Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 Name: __________________________________ Date: _______________ French Revolution Quote and Image Analysis Read the following quotes analyze the images, and answer the questions. There are then two creative tasks to complete. “In France, a great mystery is always made of the status of the finances; or if they are…discussed, it is in…edicts and always when we want to borrow; but those words…have necessarily lost their authority and experienced men no longer believe them without the guarantee, so to speak, of the moral character of the minister of finance…the sovereign…can always do what he wants to do…increasing taxes within his power; but the most dangerous, and the most unjust of resources, is to seek momentary aid with blind confidence and take loans without insuring the interest, or to raise revenues, or to economize. ~Jacques Necker, 1781 1. Identify and explain one cause of the French Revolution this quote connects to. 2. How does this quote illustrate the impact of France’s financial condition on the division between the Estates? “…It was a terrible scene…the fighting grew steadily more intense; the citizens had become hardened to the fire; from all directions they clambered onto the roofs or broke into the rooms…people bravely faced death and every danger; women in their eagerness, helped us to the utmost…Serene and blessed liberty, for the first time, has at last been introduced into this abode of horrors, this frightful refuge of monstrous despotism and its crimes…De Launay was struck by a thousand blows, his head was cut off and hoisted on the end of a pike with blood streaming down all sides…this glorious day…usher in for us the triumph of justice and liberty.” ~Parisian Newspaper, 1789 3. Which action, and for what purpose, in the early stages of the Revolution is being described in this eyewitness account? 4. Why did the people think such violence would be needed to achieve to justice and liberty? Was the action justified, why or why not? Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions can be established only for the common benefit. 2. The aim of every political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. 11. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most previous rights of man; every citizen can therefore freely speak, write, and print… ~Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, 1789 1. Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the common utility. 4. Liberty and justice consist of restoring all that belongs to others; thus the only limits on the exercise of the natural rights of woman are perpetual male tyranny; these limits are to be reformed by the laws of nature and reason… 10. No one is to be disquieted for his very basic opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum, provided that her demonstrations do not disturb the legally established public order. ~Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, 1791 5. How do items 1, 2, and 11 reflect revolutionary events from America, as well as from the Enlightenment? 6. Why were these items deemed important enough to include in the Declaration? 7. Where did the 1789 document fall short, leading to the publication of the 1791 document? 8. Explain why item number 4 was important for women to include, given what many French citizens were fighting for. 9. Rewrite number 10 in your own, modern, words to demonstrate understanding. Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 “Revolution is the war waged by liberty against its enemies; a constitution is that which crowns the edifice of freedom once victory has been won and the nation is at peace.” ~Maximilien Robespierre, 1793 10. How does Robespierre justify the actions and bloodshed of the French Revolution in this statement? “The youngest of the guards, who seemed about eighteen, immediately seized the head, and showed it to the people as he walked around the scaffold; he accompanied this monstrous ceremony with the most atrocious and indecent gestures. At first an awful silence prevailed; at length some cries of ‘Vive la Republique’ were heard. By degrees the voices multiplied, and in less than ten minutes this cry, a thousand times repeated, became the universal shout of the multitude, and every hat was in the air.” ~Henry Essex Edgeworth de Firmont, 1793 11. What purpose was served by King Louis’ head being displayed in such a manner? 12. Why do you think the immediate reaction to the king’s head being displayed was “an awful silence?” “All Frenchmen are in permanent requisition for the service of the armies. The young men shall go to battle; the married men shall forge arms and transport provisions; the women shall make tents and clothing and shall serve in the hospitals; the children shall turn old lint into linen; the aged shall take themselves to the public places to arouse the courage of the warriors and preach the hatred of kings and the unity of the Republic.” ~Proclamation of the National Convention, 1793 13. Does this excerpt support or contradict a goal, or goals, of the French Revolution, and why? Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 14. Briefly explain how each image connects to the quote it is placed next to. Then, pick one of the quotes above that does NOT have an image next to it and make your own political cartoon/image/map to illustrate the quote itself or something that the quote refers to in the wider French Revolution context. Creative Task Options 15. Create either a pro or anti revolution advertisement (such as one that would be published in a newspaper seeking supporters for the cause). Then, write a “letter to the editor” style response from the OPPOSITE point of view of your advertisement explaining why someone should be against what is advocated in the advertisement. 16. Imagine social media existed back then. Create a series of 8 original social media posts (tweets, Instagram images with hashtags, and/or Facebook statuses) related to the French Revolution, each with 3 responses representing Royalists, Moderates, Radicals, American neutralists, American sympathizers, and the British. Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 17. In the quote bubbles, write two reactions King George III and George Washington would have had to the French Revolution. One reaction from each must be directed at the general public, the other must be a statement they would have delivered to a group of political leaders. Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 Answers 1. students should touch on the king’s mismanagement of money, French debt, the increase of taxes without corresponding benefits to the people, etc 2. 3rd Estate paying the taxes but not reaping the rewards, etc, more tax payments means less money which means can’t buy bread as it’s getting more expensive, etc 3. storming of the Bastille, to get weapons for protection against kings’ guards and to free prisoners 4. answers will vary 5. they reflect the belief in social equality, natural rights (Locke), sentiments from the Declaration of Independence (life/liberty/property/etc), free speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, they support the individual rights of people and the liberties available when a monarch has been deposed, etc 6. answers will vary 7. did not explicitly/directly/even indirectly include women 8. unless women are considered equal citizens, they are still living under tyranny, but instead of a monarch it is the “tyranny” of the ruling men 9. answers will vary, but essentially, if women have the “right” to be executed like men, they should have the right to politically speak/publicly speak like men, and be heard 10. he declares that it is in the name of liberty, although “enemies” are admittedly not quite defined, that the crowning achievement they are fighting for is a constitution and that can only be achieved when there is no longer a monarch, he says peace will follow this fight for victory and presumably peace and liberty are worth fighting for for the majority of the French citizens 11. answers might include people needing/wanting proof of the king’s death, or that it’s the guards showing their victory over the monarchy 12. answers will vary, but some students might note that the reality of what just happened sinking in, people processing what will happen next because yes many of them supported the king’s execution but once it happened there’s the shock and awe type of reaction and then wondering what’s next, etc 13. answers will vary, but students will likely say support due to people all being equal enough to have a role to play, all of those roles being important, etc, not being divided by estate anymore but working together to form and strengthen the Republic, etc 14. —first image shows the Estates, the suffering of the Third Estate, which is reflected by inference in the quote —second image shows the storming of the Bastille —third image reflects the equality desired and worked toward in the Declaration of Rights of Man —fourth image shows the execution of Marie Antoinette which was going to shortly follow the king’s execution which is the one referred to in the quote, it shows the lengths the commoners/radicals were willing to go to to ensure the monarchy didn’t make a come back, etc Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 Thank you for your purchase and support! Please consider leaving feedback on this resource to get TpT Credits towards future purchases. “Follow me” to find out when I post new resources and am having a sale! If you notice a typo, or want clarification on a resource, please contact me via my Q&A before leaving feedback. Need an activity that you can use for any topic? Click HERE Need a Bundle? Click HERE! TERMS OF USE This item is a paid digital download from my TpT store https:// www.teacherspayteacher s.com/Store/StephaniesHistory-Store. As such, it is for use in one classroom only This item is also bound by copyright laws and redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part thereof) on the Internet are all strictly prohibited, including sites like Amazon Inspire or public class websites/blogs Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, stephanieshistorystore@gmail.com Visit stephanieshistorystore.com for teaching ideas and stories about teaching history Copyright Stephanie’s History Store 2019 All images are from public domain. This includes images taken by employees of various US Government agencies; images published prior to 1923; or images that have otherwise been released to public domain.
