Download vce 3 /4 revolutions

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VCE 3 /4 REVOLUTIONS - THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
SAC 1
OUTCOME 1: evaluate the role of ideas, leaders, movements and events in the
development of the revolution.
TASK: A RESEARCH REPORT
This task requires the student to research and complete an annotated timeline and then
answer set questions in class, both of which evaluate the role of ideas, leaders,
movements and events in the development of the revolution.
ANNOTATED TIMELINE IS DUE AND QUESTIONS COMPLETED IN ONE PERIOD IN CLASS
Friday 3 April
Your responses should contain references to the relevant aspects of the
knowledge described in Area of Study 1:
French Revolution: 1781 to 4 August 1789 (Necker’s Compte Rendu to 4 August
1789)
 The chronology of key events and factors which contributed to the revolution
 The causes of tensions and conflicts generated in the old regime that many historians
see as contributing to the revolution
 The ideas and ideologies utilised in revolutionary struggle
 The role of revolutionary individuals and groups in bringing about change
PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTORS
1. Knowledge of a range of events and factors which developed during the course of the
revolution.
2. Identification and analysis of causes of tensions and conflicts generated in the old
regime that contributed to its breakdown.
3. Analysis and evaluation of the importance of ideas, ideologies, individuals and groups
in bringing about revolutionary change.
4. Analysis and evaluation of evidence that synthesises a range of written and visual
sources.
5. Analysis and evaluation of historians’ interpretations
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Revolutionary ideas, leaders, movements and events
Research Report
ANNOTATED TIMELINE 1781 – 4 August 1789
Key questions:
1. What caused revolution to occur in France in 1789?
2. Is there any merit in Lefebvre’s idea that the events of the late 1780s were actually
the product of four revolutions all happening at the same time (see Adcock p 71)?
Instructions for the process:

You have 2 weeks to research these questions, largely for homework. Some class
time may be spent in the library – though note that this will be MINIMAL.

Your timeline will need to identify the relevant events which led to these four
revolutions.

You can put on your timeline all the events that you consider important, but you
must include the key events given below.

You will need to include detailed annotations for TEN of the dates/events listed
below. A minimum of one event for per time period must be annotated.
There are six time periods:
a) 1781-1783
d) May 1789
b) 1783-1787
e) June 1789
c) 1788
f) July-August 1789

The annotations for the events you select should be in paragraph form – ie; short
answer

The ten events you chose should demonstrate your ability to:

identify the events

prioritise the events

communicate the importance of tensions and conflicts that contributed to
the calling of the Estates General

discuss the ideas that contributed to the creation of a revolutionary situation

identify the key people involved at different stages

communicate the role of ideas, leaders and movements that contributed to
the Tennis Court Oath and the fall of the Bastille

use evidence effectively to support your contentions

critically evaluate the evidence you use

evaluate the historians’ interpretations that you refer to

Resources you should use include:

Adcock text

Resources from library intranet page

Internet sites – www.vcehistory.info

Handouts and selected readings by various historian
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Instructions for the final product:

The timeline could be divided into four columns:
Date/Event/Significance/Evaluation of primary sources and historians’
views

The final product may look something like the template shown below,
but it is not compulsory, because you can create your own design.

You must footnote your annotations using the accepted referencing
system.

You must submit a bibliography with your final timeline.
FRIDAY 3 APRIL 2009 PERIOD 3

The final timeline and bibliography must be submitted at the
BEGINNING of the lesson

You will be allowed to bring a COPY of your timeline into class to use
for reference.

You have one 75 minute period to answer a series of set questions.
Your responses should be paragraphs (short answers) in which you
synthesise information, analysis, evidence and evaluation.

