French Revolution Practice Test: 32 minutes

1. On the eve of the French Revolution, the French monarchy's greatest problem was
a. a losing war with Spain
b. the inability to handle finances on a sound basis
c. a conflict (more political than religious) with the pope
d. none of the above

2. The reason for the tremendous French debt was

a. hesitancy to tax the nobility
b. indecisive finance ministers
c. financial support of the American Revolution
d. both a and c

3. The provincial parlements which rejected new tax assessments

a. were controlled by the middle class
b. were controlled by the aristocracy
c. set themselves up as the spokesmen of the nation and as protectors of French liberty against
the illegal assertion of monarchical power
d. both b and c

4. The financial problem of the French government in the 18th century lay
a. in the incompetence of its financial ministers
b. with the inability of the royal government to tap the wealth of the French nation
c. with the dissension among the nobility
d. with the dominance of the Catholic Church over the royal government

5. Louis XVI's finance minister, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, proposed to

a. encourage trade with England
b. establish a new land tax requiring payments from landowners regardless of their social status
c. lower some taxes such as the gabelle on salt
d. both b and c

6. The First, Second and Third Estates represented which groups of society respectively:
a. clergy; peasantry, middle class and artisans; nobility
b. nobility; peasantry, middle class and artisans; clergy
c. clergy; nobility; peasantry, middle class and artisans
d. peasantry, middle class and artisans; clergy; nobility

7. The Third Estate represented

a. the nobility
b. the clergy
c. everybody but the nobility and clergy
d. the soldiers

8. The gabelle was

a. a tax on salt
b. a tax on farmers for supplies of seed
c. a prison for debtors
d. a court for the clergy
9. The Estates-General was called in order to
a. divide the nobility which would result in their loss of power
b. give the people a chance to decide about further support of American revolutionary efforts
c. decide whether new taxes of the nobility should be instated
d. restrict the power of the monarch

10. The clergy generally supported which of the following groups:

a. aristocracy
b. monarchy
c. lower classes
d. middle classes

11. The Estates-General organized itself into a new legislative body called
a. the National Convention
b. the Legislative Assembly
c. the Directory
d. the National Assembly

12. The spirit of the Third Estate was best displayed in a pamphlet by Abbe Sieyes entitled
a. "A Change of Order"
b. "What Is the Third Estate?"
c. "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
d. "Progress and the Third Estate"

13. In 1788, the Parlement of Paris ruled that voting should proceed
a. by order rather than by head, which would result in the dominance of the Third Estate
b. by head rather than by order, which would result in the dominance of the Third Estate
c. by order rather than by head, which would result in the dominance of the first two Estates
d. by head rather than by order, which would result in the dominance of the first two Estates

14. It was suggested by the royal council that the method of voting in the Estates-General take place
by
a. doubling the number of Third Estate representatives
b. separating the first two Estates
c. reducing the number of representatives from the first two Estates
d. adopting the vote-by-order format

15. The cahiers de doleances

a. were reforms which remedied the complaints of the nobility
b. were the lists of grievances brought to Versailles in 1789 by members of the Estates-General
c. were municipal bonds used to finance Louis' court activities and therefore resented
d. none of the above

16. Among the cahiers presented at the meeting of the Estates-General at Versailles was
a. a decree which demanded that taxes not be levied against the nobility
b. an important financial measure to subsidize Louis' royal activities
c. a statement against government waste
 d. none of the above

17. The famous "Tennis Court Oath" was taken

a. after the Third Estate left the Estates-General and formed the National Assembly
b. by the First Estate in response to the formation of the National Assembly
c. in order to force the king's abdication
d. by the Second Estate in order to quell the rioting in Paris
18. The composition of the National Assembly
a. was only of members from the Third Estate
b. included members of the first two Estates, as well as the Third Estate
c. was determined by the king
d. was unimportant because of the method of voting employed

19. Most of the members of the National Constituent Assembly wished to create a
a. republic
b. constitutional monarchy
c. classical democracy
d. democracy, but with a healthy commitment to communistic principles regarding property

20. With regard to the National Constituent Assembly, Louis XVI

a. cooperated with the new assembly
b. undermined the new assembly
c. sided with the nobility
d. both b and c

21. The fall of the Bastille in 1789

a. represented the first redirection of the cause of the revolution by the populace of Paris
b. was actually not as crucial an aspect of the revolution as is often depicted
c. stimulated similar disturbances in provincial cities
d. both a and c

