French Revolution

• What was the financial situation of France after helping the Americans in their war with the British?

  France was deeply in debt
• What are the three estates in French society?

  • 1st Estate: Clergy
  • 2nd Estate: Nobility
  • 3rd Estate: Commoners
• Where did the three estates meet?

  At the palace of Versailles
• Who was the ineffective monarch of France during the revolution?

  King Louis XVI
• What issue did the three estates argue over instead of discussing the nation’s problems?

  The taxation system
• What did the 3rd Estate vow to achieve?

  Constitutional reform
• What was the name of the vow made by the 3rd Estate?

  The Tennis Court Oath
• What event occurred on July 14, 1789, in Paris?

  Peasants attacked the Bastille
• Why did the peasants attack the Bastille?

  They were looking for weapons and ammunition
• What significant document was passed by the Revolutionary Assembly on August 4, 1789?

  The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
• What did the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen guarantee?

  Equal rights and freedom of speech
• What happened to the royal family in June 1791?


  They tried to flee France but were captured
• For what were King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette put on trial?

  Treason
• What new instrument of death was used to execute King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette?

  The guillotine
• Who led the Committee of Public Safety during the revolution?

  Maximilien Robespierre
• What was the period of mass executions during the revolution known as?

  The Reign of Terror
• When do some historians believe the French Revolution ended?

  When Robespierre was executed
• Who became emperor of France five years after the revolution?

  Napoleon Bonaparte
• Who was the leader of Russia during the revolution?

  Tsar Nicholas II
• How was Tsar Nicholas II judged as a ruler?

  He was judged to be unprepared
• What major event did the Tsar take control of during World War I?

  The military
• What erupted in the capital during World War I?

  Strikes and war protests
• Who was the leader of the provincial government in Russia?

  Alexander Kerensky
• What did Alexander Kerensky refuse to enact until the war had ended?

  Land reforms
• What did Germany do to influence the revolutionary leaders in Russia?

  Put them on a train back to Russia
• What was abolished under Lenin's leadership?

  The monarchy
• What work schedule was established under Lenin?

  An eight-hour workday
• What did the Bolsheviks rename themselves to?

  The Russian Communist Party
• What significant event started under Lenin's government?

  A Russian civil war
• Who was appointed as the Commissar of War by Lenin?

  Leon Trotsky
• What territories did Russia lose to Germany when they negotiated peace?

  Poland, the Baltic territories, and Finland
• When were Nicholas II and his family murdered?

  On the nights of July 16-17, 1918
• Where were Nicholas II and his family murdered?

  In the city of Yekaterinburg
• What year did Lenin die?

  1924
• Who took over after Lenin's death?

  Joseph Stalin
• What changes did Stalin implement in Russia after taking control?


  He grabbed control of the economy and military, transforming the government into a dictatorship
• What were the key events surrounding Lenin's leadership and the aftermath?

  • Bolsheviks renamed to the Russian Communist Party
  • Russian civil war started under Lenin
  • Lenin appointed Leon Trotsky as Commissar of War
  • Russia lost Poland, Baltic territories, and Finland to Germany
  • Nicholas II and family murdered in Yekaterinburg (July 16-17, 1918)
  • Lenin died in 1924; Joseph Stalin took over
  • Stalin transformed the government into a dictatorship