The French Revolution: causes, stages and results

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet

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) and Smithsonian Magazine. Card A: War began in spring 1792, and France was invaded. The monarchy was overthrown in August 1792, and France was declared a republic in September 1792. The king was tried in January 1793 and was executed on January 21, 1793. Card B: In spring 1793 the government called for 300,000 soldiers, and a rebellion broke out in the Vendée. A Committee of Public Safety was formed in spring 1793. Card C: From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Terror, revolutionary courts tried 'suspects' for treason, and the government set 'maximums' on prices. Robespierre was overthrown at the end of July 1794. Card D: The guillotine's victims during the Revolution are estimated at 15,000 to 17,000, and most were commoners, not nobles. Sources differ. Historians still disagree about why the Terror happened. Card E, a summary in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Wikipedia's page on the Girondins: The Girondins led the legislature and pushed for war, which was declared in April 1792. In the Convention the Mountain, a radical Jacobin group, pressed to speed the king's trial, while the Girondins delayed it, partly fearing that harming the king would bring Britain, Spain and Savoy into the war. The Girondins opposed price controls and favored a free market. The Mountain enacted price maximums and favored a centralized emergency government through the Committee of Public Safety. On June 2, 1793, the Girondin deputies were removed from the Convention. In October 1793 Brissot and 20 other Girondins were tried.

2. 1.

   Card E says the Girondins opposed price controls. Card C dates the price maximums to the Terror. What do cards C and E show together, Ari asks?

   • The maximums came before the Girondins left, so their removal was the result
   • The Girondins set the maximums, since they wanted to feed Paris during the war
   • The Mountain set the maximums because the Girondins had asked for them
   • The maximums came after the Girondins, who opposed them, left the Convention
3. 2.

   A student ranks the Girondins' push for war first among the causes of the Terror. How do cards B, D and E answer, Bo asks?

   • It is no cause, since the Girondins were removed before the Terror began
   • It is the sole cause, since the cards place the war before the other pressures
   • It is one pressure among several, and historians still disagree on the weights
   • It is the main cause, since the war they began led to the call for 300,000 soldiers

4. Use this

   Cards A to D, summaries in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Smithsonian Magazine. Card A: War began in spring 1792, and France was invaded. The monarchy was overthrown in August 1792, and France was declared a republic in September 1792. The king was tried in January 1793 and was executed on January 21, 1793. Card B: In spring 1793 the government called for 300,000 soldiers, and a rebellion broke out in the Vendée. A Committee of Public Safety was formed in spring 1793. Card C: From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Terror, revolutionary courts tried 'suspects' for treason, and the government set 'maximums' on prices. Robespierre was overthrown at the end of July 1794. Card D: The guillotine's victims during the Revolution are estimated at 15,000 to 17,000, and most were commoners, not nobles. Sources differ. Historians still disagree about why the Terror happened.

5. 3.

   A student writes: 'Exactly 16,000 people were victims of the guillotine.' What does card D allow, Jun asks?

   • At least 17,000, since that is the top of the range
   • Fewer than 15,000, since most victims were commoners
   • Exactly 16,000, since that is the middle of the estimates and sources agree on it
   • A range of 15,000 to 17,000; the middle, 16,000, is not a count
6. 4.

   Card B says the government called for 300,000 soldiers in spring 1793. A student says 300,000 men served. What does the card allow, Kira asks?

   • That 300,000 were called for, but the card does not say how many came
   • That more than 300,000 served, since a rebellion followed in the Vendée
   • That fewer than 300,000 served, since the rebellion shows people refused
   • That 300,000 served, since the card states the number
7. 5.

   Card D says 'most' of the 15,000 to 17,000 victims were commoners. A student writes 'over 7,500 were commoners.' Is that safe, Luz asks?

   • No, because 'most' means nearly the whole total, so the number must be higher
   • Yes, as a floor: most of at least 15,000 is over 7,500
   • No, because estimates cannot be used to find a share
   • Yes, and the number is exactly 8,000, the half of 16,000

8. Use this

   Card E, a summary in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Wikipedia's page on the Girondins: The Girondins led the legislature and pushed for war, which was declared in April 1792. In the Convention the Mountain, a radical Jacobin group, pressed to speed the king's trial, while the Girondins delayed it, partly fearing that harming the king would bring Britain, Spain and Savoy into the war. The Girondins opposed price controls and favored a free market. The Mountain enacted price maximums and favored a centralized emergency government through the Committee of Public Safety. On June 2, 1793, the Girondin deputies were removed from the Convention. In October 1793 Brissot and 20 other Girondins were tried.

9. 6.

   Card E gives Girondin and Mountain positions. Which choice assigns two positions to each side correctly, Milo asks?

