French Revolution #2

"Equality" in the slogan "Liberty, equality, fraternity" meant equality:

Before the law

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, adopted by the National Assembly on August 27, 1789, was:

Document stating the principles of the French Revolution

How did the "Flight to Varennes" demonstrate that Louis XVI of France was no William III of England?

He left a message that he repudiated the revolution. Not exactly demonstrating that he was willing to submit to an elected parliament (Legislative Assembly).

Choose the following answer that does not "belong" in the corresponding group: Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen:

Preceded the American Declaration of Independence

Who was the former Bishop of the Gallican Church who suggested selling Church lands in France in order to solve French bankruptcy?

Talleyrand

What was the impact of the French women who were revolutionaries according to Graham?

The women of the French Revolution inspired the generation of women in the late 19th century to fight for equality and women's rights.

The Reign of Terror does not seem to be directed at any particular class. Who were those who were targeted by the Committee of Public Safety?

Those who opposed the rule of the National Convention.

How did the Committee of Public Safety betray the ideals established in the French "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen"? Three reasons:

1) Lack of the writ of habeas corpus 2) No innocence until proven guilty 3) No appeal process; no presentation of the "evidence" of your crimes was properly presented prior to the public "show trials".

What were the economic policies of the Committee of Public Safety?

1) Price controls or a price ceiling on bread. White bread and other "fancy" breads were considered unpatriotic. The brown bread of the revolution was cheap and could feed the "masses". 2) The government told companies what to produce 3) Food and supplies for the troops were requisitioned by the government. 4) Gold was confiscated and was currency by the government in order to pay for the new government programs.

How were these economic policies more socialistic than any attempted in Europe to that date?

A greater degree of government intervention in the economy was attempted under the 1st French Republic's National Convention and the goals were to provide for the poor. This was labeled as early "socialism".

Part of John Hall Stewart's book is reproduced for you. He says that the Revolution from 1789-99 was a drastic change, but, he goes on to examine what had gone beyond the "paper" state?

A. Political Goal: constitutionalism A. Political Reality in 1799: Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power and eventually establishes a military dictatorship. B. Economic goals: end of bankruptcy, free land and social mobility B. Economic reality in 1799: France still bankrupts, workers lacked the right to form unions or strike, but land is in the hands of a greater % of the French. C. Social goals: equality C. Social reality by 1799: the bourgeoisie had supplanted the aristocracy and clergy, but the "common man" still lagged behind politically and economically. D. Religious goals: religious tolerance D. Religious reality: France was still overwhelmingly Catholic; anti-Protestantism and anti-Semitism were not dead, but a greater degree of tolerance was apparent. E. Educational goals: greater education had been planned by the National Convention E. Educational reality: mass public education was still a long way from reality

Why did each of the following groups dislike the French Revolution?

A. foreign monarchs-The absolute monarchs in Eastern Europe were fearful that the ideas that produced revolution in France might make there way east. B. émigrés from France-The privileged status of the aristocracy was gone. The remnants of the feudal obligations owed by the French peasantry to the aristocracy were gone. The tax exempt status of the aristocracy was gone. In essence, the lifestyle of the aristocracy in France was destroyed by the revolution. This did not sit kindly with the émigrés who spent the next several years plotting to restore the Old Regime with their sympathetic allies across Europe. C. Catholic Church leaders-The Civil Constitution of the Clergy made the French priests employees of the French Civil Government. The confiscation of Church lands without compensation left the Church without a source of revenue. The tax exempt status was gone. D. Edmund Burke-Burke was not a fan of the French Revolution because of its origins and the "class" of people who were the driving force behind the Revolution. He did not believe that the French urban working class or the peasantry could simply be trusted with legislative or political powers. He worried that such a drastic change happening so quickly and without regard to French customs was against the natural order. Burke believed the revolution would turn violent.

