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

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

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

   • Both dates were abolitions, so slavery ended twice
   • Napoleon abolished slavery by the Code, which Card C does not mention
   • A step from 1794 was reversed in 1802 in colonies France still held
   • Slavery was abolished in 1802 and restored in 1794
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 Code kept the end of feudalism; Y: he became First Consul for Life
   • X: the 1795 constitution; Y: weak governments after the Terror
   • X: defeated at Waterloo in 1815; Y: took charge in 1799
   • 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
   • Both readings are false, since neither reading uses each fact in the cards
   • One reading alone can be true, and the other must be weaker
   • 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 crowned himself Emperor in 1804, ending the republic of 1792
   • He restored slavery in 1802, after the abolition of 1794
   • 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 B: he crowned himself Emperor in 1804 after taking charge in 1799
   • Card A: the governments after the Terror were weak
   • Card D: he was defeated at Waterloo and sent to Saint Helena
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
   • The cards say nothing about equality, since they describe a ruler
   • It made each person equal, in the family too, since it kept equality under the law
   • 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 nothing about 1799, since the cards give just his later titles
    • 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 he took power from the Convention, since it abolished slavery in 1794
11. 10.

    A note says: 'Slavery ended in the French colonies in 1794 and never returned.' Which revision is best, Tala asks?

    • 'Napoleon abolished slavery in 1802, after the Convention restored it in 1794.'
    • 'The Convention abolished slavery in 1794, and Napoleon restored it everywhere France ruled in 1802.'
    • 'The Convention abolished slavery in 1794; Napoleon restored it in 1802 in colonies France still held.'
    • 'The Convention abolished slavery in 1794, and the Code of 1802 confirmed it.'