Be sure to read all instructions VERY CAREFULLY
HISTORIANS TO RESEARCH
Marxist:
George Rude
George Lefebvre
Albert Soboul
Revisionist:
Alfred Cobban
William Doyle
Simon Schama
Peter McPhee
Christopher Hibbert
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Key Dates/Events in the History of the
French Revolution
1. 1781 Necker’s Compte Rendu
2. 1778-1783
France’s
involvement
in
the
American
War
of
Independence
3. ‘Madame Deficit’ and the hatred of Marie Antoinette
4. 1787 Assembly of Notables
5. 1788 Revolt of the Paris Parlement
6. Cahiers de doleances: their significance in raising expectations and
the ideas they reflected
7. 1788 Publication of Abbe Sieyes’ What is the Third Estate
8. May-June 1789 the opening of the Estates General and the
development of the constitutional crisis
9. 11-12 June 1789 the defection of some of the clergy
10. 17 June 1789 formation of the National Assembly
11. 19 June1789 the First Estate vote to join the Third Estate
12. 20 June 1789 the Tennis Court Oath
13. 23 June 1789 the Royal Session
14. 27 June 1789 the King accepted the National Assembly and ordered
all the clergy and nobles to join
15. 7 July 1789 the National Constituent Assembly
16. Formation of the National Guard under Lafayette to protect the
National Assembly
17. 11-12 July 1789 the dismissal of Necker and his reinstatement
18. 14 July 1789 storming of the Bastille by the people of Paris
19. Creation of the Paris Commune
20. July-August 1789, the Great Fear in the rural areas
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Revolutionary ideas, leaders, movements and events
Research Report
An annotated timeline 1781 – August 1789
There should be four columns in your chart
Date Event
Significance
xx/x/xxx
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x/xx/xxxx
xx xxx xxxxx
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xx xxx xxxxx
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x/xx/xxxx
xx xxx xxxxx
Evaluation of historians’ views
and/or primary sources
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gujtydsl, jiotrd fkyeskovjyrdj gblyrdtg. Vhtsky bujutd bhkiredsal gl,ufds blutfdsl luyyuffl.
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gujtydsl, jiotrd fkyeskovjyrdj gblyrdtg. Vhtsky bujutd bhkiredsal gl,ufds blutfdsl luyyuffl.
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gujtydsl, jiotrd fkyeskovjyrdj gblyrdtg. Vhtsky bujutd bhkiredsal gl, ufds blutfdsl luyyuffl.
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VCE 3 / 4 HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS
French Revolution
Sample questions for SAC 1.
1. Identify the major tensions and conflicts which existed in Old Regime France in
1788-89, prior to the opening of the Estates General.
2. What are the defining characteristics of the economy of pre-revolutionary
France?
3. How were urban and rural poor united and how were they divided in prerevolutionary France?
4. To what extent was the challenge of any one group responsible for the collapse
of the government in France in 1789?
5. How did Enlightenment ideas contribute to the outbreak of revolution in France in
1789?
6. In what ways was the Old Regime in France failing to satisfy the needs of its
people?
7. What challenges faced the Church in late eighteenth century France? How did
these contribute to the outbreak of revolution?
8. What evidence is there to show that Enlightenment ideas about constitutional
monarchy were widespread in Old Regime France?
9. To what extent was aristocratic defiance a key factor in the outbreak of the
French Revolution?
10. To what extent was Louis XVI responsible for the outbreak of the French
Revolution?
11. Why did the Estates General revolt in 1789?
12. Why is the storming of the Bastille considered a significant event in the outbreak
of revolution in France?
13. Discuss the view that the outbreak of revolution in France was actually the
culmination of several class revolts?
14. To what extent were the changing circumstances and expectations of the
bourgeoisie a factor in the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789?
15. To what extent was the bourgeoisie the strongest force for change in the Old
Regime?
16. Why is the Tennis Court Oath considered a significant event in the outbreak of
revolution in France?
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17. Explain why the Old Regime in France became increasingly unpopular as it grew
