The French Revolution: causes, stages and results

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D, summaries in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY). Card A: After the Terror a new constitution was written in 1795, and the governments that followed were weak. Napoleon Bonaparte became a famous general. Card B: In November 1799 Napoleon took charge of a new government. In 1802 he became First Consul for Life, and he restored slavery in the colonies France still held. On December 2, 1804, he crowned himself Emperor. Card C: The Napoleonic Code kept equality under the law, careers open to merit and the end of feudalism, but it gave husbands and fathers near-complete control over wives and children. His was an authoritarian state. Card D: In 1815 he was defeated at Waterloo and sent to the island of Saint Helena. In 1789 the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen had said that men are born and remain free and equal in rights. France had been declared a republic in 1792, and the Convention had abolished slavery in all the colonies on February 4, 1794.

2. 1.

   Which aims of 1789 did Napoleon's rule keep, and which did it reverse, Ari asks?

   • It kept the republic and equality, and ended just feudalism
   • It kept equality under the law but ended the republic
   • It kept the republic, but ended equality under the law
   • It kept both, since the Code was written under the Revolution's constitution
3. 2.

   Article One said men 'are born and remain free and equal in rights.' The Code gave husbands near-complete control over wives. What do they show together, Bo asks?

   • Article One already gave husbands control, so the Code changed nothing
   • Equality under the law was kept for men, but the family was not made equal
   • The Code carried out Article One in full, since it kept equality under the law
   • The Code reversed Article One, since it gave husbands control
4. 3.

   Card D has slavery abolished in 1794. Card B has Napoleon restoring it in 1802. What do they show, Esme asks?

   • A step from 1794 was reversed in 1802 in colonies France still held
   • Slavery was abolished in 1802 and restored in 1794
   • Napoleon abolished slavery by the Code, which Card C does not mention
   • Both dates were abolitions, so slavery ended twice
5. 4.

   Reading X says Napoleon ended the Revolution. Reading Y says he completed its aims of equality under the law. Which fact supports each, Jun asks?

   • X: the 1795 constitution; Y: weak governments after the Terror
   • X: defeated at Waterloo in 1815; Y: took charge in 1799
   • X: the Code kept the end of feudalism; Y: he became First Consul for Life
   • X: crowned himself Emperor; Y: the Code kept equality under the law
6. 5.

   A historian says both readings can be true. What could that mean, Kira asks?

   • They agree, since both are about Napoleon
   • One reading alone can be true, and the other must be weaker
   • Both readings are false, since neither reading uses each fact in the cards
   • He kept some aims and reversed others, so each picks the half it stresses
7. 6.

   Reading Y says Napoleon kept the Revolution's commitment to equality. Which fact from cards B to D most limits it, Luz asks?

   • He restored slavery in 1802, after the abolition of 1794
   • He crowned himself Emperor in 1804, ending the republic of 1792
   • He was defeated at Waterloo in 1815 and sent to Saint Helena
   • The Code kept careers open to merit, as the Revolution had wanted
8. 7.

   A student writes: 'Napoleon's rule undid the Revolution.' Which card complicates that claim, Milo asks?

   • Card C: the Code kept equality under the law and the end of feudalism
   • Card A: the governments after the Terror were weak
   • Card D: he was defeated at Waterloo and sent to Saint Helena
   • Card B: he crowned himself Emperor in 1804 after taking charge in 1799
9. 8.

   A student writes: 'The Napoleonic Code was good for equality.' What do the cards allow, Noah asks?

   • It ended equality, since he was an authoritarian ruler
   • It made each person equal, in the family too, since it kept equality under the law
   • The cards say nothing about equality, since they describe a ruler
   • It kept equality under the law but gave husbands control over wives and children
10. 9.

    A student writes: 'Napoleon took power by seizing it from a king.' What can the cards say, Pia asks?

    • They say he took power from the Convention, since it abolished slavery in 1794
    • They say he seized power from Louis XVI, since he crowned himself Emperor in 1804
    • They say he took charge in 1799, not that he seized power from a king
    • They say nothing about 1799, since the cards give just his later titles
11. 10.

    A note says: 'The Revolution ended in 1799 and changed nothing.' Which revision stays within the cards, Ren asks?

    • 'The Revolution ended in 1815 at Waterloo, after changing everything in France.'
    • 'The republic gave way by 1804, but equality under the law and the end of feudalism stayed.'
    • 'The Revolution changed nothing, since the Code gave husbands control over wives.'
    • 'The Revolution ended in 1799, and everything it changed was undone by the Empire that followed.'