French Revolution Study Notes

Past Test Questions

Why did Louis XVI fail to satisfy the demands of the

revolutionaries in France during the period 1789-1793?

• Ancient regime ideals/conservatism• Indecisiveness between demands of three

estates• Catholic church vs. Enlightenment• Marie Antoinette/Austria• March on Versailles• Attempted flight to Austria• Brunswick Manifesto(Austria/Prussia)

Explain why Napoleon Bonaparte was able to establish a strong

autocratic government in France.

• 10 years of chaos• External threats [Prussian and Austrian]• War hero status• Military backing• Promises to uphold the revolution• Spy system/Censorship/Education• Code of Napoleon• Bureaucracy of delegated patriots• Senators given estates/money for loyalty

Why did the French Revolution become increasingly radical during

the years 1789-1794?• 1789-Estates General have disagreements

(voting order; constitution)• National Assembly declared/Louis XVI calls for

military intervention• Tennis Court Oath followed by storming the

Bastille and March on Versailles• 1791-New Constitution opposed by many

(Catholic priests, radical Jacobins, nobles)• Louis XVI attempts to flee• Austria and Prussia threaten military

intervention• 1792-War declared on Austria• 1793-1794-Committee of Public

safety/Robespierre/The Terror/Execution of Louis

How far did Napoleon Bonaparte maintain the ideals of the French

Revolution during the period 1799-1815?

• 1799-1815-Revolutionary Ideals (equality, liberty, fraternity)

• The Napoleonic Code (equal laws, abolish serfdom, religious freedom, property rights, careers open to talent)

• Unequal for women (property belongs to husband, treated as minors in lawsuits)

• Powerful, centralized bureaucracy• Benevolent despotism- Napoleon decides

what is good for France• European wars for conquest

Which of the grievances of the Third Estate in France in 1789

were the most important? Explain your answer.

• Third Estate grievances: 1789• Unfair taxation, feudal obligations to

nobility, voting by order in Estates General, voting rights, urban poor couldn’t afford consumer prices, opposition to conservative order of the ancient regime

How far did Napoleon Bonaparte achieve his aims in

domestic policy?• Napoleon’s aims; 1799-1815• Stabilize economy (bank of

France;coins)• Equal laws (Napoleonic Code)• Educated, talented

bureaucracy(lycee’s)• Restore relations with the Church

(Concordat with the Catholic church)• Nationalism(conscription for defense)• Grow/protect economy(Continental

System)

How far, and why, did the aims of the revolutionaries in

France change during the period from 1789-1793?

• 1789 vs. 1793 aims of revolutionaries• 1789-Constitutional monarchy; voting

rights; equal taxation; end of serfdom/feudalism

• 1793-Democratic republic; overthrow of nobility; death to anti-revolutionaries; war with Austria/Prussia

• Why? –Military intervention by Louis XVI and by Austria/Prussia; radicalism (Jacobins), great fear, the terror; disagreements between revolutionary factions/divided 3rd Estate; abdication of responsibility by Louis XVI

How far was Napoleon Bonaparte an oppressive ruler in his

domestic policies from 1799-1815?

• 1799-1815-Oppressive domestic policies?• Concordat with the Catholic church forced

clergy to be civil servants• Appointed prefects spied on people,

collected taxes, spread propaganda• Legal codes asserted male rights over

women• Workers needed a permit to get a job• Newspapers were censored• Artists were paid to glorify Napoleon

From 1789-1799, who posed the more dangerous threats to

the French Revolution: its internal or its external

enemies?• 1789-1799-Internal vs. external

enemies?• Internal: King (and his military),

Church, nobility, upper class 3rd Estate• External: European monarchs, Austrian

relatives, Prussia (and their armies)

Why did Louis XVI’s policies from 1789 fail to prevent his

execution in 1793?• Louis XVI• Divided loyalty between 3 estates• Indecisiveness as a political

leader/qualifications inherited, not earned• Impossible financial problems inherited from

Louis XIV and XV (upkeep of Versailles)• Questionable loyalty due to Marie

Antoinette/Austrian family• External threats by Austria and Prussia• Enlightenment vs. ancient regime (American

Revolution)• August Decrees/Declaration of Rights of Man

accepted by force• Attempt to flee France/treason