weaker in the years prior to 1789.
18. What economic changes contributed a fundamental challenge to the existing
economic structure of pre-revolutionary France?
19. Why did the Assembly of Notables in 1787 fail to solve the bankruptcy crisis in
France?
20. Explain how the financial crisis of 1788-1789 led to the Tennis Court Oath.
21. How valid is it to assert that Louis XVI caused the French Revolution by calling
the Estates General.
22. Discuss the main pressure points that were destabilising the traditional feudal
structure of Old Regime France.
23. What was the impact of France’s involvement in several wars in the eighteenth
century?
24. Why did Louis XVI and the institution of the monarchy lose the respect of many
people in France in the years immediately prior to 1789?
25. Discuss the significance of the cahiers de doleance in creating a revolutionary
situation in 1789.
26. Why are the cahiers de doleance so important to historians of the French
Revolution?
27. Identify the reason why the government of Louis XVI was unwilling or unable to
adjust to changing circumstances by 1787-1789.
28. Outline how economic disputes helped create a revolutionary situation in France
in the 1770s and 1780s.
29. Outline how conflict between the estates helped to create a revolutionary
situation in France prior to 1789.
30. Outline how the French nobility played a role in the creation of political tensions
in the lead-up 1789.
31. Decide at what point reform was unattainable and the revolution inevitable.
Provide evidence to support your view.
32. Explain why resistance to reform between 1770 and 1789 helped create a
revolutionary situation in France.
33. How did the Assembly of Notables in February 1787 contribute to pressure for
revolutionary change between 1787 and 1789?
34. Explain the importance of revolutionary ideas in the development of the French
revolution between June and August 1789.
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35. How did the ideas of Abbe Sieyes contribute to the development of a
revolutionary situation in France in 1789?
36. Explain the importance of the storming of the Bastille in the development of the
French Revolution between July and August 1789.
37. Using three or 4 points, explain how Necker’s Compte Rendu in 1781 contributed
to a revolutionary situation by May 1789. Provide evidence to support your
answer.
38. Using three or four points explain how political responses made by Louis XVI
from May 1789 until August 1789 contributed to the development of the French
Revolution. Provide evidence to support your answer.
39. Using three or four points, explain how the meeting of the Assembly of Notables
in 1787 contributed to a revolutionary situation by May 1789. Provide evidence to
support your answer.
40. Using three or four points, explain how the actions taken by urban workers and
by peasants between July and August 1789 contributed to the development of
the French Revolution. Provide evidence to support your answer.
41. How did revolutionary leaders and radical ideas create criticisms of the Old
Regime in France in the decades before 1789?
42. What were the main political, social and legal principles that were developed in
France between June and August 1789?
43. Explain the role of the popular movement in the development of a revolutionary
situation in France in 1789.
44. Using three or four points, explain how rising discontent in the Third Estate
contributed to a revolutionary situation in France up to May 1789. Provide
evidence to support your answer.
45. How did the French government’s failure to reform contribute to pressure for
revolutionary change between 1781 and 1789?
46. Why did economic tensions contribute to pressure for revolutionary change in
France between 1781 and 1789?
47. Explain the importance of revolutionary leaders in the development of the French
Revolution.
48. How did the Paris parlement contribute to the creation of revolutionary tension in
France during the late 1780s?
49. Explain the role of Abbe Sieyes in the development of revolutionary sentiment in
France between 1787 and 14 July 1789?
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The relevant detailed content that you should know for this SAC:
1. The structure of French society during the Old Regime and a
timeline of events

