Deck 19: A Revolution in Politics: the Era of the French Revolution and Napoleon

Question 1

During the early stages of the "Radical Revolution," how is the National Convention best described?

A)It was controlled by the Mountain, which defeated the less radical Girondins.
B)It successfully resisted the Parisians' radical attempts to control the Convention.
C)It favored ending the disastrous European war.

Answer 1

It was controlled by the Mountain, which defeated the less radical Girondins.

Question 2

The Parlement of Paris sought to resolve the controversy over voting in the Estates-General by calling for the method used in 1614, which involved which of the following procedures?

A)Each delegate casting a single vote
B)Each order voting separately and having veto power over the other two
C)The First and Second Estates have vote by head but the Third Estate voting by order

Answer 2

Each order voting separately and having veto power over the other two

Question 3

By 1789, how is the Estates-General best described?

A)It was Louis XVI's primary advisory body, often consulted by the king on matters of state.
B)It was in unanimous agreement that only radical changes could solve France's problems.
C)It was divided over the issue of voting by orders or by head.

Answer 3

It was divided over the issue of voting by orders or by head.

Question 4

In July and August 1789, the king's attempt to halt the Revolution was thwarted by which of the following?

A)The betrayal of the monarchy by high clergymen
B)The defection of key nobles of the sword to the rebels
C)The intervention of armed commoners, especially in urban uprisings

Question 5

On July 4, 1776, the delegates of the Second Continental Congress voted to officially begin which of the following?

A)War against Britain
B)A federation of independent states under a central government
C)A system of government that was not dependent on Britain's constitution

Question 6

In the French Constitution of 1791, who among the following had the right to vote?

A)All people
B)All men
C)Male citizens who met a tax qualification

Question 7

The Third Estate was composed of all EXCEPT which of the following?

A)Shopkeepers
B)Peasants
C)Lower aristocrats

Question 8

In considering the revolutionary era, which of the following is NOT true?

A)The French Revolution was less complex, less violent, and far less radical than the American Revolution.
B)The American Revolution proved in the long run to be far less important in Europe than the French Revolution.
C)The French Revolution provided a model of revolution for Europe.

Question 9

How is the French Republic's army in the 1790s best described?

A)It received little backing from the home front.
B)It was small, but effective in battle.
C)It fueled modern nationalism and was raised through total mobilization of the population.

Question 10

As one measure of the French crown's terrible financial predicament, by 1788 the interest payments on the state debt alone amounted to which of the following?

A)One-half of all government spending
B)One-quarter of total government spending
C)One-third of total government spending

Question 11

All were accomplished by the National/Constituent Assembly EXCEPT which of the following?

A)Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
B)Civil Constitution of the Clergy
C)Establishment of seigneurial rights throughout the country

Question 12

How did the National Assembly responded to the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen by Olympe de Gouges?

A)It invited her to become their first female member.
B)It arrested and imprisoned her.
C)It ignored her demands.

Question 13

In September 1792, the National Convention did which of the following?

A)It established a constitutional monarchy.
B)It abolished the monarchy and established a republic.
C)It voted to preserve the life of Louis XVI.

Question 14

In regard to the Catholic Church, the National Assembly adopted which of the following policies?

A)It left the institution alone.
B)It increased its power slightly in France.
C)It passed legislation that secularized church offices and clergymen.

Question 15

Which of the following describes a reason why the American colonists won their war for independence?

A)Generous military and financial aid from various European states, especially France
B)The collapse of the English colonial system
C)Apathy of the English military

Question 16

Many of the cahiers de doléances called for which of the following?

A)Abolishing the fiscal privileges of the church and nobility
B)The abolition of the Estates-General
C)The royal execution of all rebels in France

Question 17

Who among the following was the head of the Committee of Public Safety who presided over the terror in France in 1793 and 1794?

A)Necker
B)Sieyès
C)Robespierre

Question 18

By the eighteenth century, how is the relationship between the French bourgeoisie and the nobility best described?

A)They were growing further apart in social status.
B)They were increasingly less distinguishable from each other.
C)They were rapidly losing social status to the Third Estate.

Question 19

When the government called for the Estates-General to meet, which of the following policies did it follow?

A)It doubled the number of representatives from the Third Estate.
B)It halved the number of representatives from the Third Estate.
C)It doubled the number of representatives from the Second Estate.

Question 20

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen guaranteed which of the following?

A)Free or affordable food for the poor
B)Equality under the law for all French men
C)Equality under the law for all French men and women

Question 21

How did Napoleon's Continental System try to defeat the British?

A)By a massive invasion of Britain
B)By preventing British trade
C)By causing political unrest in Britain

Question 22

Napoleon met his final defeat at which of the following battles?

A)Battle of Waterloo
B)Battle of Borodino
C)Battle of Trafalgar

Question 23

Describe the object of the new U.S. Constitution.

Question 24

Why had France arrived at such a severe financial crisis?

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT true of the French revolutionary republican calendar?

A)Each month consisted of three 10-day weeks.
B)Most Christian holidays were kept.
C)No efforts were made to enforce it.

Question 26

Why did the Third Estate leave the Estates-General?

Question 27

All were among the factors resulting in the defeat of Napoleon EXCEPT which of the following?

A)The failure of the Continental System
B)The defeat of the French navy at the Battle of Trafalgar
C)Mass reactions to his brutal suppression of local customs in the conquered countries

Question 28

Sixty percent of the victims of the Reign of Terror were from which of the following social orders?

