Two accounts of one event: how and why they differ
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
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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 first meeting of a new body, and B the first fight over the debts behind it
- 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
Account A says the Estates-General's opening 'marked the start.' Which fact in cards B to D most limits that, Bo asks?
- The king called it because of a debt crisis from 1787, so something began before May 1789
- About 1,200 deputies came to Versailles
- The Third Estate declared on June 17 that it alone represented the nation, about six weeks after the opening
- The Estates-General had not met since 1614, which shows the meeting was a rare event for France
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 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
- The student is right, since a revolution has one start and the accounts must differ on it
- 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?
- 1787 tax proposals and the objections of the nobles
- 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
- 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 cannot say whether the debts led to the call for the Estates-General
- They can say why Louis XVI was unpopular, and what ended the debt fight
- They can say what the debt fight was about, but not whether it was the main cause
- They can say that the debt crisis caused the Revolution, since the king called the Estates-General
A student writes: 'Account B and account C disagree, so one is false.' Which revision is best, Noah asks?
- 'B and C agree, since both come from the same site.'
- 'B is more reliable, since money matters more than crowds in a revolution.'
- 'B and C stress different true facts, so each tells a different part of the story.'
- 'C is more reliable, since it is closer in time to the fall of the Bastille than the others.'
A note reads: 'Bread prices caused the fall of the Bastille.' Which revision is best supported by the cards, Pia asks?
- 'Bread prices made the crowd take the Bastille, as account C states, so the revolt was about bread.'
- '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.'
- 'Account C shows bread prices had nothing to do with the Bastille.'
Account A comes from the palace's history pages and B from a university site. What might each source's position explain, Ren asks?
- The palace page is less reliable than the university page, because a palace is not a research body
- A palace tells the story of its own rooms and may begin there; a university may trace documents from 1787
- Neither position matters, since both are summaries written today
- Both start at the same date, since both draw on the same history
A student must date the start of the Revolution in a report, using only these accounts. What is the best approach, Tala asks?
- Choose 1787, since the earliest cause must be the start
- Choose May 1789, since two of the three accounts mention the Estates-General in some way
- Name what each account counts as the start, then say which count the report uses
- Give no date, since the accounts disagree
