French Revolution

Question 1

Estates-General

Answer 1

June 17, 1789: vote to establish National Assembly
End of the monarchy
Beginning of a representative government(Constitutional Monarchy)
Locked out of meeting room, broke down a door to an indoor tennis court.
Tennis Court Oath - Pledge to stay until they come up with a new constitution.
Clergy and Nobles who favored reform joined
Louis XVI stations guards around Versailles

Question 2

Storming of the Bastille

Answer 2

Rumors flew that Louis was going to use military forces to dismiss National Assembly; foreign troops were coming to Paris to massacre French Citizens.
Gathered weapons, needed gunpowder
Mob storms Bastille on July 14
Killed guards, paraded around with their heads on pikes.
Symbolic act of revolution (Bastille Day)

Question 3

Great Terror

Answer 3

A wave of senseless panic that rolls through France
Peasants become outlaws
Broke into noble manor houses, destroyed papers, burned houses
Oct. 1789: Parisian women, angry over the price of bread, break into Versailles
Kill guards
Demand king and queen move to Paris; king agrees

Question 4

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Answer 4

Statement of revolutionary ideals
Influenced by the Declaration of Independence
“Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights”
“Liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression”
Equal justice, freedom of speech, freedom of religion.

Question 5

Flight to Varennes

Answer 5

June 1791: royal family tries to escape from France to the Austrian Netherlands.
Apprehended near the border and returned back to Paris.
This action seals Louis’s fate

Question 6

Order of Forms of Governments

Answer 6

National Assembly
Legislative Assembly
National Convention
Committee of Public Safety
The Directory

Question 7

Legislative Assembly

Answer 7

A Limited Monarchy
September 1791: National Assembly completes new constitution; Louis reluctantly approves
Creates limited constitutional monarchy ; strips king of authority
Legislative Assembly = create laws; approve/reject declarations of war
Split into radicals, moderates, conservatives

Question 8

Emigres

Answer 8

Nobles and others who fled France, hope to undo revolution and restore the Ancien Regime.

Question 9

Sans-culottes

Answer 9

“those without knee breeches” - Wanted to separate themselves from aristocracy. Working class radicals.

Question 10

National Convention

Answer 10

Radical Republic
Legislative Assembly set aside Constitution of 1791 due to pressure from radicals.
Declared the king deposed, dissolved assembly, called for an election of new legislature.
Sept. 21: National Convention took office
Abolished monarchy
Declared France a republic
Adult male citizens granted right to vote and hold office

Question 11

Jacobins

Answer 11

Radical Political Organization
Took Control of National Convention

Question 12

Jean-Paul Marat

Answer 12

Prominent member; author of Friend of the People
Death to all who still supported the king
Supported executions of anti-revolutionaries.

Question 13

George Danton

Answer 13

Talented and passionate speaker
Devoted to rights of Paris’ poor people

Question 14

Death to Louis XVI

Answer 14

National Convention reduces Louis to a common citizen/ prisoner.
Tried for treason; found guilty and sentenced to death.
January 21, 1793: Louis XVI executed via guillotine.

Question 15

Enemies of Jacobins

Answer 15

Peasants horrified by king’s execution
Priests who would not accept government control
Rival leaders stirring up rebellion in the provinces

Question 16

Maximilien Robespierre

Answer 16

Determined to build a “republic of virtue”; wipe out all traces of France’s past
July 1793: Becomes leader of the Committee of Public Safety (protect the Revolution from its enemies)
Governs France as a dictator during the Reign of Terror (most violent phase)
Confiscated church and noble land
Abolished slavery
Everyone addressed as “citizen”
As many as 40,000 executed

Question 17

End of Reign of Terror

Answer 17

July 1794: Committee turns on Robespierre (feared for their own safety)
Demanded his arrest and execution
July 28, 1794: Reign of Terror ends
Robespierre executed via guillotine

Question 18

The Directory

Answer 18

1795: Moderate leaders in National Convention drafted a new plan of government.
Power to the S middle class.
Two-House (bicameral) legislature
Executive body of 5 men (Directory)

Question 19

3 Ideals of French Revolution

Answer 19

Equality, Liberty, Fraternity

Question 20

Napoleon Early Years

Answer 20

Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 on the French territorial island of Corsica in the
town of Ajaccio.

