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

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

   • Napoleon abolished slavery by the Code, which Card C does not mention
   • Slavery was abolished in 1802 and restored in 1794
   • Both dates were abolitions, so slavery ended twice
   • A step from 1794 was reversed in 1802 in colonies France still held
4. 3.

   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: crowned himself Emperor; Y: the Code kept equality under the law
   • X: defeated at Waterloo in 1815; Y: took charge in 1799
5. 4.

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

   • One reading alone can be true, and the other must be weaker
   • They agree, since both are about Napoleon
   • He kept some aims and reversed others, so each picks the half it stresses
   • Both readings are false, since neither reading uses each fact in the cards
6. 5.

   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
   • The Code kept careers open to merit, as the Revolution had wanted
   • He was defeated at Waterloo in 1815 and sent to Saint Helena
7. 6.

   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
8. 7.

   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
9. 8.

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

   • 'The Revolution ended in 1799, and everything it changed was undone by the Empire that followed.'
   • '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 1815 at Waterloo, after changing everything in France.'
10. 9.

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

    • 'The Convention abolished slavery in 1794, and Napoleon restored it everywhere France ruled in 1802.'
    • 'Napoleon abolished slavery in 1802, after the Convention restored it in 1794.'
    • '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.'
11. 10.

    A note says: 'Waterloo ended the Revolution.' Which revision stays within the cards, Zee asks?

    • 'The Revolution ended at Waterloo in 1815, when the republic was overthrown.'
    • 'Napoleon fell at Waterloo in 1815, and the Revolution's republic ended with him that year.'
    • 'Napoleon fell at Waterloo in 1815, long after the republic had given way to Empire.'
    • 'Napoleon fell at Waterloo in 1815, which restored the Revolution's aims.'