The French Revolution: Origins & Impact for Students
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12 cards
Question: What is a revolution (general definition)?
Answer: A revolution is a time when great or dramatic changes happen.
Question: What does a political revolution usually mean?
Answer: A total change in the system of government.
Question: What common sequence typically leads people to start a political revolution?
Answer: Long-term dissatisfaction with conditions, seeing no other way to bring change, rising up to overthrow leaders, forming a new government and system of
Question: According to some historians, when is a revolution more likely to occur: under extreme oppression with no hope, or when people hoped for change but we
Answer: When people had hopes that changes would be made soon and then those changes were not carried out; disappointment and frustration can more likely caus
Question: Give an example from the text where hope for change followed by disappointment helped trigger a revolution.
Answer: In France, calling together the Estates General in 1789 created hope the king would change things; when he did not, revolution broke out.
Question: Why did a revolution occur in France rather than in some other European countries, according to the passage?
Answer: Because in France there was some hope for reform (e.g., calling the Estates General) that was then disappointed, whereas in places like Russia there w
Question: Are all revolutions political? If not, what other types are mentioned?
Answer: No. Revolutions can be economic (e.g., Industrial Revolution), cultural (e.g., major change in music styles), or technological (e.g., computer revolut
Question: What conditions in France by 1789 made a political revolution possible?
Answer: Dislike of the political system and social structure, influence of new ideas about freedom and equality and governance, an economic crisis with povert
Question: What was the political system in France in 1789?
Answer: An absolute monarchy, where the king had the right to appoint all ministers and make all decisions and laws; the Estates General existed in theory but
Question: How long had the Estates General been prevented from meeting before 1789?
Answer: Meetings had been held for 175 years (i.e., it had not met for 175 years).