Napoleon was born to Carlo and Letizia Romalino Buonaparte in 1769. Though his family was not overly wealthy, they did claim ancestry to the Corisican nobility.

Napoleon was raised in mainland France where he began to speak the French tongue and where he would go on to attend and subsequently graduate from a French military academy in 1785.

Question 21

Napoleon in French Revolution

Answer 21

By the onset of the French Revolution, Napoleon was a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment.

It was during the Reign of Terror that Napoleon was promoted to brigadier general.

In 1795, Napoleon helped eliminate an insurrection against the revolutionary government for which he was rewarded with a promotion to major general.

Question 22

Notable Napoleon Military Successes

Answer 22

1795: The French Government identified the cunning military prowess of Napoleon and thus offered funds to compete against the naval forces of Britain. Though he strongly believed in his abilities, Napoleon’s wisdom bled through, reallocating his forces to diminishing British trading routes, specifically in Egypt, where he defeated the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798.

1796: A Napoleon-commanded army defeats those of Austria which forces the Austrian government to sign the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797.

1799: Napoleon decided to attack the much larger Ottoman Empire that led to his defeat at the Siege of Acre in the same year. Representing his ability to digest his failures was found that summer when he determined it best to return to France instead of pursuing further battles in Africa.

Question 23

coup of 18 Brumaire

Answer 23

After the coup of 18 Brumaire, the republic Directory was replaced with a Three-Pronged Consulate. As first consul, Napoleon, a man of small stature, became France’s largest societal figure.

Question 24

Actions Napoleon Took After Taking Control

Answer 24

In 1800, Napoleon led military conflicts against the Austrians, the greatest enemy to the country of France. At the Battle of Marengo, France not only was able to defeat the Austrians but they also were able to drive them from Italy. All of this was done at the hands of Napoleon.
Via the Treaty of Amiens (1802), after many years of grueling battle, Napoleon negotiated terms of peace with their enemies to the North, the British.
Napoleon came to power after many years of Terror held by the shaky hands of the Committee of Public Safety. One of the largest duties of Napoleon was to restore the long lost foundations of France, including a Central Government, “banking and education”, “science and the arts”, and the Catholic Church.

Question 25

Napoleonic Code

Answer 25

Of the many accomplishments Napoleon made as First Consul, the most significant was the
creation of the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code allowed for the efficient
management of French’s legal system. The roots of his code can still be identified in France TODAY.

Based on Enlightenment

Question 26

In 1802, a constitutional amendment made Napoleon first consul for life. Two years later, in 1804, he crowned himself __________ in a lavish ceremony at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Answer 26

Emperor of France

Question 27

Louisiana Purchase

Answer 27

In 1803, France had begun to engage in the Napoleonic Wars. To raise the much necessary military funds, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory for $15 million to the newly formed United States.

Question 28

Battle of Trafalgar

Answer 28

After Napoleon’s aforementioned Treaty of Amiens, it could be discerned that Napoleon was capable of holding the British at bay. The Battle of Trafalgar, which saw the complete decimation of Napoleon’s fleet, was a heat check as well as a point of motivation for years to come.

Question 29

Battle of Wagram

Answer 29

Further land gains were made in 1809 with the Battle of Wagram. The Battle saw Napoleon defeat the Austrians again.

Question 30

Battle of Austerlitz

Answer 30

Napoleon and his French forces defeated the combined armies of Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz. This led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the foundation of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Question 31

What was ultimately the reason that Napoleon’s troops failed in their invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812?

Answer 31

In 1812, Russia left the Continental System, a pact between the continental European nations to uphold trade embargoes against Britain to the North. To make an example out of the Russians, Napoleon gathered 600,000 troops and attempted a full-blown invasion of Russia. Instead of battling with the larger and more well-equipped French army, the Russians continued to retreat, forcing France deeper and deeper into the Russian cold.
When Napoleon reached Moscow, he found the city burned, its citizens plundering the city before fleeing ahead of the incoming troops. Void of supplies and with a Russian winter looming, Napoleon was forced to retreat.

Question 31

How many troops who began the campaign into Russia made it out?

Answer 31

100,000

Question 32

Peninsular War

Answer 32

It is important to recognize that prior to his failed invasion of Russia, Napoleon was, though not perfect, a successful general. The Peninsular War, which saw the removal of French troops from the Iberian Peninsula, was yet another keg in the reel, turning revolt against Napoleon and the Continental System as a whole.