The fundamental cause of the French Revolution was the:

Abuses of the Old Regime

How did Mary Wollstonecraft differ from Edmund Burke and Jean Jacques Rousseau?

Edmund Burke was not in favor of the French Revolution. Mary Wollstonecraft saw the French Revolution as an opportunity to destroy the unjust Old Regime. Wollstonecraft was a feminist in the early days of feminism. She believed in equality. Rousseau believed women's education should be limited to those pursuits the "female mind" was "capable" of mastering: arts, literature, poetry, sewing

The Jacobins who controlled the 1st French Republic attempted to institute all of the following EXCEPT:

Embraced the religion associated with Notre Dame Cathedral

"What is the Third Estate?", Sieyes stated, "We have three questions to ask and answer. First, what is the Third Estate? _____________________. Second, what has it been heretofore in the political order? _______________________. Third, what does it demand? To become ___________________." Fill in the bland using the following choices in correct order.

Everything, Nothing, Something

The French Revolution had an impact on history in that it:

Influenced people throughout the world with its ideals of democracy and nationalism

What political party dominated the "radical", or 2nd "Rousseau's" phase, of the French Revolution following the establishment of the 1st French Republic?

Jacobins

The French and American Revolutions are similar in that both were:

Provoked by what was considered to be unfair taxation and inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment

What were the reasons given for the execution of Danton?

Robespierre labeled Danton a counterrevolutionary and charged him with corruption (Danton did take some bribes) and cavorting with "enemies of the revolution".

What were the reasons given for the formation of the Committee of Public Safety?

The Committee of Public Safety was formed to deal with the threat of counterrevolution from within France.

What was the purpose of the Constitution of the Civil Clergy?

The Constitution of the Civil Clergy demanded that priests take an oath of allegiance to the civil government. Those who chose not to submit to the state were often labeled as "counterrevolutionaries". The goal was to completely subordinate the Church officials to state authority. THIS ANGERED GOOD CATHOLIC PEASANTS BUT IT PLEASED VOLTAIRE

How did the change in the selection of those who served in the National Convention "radicalize" the revolution?

The Legislative Assembly had been dominated by moderate bourgeois elements who favored a laissez-faire approach to economics, while still following an expansionistic foreign policy. The Jacobins dominated the National Convention. The radical element within the Jacobin political party, the Mountain (Robespierre, Danton, Marat), were going to create a democratic republic, just as soon as they dealt with the counterrevolutionaries within France and the counterrevolutionaries set to invade France (basically all of the governments in Europe). The radical Mountain element forced the execution of Louis XVI, continued the war with foreign monarchs, and sought to control the economy of France through government intervention on behalf of the sans-culottes.

Only 15% of total recorded executions during the Reign of Terror were from the Nobility and Clergy. Why might this be a bit surprising?

The Reign of Terror went after any class of person if that person was demonstrably (or in many cases framed) a "counterrevolutionary". Many a loyal Frenchman was "labeled" a "counterrevolutionary" in order to settle "old scores" with a jealous neighbor or political rival. This is not new in revolutions and you will see this time and again in subsequent revolutions.

How did the representation in the Legislative Assembly established as a result of the 1791 Constitution differ from how representatives to the National Convention?

The franchise was limited in the Constitution of 1791 to those who could afford the "poll tax". This meant that representation in the Legislative Assembly was limited to those who could afford to vote---the upper bourgeoisie.

What ideas were not being spread across Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries by the power of the Revolution?

The need for national legislatures with national self-determination

Describe the events of August 1792 and September of 1792 which turned the revolution "radical".

The sans-culottes of Paris once again demonstrated their power, as they had done on July 14, 1789 and October 5-6, 1789. The riots in Paris in August and the presence of large numbers of nationalistic Frenchmen from across the nation who were in Paris to defend her against foreign invasion set the stage for the destruction of the seemingly inept Legislative Assembly. The riots led to a new election and a new government, the radicalized National Convention.