22. The "Great Fear" was

a. urban disturbances which resulted in hundreds of executions
b. an aristocratic reaction to the disturbances in Paris
c. peasant disturbances which destroyed chateaux and feudal records
d. the reactionary policy of the church regarding Deism

23. One of the most permanent achievements of the National Constituent Assembly was
a. provincial reorganization resulting in the establishment of 83 departments
b. the establishment of a department of social welfare
c. the reorganization of the army
d. both a and b

24. The economic policy of the National Constituent Assembly can best be described as
a. unregulated freedom
b. structured efficiency
c. lax and corrupt
d. obsessed with repudiation of the national debt

25. An assignat was

a. a grievance against the government
 b. a government bond
c. an exemption from traditional obligations which peasants owed to lords
d. none of the above

26. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy

a. was part of a reform movement within the French church
b. was the major blunder of the National Constituent Assembly
c. joined the French church to the secular state
d. both b and c

27. The emigres were

a. exiled members of the middle class
b. members of the aristocracy who left France and opposed the revolution in exile
c. traitors to the aristocracy
d. none of the above

28. The Girondists in 1792 were

a. a radical group of Jacobins
b. a moderate revolutionary sect
c. supporters of the emigres
d. both b and c

29. Who favored the declaration of war on Austria in 1792?

a. the Girondists
b. the nobles
c. Louis XVI
d. both a and c

30. The war against Austria in 1792

a. united the aristocracy against the forces of revolution
b. resulted in English involvement in French domestic politics
c. radicalized the revolution and led to a second revolution which overthrew the monarchy and
established a republic
d. disrupted the revolution and allowed the emigres to return to France

31. At the meetings of the National Constituent Assembly, the Jacobins pressed for a
a. democracy
b. constitutional monarchy
c. republic
d. none of the above

32. The "September Massacre" refers to

a. the deaths of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
b. the unceremonial end to the Legislative Assembly which had been ineffective
c. the execution of prisoners as counterrevolutionaries
d. riots throughout the countryside in September 1792, which resulted in the deaths of over 1200
aristocrats

33. The sansculottes were

a. lawyers
b. artisans
 c. shopkeepers
d. both b and c

34. The sansculottes favored

a. relief from hunger and inflation
b. an end to the war against Austria and Prussia
c. an unregulated economy
d. both a and b

35. The Mountain was

a. a group of radical Jacobins
b. a group of aristocratic supporters
c. supporters of Louis XVI
d. both b and c

36. "Citizen Capet" referred to

a. Robespierre
b. Danton
c. Louis XVI
d. Marie Antoinette

37. Edmund Burke

a. supported the French Revolution
b. was the most articulate critic of the French Revolution
c. was a liberal British political theorist
d. advocated the policies of the Mountain

38. In the 1790's, Poland was partitioned by

a. Russia, Bavaria and Austria
b. Austria, Italy and Bavaria
c. Russia, Prussia and Austria
d. Russia and Austria

39. The very success of the French Revolution

a. strengthened American resolve abroad
b. brought other reform movements in Europe to a rapid close
c. intensified reform movements throughout Europe
d. made the French shirk foreign conquests

40. About how many people died in the Reign of Terror?

a. 500
b. 7,500
c. 25,000
d. 110,000

41. The levee en masse

a. conscripted males into the army
 b. directed economic production for military purposes
c. took place under the direction of Robespierre
d. both a and b

42. "Virtue without which terror is fatal; terror without which virtue is impotent" was a statement of
a. Carnot
b. Burke
c. Robespierre
d. Danton

43. The fall of Robespierre was motivated by

a. the hatred of the sansculottes
b. instincts of self-preservation among his associates
c. the reaction of the aristocrats
d. none of the above

44. The Thermidorian Reaction began in 1794 and consisted of

a. the executions of former terrorists
b. the establishment of the Directory
c. the destruction of the machinery of terror and the institution of a constitutional regime
d. all of the above

45. The largest new propertied group to emerge from the revolutionary turmoil was the
a. peasants
b. sansculottes
c. church
d. lawyers
 French Revolution Practice Test
Answer Key
1. b
2. d
3. d
4. b
5. d
6. c
7. c
8. a
9. c
10. a
11. d
12. b
13. c
14. a
15. b
16. d
17. a
18. b
19. b
20. d
21. d
22. c
23. a
24. a
25. b
26. d
27. b
28. a
29. d
30. c
31. c
32. c
33. d
34. a
35. a
36. c
37. b
38. c
39. b
40. c
41. d
42. c
43. b
44. d
45. a