Question 32

On April 6, 1814, Napoleon, then in his mid-40s, was forced to __________. With the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he was exiled to Elba, a Mediterranean island off the coast of Italy. He was given sovereignty over the small island, while his wife and son went to Austria.

Answer 32

Abdicate the Throne

Question 33

Hundred Days Campaign

Answer 33

Incapable of remaining in exile, Napoleon returned to Paris, France on March 20, 1815, after a
coalition of supporters rallied around Napoleon’s escape from Elba. Fearing for his life, the King of
France, Louis XVIII, fled France and his vacancy was exploited by the power hungry Napoleon. This
began Napoleon’s “Hundred Days Campaign”.

Question 34

Battle of Waterloo

Answer 34

Knowing that a European invasion was imminent, Napoleon chose to be the first to strike. After a successful defeat of Belgium and Prussia in June of 1815, French troops turned to Brussels and the Battle of Waterloo. Unlike the two battles that preceded it, the Battle of Waterloo led to the defeat of French troops and the forced abdication of Napoleon on June 22, 1815.

Question 35

Napoleon’s Death

Answer 35

After his second abdication, Napoleon was imprisoned upon Saint Helena, a remote island under
British jurisdiction. On May 5, 1821, Napoleon died on Saint Helena, presumably from the stomach cancer which had cursed him most of his latter years.

Question 36

Why was the Guillotine considered egalitarian

Answer 36

Dr Joseph Guillotine found his method of execution as egalitarian as it was humane. Unlike other methods which may have not inflicted immediate death, with a guillotine, one minute a convict was alive and the next, they had passed. It also made no distinction between rich and poor, meaning death was equal.

Question 36

Estates-General Inequality

Answer 36

In the Anciens Regime, the Estates General was an obsolete and often abandoned form of Parliament that had not met by the late 18th century for more than 100 years. The Estates General was composed of representatives from each Estate: 300 from both the First and Second and 600 from the Third. As power was granted not by people represented, the Third Estate, though representing the far majority of the population, had an equal vote to the First and Second Estate. Thus, any political reform that would benefit the people was voted down by the minority. This caused the Third Estate to disband from the Estates General and form their own National Assembly.

Question 37

Why did Louis XVI invade Prussia

Answer 37

Louis and the National Assembly decided to invade Prussia in order to plunder it for much needed and
much desired grain and wealth to restabilize the French economy and food shortage. When it was found
that Louis was instead aiding Prussia and Austria in the invasion of France, he was removed from office by the National Assembly and a new republican constitution was created. Louis was subsequently sentenced to death by guillotine.

Question 38

Jean-Paul Marat 2.0

Answer 38

Called for blood-letting in France and Spread his ideas through newspapers.

Depicted as Jesus in his bathtub.

Question 39

Goal of Committee of Public Safety

Answer 39

Eliminate Enemies of the Revolution

Question 40

What two European Countries was Napoleon unable to Conquer

Answer 40

Great Britain and Russia

Question 41

The machine used to behead enemies of the revolution

Answer 41

Guillotine

Question 42

Impact of French Culture being forced on gained territories through Napoleonic Wars

Answer 42

Nationalists developed and Spread

Question 43

What didn’t the Declaration of Rights not guarantee

Answer 43

Equal Rights for Women

Question 44

Who did Louis appoint as financial advisor in 1777

Answer 44

Jacques Necker
Loved by the People

Question 45

Along with Austria, what other kingdom declared war on France in 1792

Answer 45

Prussia

Question 46

Causes of Revolution

Answer 46

Social
Growth of Industry, Rise of Middle Class, Burden of Feudal System, Increase in Poverty
Political
Absolute Monarchy
Intellectual
Influence of America
Economic
Increase in Debt, Tax Burden on Poor

Question 47

What caused the French to starve

Answer 47

Increase in Taxes + Increase in price of Bread after harsh winter

Question 48

How did Louis XVI attempt to curb debt?

Answer 48

Debt was caused by lavish spending of the court, support of the American Revolution, and Marie Antoinette.
Increase in Taxes

Question 49

Anciens Regime

Answer 49

Estate System that had not changed since Middle Ages

King and Queen
Do not belong to an Estate

First Estate
Clergy
1% of People, 10% of Land

Second Estate
Nobility
2% of People, 25% of Land

Third Estate
Commoners
97% of People, 65% of Land