   • Girondins: free market, speed the king's trial. Mountain: price maximums, delay the king's trial
   • Girondins: price maximums, emergency government. Mountain: free market, delay the king's trial
   • Girondins: free market, delay the king's trial. Mountain: price maximums, emergency government
   • Both sides: price maximums and emergency government, but they split on the king's trial

10. Use this

    Cards A to D, summaries in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Smithsonian Magazine. Card A: War began in spring 1792, and France was invaded. The monarchy was overthrown in August 1792, and France was declared a republic in September 1792. The king was tried in January 1793 and was executed on January 21, 1793. Card B: In spring 1793 the government called for 300,000 soldiers, and a rebellion broke out in the Vendée. A Committee of Public Safety was formed in spring 1793. Card C: From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Terror, revolutionary courts tried 'suspects' for treason, and the government set 'maximums' on prices. Robespierre was overthrown at the end of July 1794. Card D: The guillotine's victims during the Revolution are estimated at 15,000 to 17,000, and most were commoners, not nobles. Sources differ. Historians still disagree about why the Terror happened. Card E, a summary in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Wikipedia's page on the Girondins: The Girondins led the legislature and pushed for war, which was declared in April 1792. In the Convention the Mountain, a radical Jacobin group, pressed to speed the king's trial, while the Girondins delayed it, partly fearing that harming the king would bring Britain, Spain and Savoy into the war. The Girondins opposed price controls and favored a free market. The Mountain enacted price maximums and favored a centralized emergency government through the Committee of Public Safety. On June 2, 1793, the Girondin deputies were removed from the Convention. In October 1793 Brissot and 20 other Girondins were tried.

11. 7.

    A student says the Terror began when the Girondins were removed on June 2, 1793. What do cards C and E allow, Noah asks?

    • The removal and the Terror began in the same month, June 1793
    • The Girondins were removed after the Terror began, since the Terror is listed first
    • The removal came about three months before September 1793, so it came first
    • The Terror began on June 2, 1793, since that is when the Girondins were removed

12. Card F, a summary in our words

    In 1789 Article One of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen said that men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Women continued to be denied political rights. Card G, a summary in our words from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY): In May 1791 some free Black men and men of mixed descent were granted rights in the colonies, and the rights were then taken back. Enslaved people of Saint-Domingue rose up on August 22, 1791. Jews gained full rights on September 27, 1791. On February 4, 1794, the Convention abolished slavery in all the colonies.

13. 8.

    Article One (1789) says men are born and remain free and equal in rights. A student says it was applied equally by 1794. What do cards F and G show, Pia asks?

    • It was applied equally, since slavery was abolished in the French colonies in 1794
    • Jews gained rights in 1791 and slavery ended in 1794, but women stayed excluded
    • Rights reached the colonies in May 1791 and stayed in force there afterward
    • Rights were extended to Jews in 1794 and to the enslaved in 1791

14. Use this

    Cards A to D, summaries in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Smithsonian Magazine. Card A: War began in spring 1792, and France was invaded. The monarchy was overthrown in August 1792, and France was declared a republic in September 1792. The king was tried in January 1793 and was executed on January 21, 1793. Card B: In spring 1793 the government called for 300,000 soldiers, and a rebellion broke out in the Vendée. A Committee of Public Safety was formed in spring 1793. Card C: From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Terror, revolutionary courts tried 'suspects' for treason, and the government set 'maximums' on prices. Robespierre was overthrown at the end of July 1794. Card D: The guillotine's victims during the Revolution are estimated at 15,000 to 17,000, and most were commoners, not nobles. Sources differ. Historians still disagree about why the Terror happened.

15. 9.

    Card D says historians still disagree about why the Terror happened. What follows, Ren asks?

    • The disagreement is about whether the Terror happened
    • Any single explanation, such as war, is a reading to test, not a settled answer
    • Historians have no evidence, so nothing can be said about the Terror's causes at present
    • Historians agree that the war was the main cause, so the question is settled

16. Use this

    Cards A to D, summaries in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Smithsonian Magazine. Card A: War began in spring 1792, and France was invaded. The monarchy was overthrown in August 1792, and France was declared a republic in September 1792. The king was tried in January 1793 and was executed on January 21, 1793. Card B: In spring 1793 the government called for 300,000 soldiers, and a rebellion broke out in the Vendée. A Committee of Public Safety was formed in spring 1793. Card C: From September 1793 to July 1794, during the Terror, revolutionary courts tried 'suspects' for treason, and the government set 'maximums' on prices. Robespierre was overthrown at the end of July 1794. Card D: The guillotine's victims during the Revolution are estimated at 15,000 to 17,000, and most were commoners, not nobles. Sources differ. Historians still disagree about why the Terror happened. Card E, a summary in our words, written today from the Liberty, Equality, Fraternity site (George Mason University and CUNY) and Wikipedia's page on the Girondins: The Girondins led the legislature and pushed for war, which was declared in April 1792. In the Convention the Mountain, a radical Jacobin group, pressed to speed the king's trial, while the Girondins delayed it, partly fearing that harming the king would bring Britain, Spain and Savoy into the war. The Girondins opposed price controls and favored a free market. The Mountain enacted price maximums and favored a centralized emergency government through the Committee of Public Safety. On June 2, 1793, the Girondin deputies were removed from the Convention. In October 1793 Brissot and 20 other Girondins were tried.

17. 10.

    Reading Y, written for this sheet, says the Terror grew from fear of hidden enemies. Which pair of facts from cards C and E fits it best, Zee asks?

    • Price maximums were set during the Terror, and the Girondins had opposed them
    • France was invaded in 1792 and the Vendée rebelled in 1793, both before the Terror began
    • Courts tried 'suspects' for treason, and Brissot and 20 other Girondins were tried
    • Robespierre was overthrown in July 1794, which ended the Terror and the trials