Two accounts of one event: how and why they differ
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
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Cards A to D. Card A, Account A, 'It began at Versailles' (written by PencilGo for students, for practice, from the Palace of Versailles' history pages): The Estates-General opened at Versailles on May 5, 1789, for the first time since 1614, with about 1,200 deputies. The palace's historians write that its opening marked the start of the Revolution. Card B, Account B, 'It began with money' (written by PencilGo from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site of George Mason University and CUNY): Long wars left France spending more than it raised, and it borrowed. In 1787 the government proposed tax reforms, objections called for the Estates-General, and imminent bankruptcy forced Louis XVI to call it. Card C, Account C, 'It began with the people's claims' (same maker as B): On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate declared that it alone represented the nation. On July 14 a Paris crowd took the Bastille, and bread prices stood at the highest of the century. Card D, a timeline in our words: 1787, tax reforms proposed and objections raised. 1788, facing bankruptcy, the king calls the Estates-General, which had not met since 1614. May 5, 1789, it opens at Versailles. June 17, the Third Estate's declaration. July 14, the Bastille. October 5 and 6, a crowd brings the royal family to Paris. Each account is written for practice and picks some true facts and leaves others out.
Account A dates the start to May 1789 and account B to 1787. What does each count as 'the start', Ari asks?
- A counts the first protest in Paris, and B counts the first election
- A counts the fall of the Bastille, and B counts the king's call for the Estates-General in 1788
- Both count the same event, described in different words
- A counts the first meeting of a new body, and B the first fight over the debts behind it
A student says the three accounts cannot all be right, because they give three different starts. How should you reply, Esme asks?
- The student is right, since a revolution has one start and the accounts must differ on it
- The student is wrong, since the three accounts give the same start in different words
- The student is right about A and B, but C overlaps with both and so can stand
- Each counts a different kind of start, so they can fit together as steps in one story
Which pair of facts from card D would a defender of account C most want, Jun asks?
- June 17, the Third Estate's declaration, and July 14, the Bastille
- The 1788 call for the Estates-General and the royal family's move to Paris
- 1787 tax proposals and the objections of the nobles
- The Estates-General opening on May 5 and its 1,200 deputies
Account C notes that bread prices stood at the highest of the century. What can a historian do with that fact, Kira asks?
- Treat it as the cause of the Revolution, since high prices make people rise up
- Link it to crowd anger, and look for other sources before saying prices caused the Bastille
- Use it to show the Bastille was a protest about bread, since both appear together in account C
- Set it aside, since account C is about the Third Estate and not about bread
Which question about account B can the cards answer, and which can they not, Luz asks?
- They can say what the debt fight was about, but not whether it was the main cause
- They can say why Louis XVI was unpopular, and what ended the debt fight
- They can say that the debt crisis caused the Revolution, since the king called the Estates-General
- They cannot say whether the debts led to the call for the Estates-General
A student's note says: 'The Revolution began on July 14, 1789, when the Bastille fell.' Which revision keeps within the cards, Milo asks?
- The Bastille was the first event of the Revolution, since the Estates-General merely prepared for it later
- Account C dates the start to the claims of June and July 1789, while A and B give May 1789 and 1787
- Remove the note, since three accounts with different dates cannot be compared
- Historians agree that July 14 was the start, and the other accounts are mistaken
A note reads: 'Bread prices caused the fall of the Bastille.' Which revision is best supported by the cards, Pia asks?
- 'Account C shows bread prices had nothing to do with the Bastille.'
- 'Account C lists the Bastille and high bread prices together, but says nothing of a cause.'
- 'Account B shows prices fell in 1789, so the Bastille was not about bread.'
- 'Bread prices made the crowd take the Bastille, as account C states, so the revolt was about bread.'
Account A comes from the palace's history pages and B from a university site. What might each source's position explain, Ren asks?
- Neither position matters, since both are summaries written today
- Both start at the same date, since both draw on the same history
- A palace tells the story of its own rooms and may begin there; a university may trace documents from 1787
- The palace page is less reliable than the university page, because a palace is not a research body
A student must date the start of the Revolution in a report, using only these accounts. What is the best approach, Tala asks?
- Give no date, since the accounts disagree
- Name what each account counts as the start, then say which count the report uses
- Choose May 1789, since two of the three accounts mention the Estates-General in some way
- Choose 1787, since the earliest cause must be the start
Card D lists a crowd bringing the royal family to Paris on October 5 and 6, 1789. How could account C use it, Zee asks?
- As a later case of a crowd acting, though it falls after every start the accounts give
- As proof the debt fight was over, since the royal family was now in Paris
- As the start of the Revolution, since it moved the king under the people's eyes
- It cannot be used, since a later event cannot bear on how an account tells its story