concepts of Divine Right and Absolute Monarchy

lit de justice and parlements

the Three Estates and their interrelationship with each other

the taxation system: tax to the Church, (tithe); direct taxes to the
King, (taille), indirect taxes to the King, (gabelle, corvee, vingtieme);
and seigneurial dues

pressure points that were beginning to destabilize the balance of the
Old Regime

growth of the bourgeoisie

privilege and power in the Old Regime

tensions within each Estates: Upper and Lower clergy; nobles of the
sword and nobles of the robe; the peasants and ordinary people and
the bourgeoisie

the involvement in expensive wars: the Seven Years War, 1756-1763;
the American War of Independence. 1778-1783

psychological, political and economic impact of the American War of
Independence

attempts to solve the national debt and reform taxation: Necker,
1777-81 and the Compte Rendu; Calonne,1783-7; Brienne, 1787-8;
Necker, 1788-9

the increasing national debt: “Madame Deficit”, non-separation of the
public and private purse

poor harvests, 1778-9,1781-2, 1785-6 and 1788

revolt of the Paris Parlement

Assembly of Notables 1787

reasons for calling the Estates General 1788

cahiers de doleances: their significance in raising expectations and the
ideas they reflected

the lifting of censorship and the criticisms, cartoons and pornographic
rumours about the royal family

the dislike of Marie Antoinette

Abbe Sieyes and What is the Third Estate

opening of the Estates General, May 1789

taxation reform accepted by each Estate
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
issue of the voting by head or by Estate

the development of the constitutional crisis

the defection of some of the clergy 11-12 June

17 June 1789 formation of the National Assembly

19 June, the First Estate vote to join the Third Estate

20 June, the Tennis Court Oath

23 June, the Royal Session

the refusal to disband the National Assembly and defection of many of
the Second Estate

27 June, the King accepted the National Assembly and ordered all the
clergy and nobles to join

7 July, name changed to the National Constituent Assembly

late June to mid July the King amassed foreign mercenary troops
around Paris and Versailles

formation of the National Guard under Lafayette to protect the National
Assembly

11-12 July, the dismissal of Necker and his reinstatement

14 July, storming of the Bastille by the people of Paris

creation of the Paris Commune

July-August 1789, the Great Fear in the rural areas

August Decrees and the abolition of feudalism

different historians interpretations of the causes of the French
Revolution: Marxist historians, in particular, Lefebvre and the four
revolutions concept: aristocratic, bourgeois, urban and rural;
Revisionist historians and discussions whether the economic crisis or
the constitutional crisis were the major cause
 primary and secondary quotations that illustrate all the dot points from
the area of study.
2. The ideas utilised in revolutionary struggle:

Influence of Enlightenment ideas: belief in natural law and reason
being applied to human affairs

Influence of the English writer, Locke, and admiration of the English
constitutional monarchy

Ideas of the Enlightenment philosophes such as Voltaire, Diderot,
Montesquieu and Rousseau
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
Concepts such as liberty, equality, fraternity, a constitution,
constitutional monarchy, equality before the law, the abolition of
privilege, religious tolerance, citizenship, the rights of man, taxation
and judicial reform
3. The role of a revolutionary group and/or parties in bringing
about radical change, including sources of tension and division
as well as unity:

The aristocratic revolt: defiance of the Paris Parlement; desire for some
form of constitutional monarchy; refusal of the Assembly of Notables
1787 to agree to tax reform

The constitutional crisis May- June 1789

Role of the bourgeoisie in initiating change; formation of the National
Assembly

Tennis Court Oath 20 June 1789: links with Locke’s ideas about the
rights of man, the overthrow of bad government and the social
contract between the people and the government

Lafayette and the formation of the National Guard

Storming of the Bastille July 1789

The Great Fear July-August 1789

Historian Lefebvre’s Marxist analysis of the revolution as four separate
class revolts: aristocratic, bourgeois, urban/municipal and peasant
4. The role and significance of individuals and revolutionary
publications in the revolution:

Individuals such as Sieyes, Lafayette, Mirabeau, Bailly, Petion, Danton,
Desmoulins, Marat

Publications such as the cahiers de doleance during 1788-9; cartoons
and pornographic pamphlets that eroded the authority of the
monarchy; Sieyes’ What is the Third Estate published in January 1789;
the August Decrees in August 1789.