A)Nobles
B)Clergy
C)Peasant and laboring classes

Question 29

Which of the following statements best applies to Napoleon's domestic policies?

A)Much autonomy was given to the provincial departments, as the previous system of prefects was overhauled.
B)His "new aristocracy" was actually little different from the old, as it was based on privilege and wealth.
C)His Civil Code reaffirmed the ideals of the Revolution while creating a uniform legal system.

Question 30

With regard to matters of religion, the National Convention adopted policies with which of the following goals?

A)To strengthen the Roman Catholic Church
B)To allow for religious freedom for members of all Christian denominations
C)To de-Christianize the new French Republic

Question 31

Which of the following was the chief accomplishment of the National Convention?

A)Creation of the revolutionary calendar
B)Preservation of the revolution from being destroyed by foreign enemies
C)Creation of the Directory

Question 32

Which of the following statements best applies to Napoleon?

A)He was both a child of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
B)He had a sense of moral responsibility to the people of France.
C)He advocated an invasion of Britain in the 1790s.

Question 33

Describe the three French social orders.

Question 34

What was the chief reason for Napoleon's fast rise to power?

A)Series of stunning victories over the enemies of France
B)Social programs that appealed to the masses
C)Promises to restore France to its historic glory

Question 35

During the 1760s, British policy makers sought to raise revenues from the American colonies for which of the following purposes?

A)Defraying costs of the British empire in India
B)Creating a new royal palace designed to rival Versailles
C)Paying for the expenses of the British army in its defense of the colonies

Question 36

The Bill of Rights ratified by the new United States guaranteed which of the following?

A)Freedom of religion
B)A prohibition against firearms except by officers of justice
C)The end of the slave trade but did not free slaves already in America

Question 37

How widely was the American Revolution supported and by whom?

Question 38

How is the government of the Directory in the period of the Thermidorean Reaction best described?

A)It increasingly had to rely on military support for its survival.
B)It was unicameral and directly elected by active citizens.
C)It was characterized by honest leadership and wise economic plans.

Question 39

In the Concordat of 1801, Napoleon made peace with which of the following?

A)The Church
B)The Directory
C)Austria

Question 40

Why did Britain attempt to raise taxes in its North American colonies?

Question 41

Why was the Committee of Public Safety formed?

Question 42

Why did the Directory have such a hard time finding supporters?

Question 43

How did the American Revolution affect Europeans?

A)It proved that military force was the final diplomatic authority.
B)It proved that the ideas of the Enlightenment could be realized politically.
C)It proved that the new United States was the most powerful nation.

Question 44

How did Napoleon come to take control of France in 1899?

Question 45

Were the American colonies justified in their rebellion? Why or why not?

Question 46

Why did Napoleon have such strong support from his soldiers?

Question 47

How successful was the U.S. Constitution in creating an Enlightenment government? What were its main successes and failures?

Question 48

Describe Napoleon's approach to government.

Question 49

Was the early part of the French revolution planned, or was it merely responding to circumstances as they arose? What was the most important catalyst for early uprisings?

Question 50

Why was calling the Estates-General such a significant move and did France's situation really demand it? What did the monarch hope to gain in so doing?

Question 51

What role did the king play in the early French Revolution?

Question 52

Who supported the radical phases of the French Revolution? Why?

Question 53

Why did the king's reaction worsen the crisis?

Question 54

Why did France go to war during the early revolution?

Question 55

Why did Napoleon ultimately face defeat in Russia in 1813?

Question 56

A key conduit of "enlightened" American political and moral ideas back to Europe came in which of the following forms?

A)Returning British prisoners of war
B)The hundreds of literate and influential French army and navy officers who had fought on the American side during the Revolutionary War
C)European nobles returning from expeditions to the new American frontier

Question 57

What effects did the constitution of 1795 have on the revolution?

Question 58

What was the terror, and why was it significant?

Question 59

How did Napoleon's conquest of Europe affect European political and legal traditions?

Question 60

Describe the first acts of the National Assembly.

Question 61

Which of the following was the most immediate cause of the French Revolution?

A)The government's failure to resolve its debts and other economic problems
B)The blocking of attempted reforms by the French Parlements
C)The radical calls of the philosophers for reform

Question 62

How did different groups respond to the radical phase of the revolution? Was this phase supported widely? Why or why not?

Question 63

By summoning the Estates-General in 1789, how are the government's motives best described?

A)It wanted to show its autocratic strength, since it possessed absolute control over the representatives.
B)It was simply following its obligation for regular meetings of the traditional representative assembly.
C)It was merely looking for an easy way to solve the immediate financial crisis.

Question 64

In France, the First Estate was composed of which of the following groups?

A)The nobility
B)The clergy
C)The peasants

Question 65

Did the Napoleonic Empire advance or hinder the cause of Enlightenment across Europe? Why?

Question 66

To what extent had the French Revolution succeeded by 1799? To what extent had it failed?

Question 67

What was the ultimate objective of the early French revolution? To what extent was it important that the king be involved in building the new France at this stage?

Question 68

What role did war play in radicalizing the French Revolution?

Question 69

In the fifty years before the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, how is the French economy best described?

A)It was growing due to an expansion of foreign trade and industrial production.
B)It was stagnant due to foreign competition in industry and trade.
C)It was declining rapidly due to overuse of arable land.

Question 70

To what extent did Napoleon's coup protect the revolution? To what extent did it threaten the revolution?