B. Using Source A and your own knowledge, explain the political and economic concerns that led to the
women’s march on Versailles. (6 marks)
C. Using Source B and your own knowledge, identify the reasons why the Law for General Maximum was
introduced ( 5 marks)
D. Analyse the importance that economic issues had upon the consolidation of the new regime. Use both
sources and any other evidence to support your answer. ( 10 marks )
Question 8
Source 1: The Execution of Louis XVI

Source 2: Robespierre, after having all the French Guillotined, beheads the executioner

The civil war in the Vendée, military losses on the frontiers, and the increasingly desperate rhetoric of
the Girondins pushed the Plain into supporting Jacobin proposals for emergency wartime measures.
Between March and May 1793 the Convention placed executive powers in a Committee of Public Safety
and policing powers in a Committee of General Security, and acted to supervise the army through
‘deputies on mission’. It passed decrees declaring émigrés ‘civilly dead’, providing for public relief and
placing controls on grain and bread prices.
SOURCE C : Peter McPhee, The French Revolution 1789–1799, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002

a. Using Sources 1 and 2, outline the use of the guillotine by the new society. 5 marks

b. Using all three sources and your own knowledge, explain the key policies of the Terror. 5 marks

c. Analyse the challenges that caused leaders to compromise their revolutionary ideals. Use evidence to support
your response. 10 marks
Question 9

Source A: An official report by Commissaire Benaben describing the mass shooting and mass drownings of rebels in
the town of Savenay, 26 December 1793:
I witnessed all the atrocities that a town taken by force can offer. The soldiers, having spread out into thehouses,
and having brought out the wives and daughters of the bandits who had not had time to leaveand flee, led them into
squares and streets, where they were piled up and their throats cut on the spot:with rifle shots, bayonet blows and
cuts of the sword.

Claude Petitfrere, La Vendee et les Vendeans (Paris:Archives, 1981).

Source B, Depiction of the Siege of Lyon, October 1793

This engraving represents the brutal repression that killed around 2000 Federalist rebels in the city of Lyons. When
the guillotine proved too slow as a means of execution, the republican troops loaded cannon with shrapnel and fired
point blank at their victims, cutting them to pieces.

Source C

This report from the radical newspaper Les Révolutions de Paris describes the mobilisation of Parisians on May 31st
1793, prior to the expulsion of Girdonins from the National Convention:

What an imposing effect Paris offered. Close to 300,000 citizens were under arms because all the urban areas in the
department, and even beyond (5,000 men rushed over from Versailles), hurried to add their numbers to this
peaceful insurrection. Let us say that there were 300,000 citizens assembled at the first sound of the alarm, anxious
to demonstrate under the gaze of the entire Republic their devotedness to the homeland and their respect for the
law! What a lesson for 700 still-divided lawmakers, i.e., that harmony and fraternity reigned amongst 300,000
citizens! And an entire day was spent like this, exceedingly proud, but also calm and quiet. A federation was
requested. Is there any revolutionary day more perfect, which was not premeditated or begged for? All of Paris
arose as one and seemed to say to the slanderers, "Vile sort, write to the departments, go tell them that Paris is a
city of murder and pillage. Go tell them that the national legislature daily runs risks in the heart of this city, and that,
sooner or later, our walls will be covered with the blood of the Republic's lawmakers."

https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/423

A. Using Source A, outline two techniques used to kill large numbers of people quickly and conveniently.
B. Using Source B, identify two features that show the rebels were subject to unnecessary violence.
C. Using Source C, and your own knowledge explain the reasons for the Federalist revolts took place against the
government
D. Evaluate whether political divisions over the aim of the Revolution compromised revolutionary goals within
France in 1793. Use two of the sources and other evidence to support your response
Question 10

Source 1

This coloured engraving shows the desecration of tombs in the Cathedral of Saint-Denis in 1793

Source B

Historian William Doyle explains why this movement became so popular with radical crowds

Once launched it was eminently democratic. Anybody could join in smashing images , vandalising churches and
…..theft of vestments to wear in blasphemous mock ceremonies. Those needing pretexts could preach national
necessity when they tore down bells or walked off with a plate that could be recast into guns or coinage

Source C

On July 31st in 1793, Barère, before the National Convention, and using the pretext of recovering lead from the
coffins, suggested attacking the « unclean ashes » of the tyrants in order to celebrate the first anniversary of the
storming of the Tuileries on August 10th. The following day, by the decree of August 1st in 1793, it was decided that:
"The tombs and mausoleums of the former kings, mounted in the Church of Saint Denis, in temples and in other
places, across the entire Republic, will be destroyed on August 10 th."
Source D

Jacques-Louis Pérée, Regenerated Man Gives Thanks to the Supreme Being, 1794–5, 41.5 x 29 cm, Bibliothèque
nationale de France, Paris. With one hand he holds up the Rights of Man; in the other he wields a mattock. Beneath
his feet lies the axed tree of the Old Regime, the debris of aristocratic privilege and luxury. A shaft of lightning sears a
crown

A. Identify two features which show that there was popular support for the actions of desecrating the tombs at
Saint-Denis ( 2 marks )
B. Using Source C and your own knowledge, explain who was behind the De-Christianisation Movement ( 5
marks)
C. Using Source C and D and your own knowledge, explain the impact of the DeChristianisation campaign
D. Evaluate the significance of religious reform in destabilising the Revolution from 1793 . Use two of the
sources and other evidence to support your view