Causes of the French Revolution Documents and Questions
Instructions: Read the following documents and answer the accompanying questions on the back on a separate sheet of paper.
Historical Context
The French Revolution of 1789 had many long-range causes. Political, social, and economic conditions in France made many
French people discontented. Most disaffected were merchants, artisans, workers, and peasants. The ideas of the Enlightenment
thinkers brought new views of government and society. The American Revolution also influenced the coming of the French
Revolution.
Document 1
In this adapted excerpt, Arthur Young describes his travels in France from 1787 to 1789
In the south of France there is a taille [tax on the land and its produce]. There is an injustice in levying the amount each person
must pay. Lands held by the nobility are taxed very little. Lands held by commoners are taxed heavily. . . .
September 5, 1788: The poor people seem very poor indeed. The children are terribly ragged.
June 10, 1789: The lack of bread is terrible. Stories arrive every moment from
the provinces of riots. . . . The price of bread has risen above people’s ability to pay. This causes great misery.
July 1789: . . . I was joined by a poor woman who complained of the hard times. “The tailles and feudal dues [rents owed the
lords] are crushing us,” she said.
Source: Arthur Young, Travels in France and Italy During the Years 1787, 1788, and 1789, E.P. Dutton & Co, 1927 (adapted)
Document 2
This diagram illustrates the three French estates in 1789 and the land each held during the old regime.
Document 3
These are excerpts from the cahiers (list of grievances about the king, taxing, and voting) brought to the Estates General
That the king be forced to reform the abuses and tyranny of lettre de cachet [a letter allowing a person to be jailed without trial].
That every tax . . . be granted [by the Estates General] only for a limited time.
That the taille [a tax on land] be borne equally by all classes. . . .
The meetings of the Estates General . . . shall be scheduled for definite times. . . .
In order to assure the third estate the influence it deserves because of its numbers, . . . its votes in the assembly should be taken
and counted by head.
Document 4
In The French Revolution, historian Albert Mathiez claimed that leadership fell to the middle class because of what those people
knew about Enlightenment ideas.
The Revolution had been accomplished in the minds of men long before it was translated into fact. . . .
The middle class . . . was sensitive to their inferior legal position. The Revolution came from them—the middle class. The working
classes were incapable of starting or controlling the Revolution. They were just beginning to learn to read.
Source: Albert Mathiez, The French Revoluion, Grosset & Dunlap, 1964 (adapted)
Document 5
Lord Acton, a professor at Cambridge University, suggested a different point of view.
The condition of France alone did not bring about the overthrow of the monarchy. . . . For the sufferings of the people were not
greater than they had been before. . . . The ideas of the philosophes were not directly responsible for the outbreak. . . .
[T]he spark that changed thought into action was supplied by the Declaration of American Independence. . . . [T]he American
example caused the Revolution to break out.
Source: Lord Acton, Lectures on the French Revolution, Macmillan, 1910 (adapted)
Document 6
The Political and Social System In France
Document 7
Comte D’Antraigues as quoted in an excerpt from Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution.
“The Third Estate is the People and the People is the foundation of the State; it is in fact the State itself; the other estates are merely
political categories while by the immutable (unchangeable) laws of nature the People is everything. Everything should be subordinated
(inferior) to it… It is in the People that all national power resides and for the People that all states exist.”
Document 8
Excerpt from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789)
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 imprescriptible rights of man; these rights are liberty,
property, security, and resistance to oppression…. 4. Liberty consists in being able to do anything that does not harm
another person..
3.
No one may be disturbed because of his opinions, even religious, provided that their public demonstration does not
disturb the public order established by law.
4.
The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man: every citizen can therefore
freely speak, write, print…
5.
. Any society in which guarantees of rights are not assured nor the separation of powers determined has no constitution.
Document Questions:
Document 1: What were three observations this traveler made about the life of peasants in France between 1787 and 1789?
Document 2: What was the relationship between the percentage of the population in each estate and the percentage of land
owned by that estate?
Document 3: What changes in the French government did the third estate demand?
Document 4: How did ideas impact the French Revolution, according to Mathiez? Why did the middle class, rather than the
working class, drive the Revolution?
Document 5: What did Lord Acton believe caused the French Revolution?
Document 6: What is the cartoonist saying about the relationship among the three estates in France?
Document 7: What does Comte D'Antraigues see as the rightful role of the Third Estate in France?
Document 8: According to this document, what are the natural rights of man?
Extended Response Question:
What were the three most important causes of the French Revolution?
In your response, cite at least three of the documents. When using the documents, make sure that
they support your topic sentence and that you are fully answering the question.
French Revolution DBQ Essay Due Date: Tuesday October 22
Instructions: Using the documents provided, you will be responsible for writing a 2-3 page paper answering the following question:
What were the three most important causes of the French Revolution?
Requirements:
Format: Length =2- 3 pages (Note: this means writing AT LEAST two pages)
Typed, double-spaced, 1” margins, 12pt. font, Times New Roman
YOUR THESIS MUST BE IN BOLD TEXT.
You must reference at least 6 of the documents.
Due Date: Tuesday October 22, 2013
Have a hard copy when you walk in the door. The library is available for these purposes before school. There will be no
exceptions for why you don't have it printed. computer malfunctions, ink running out, etc… will not be a valid excuse for a
late paper.
Tips:
Thesis writing and topic sentences:
Your introductory paragraph must include a thesis statement. Remember that this thesis must be in bold. Your
thesis should not include a list of the documents you will be using. It must include the three causes that you will
be discussing in your essay.
Your topic sentences should always begin with the argument for that paragraph. In other words, what cause will
you be discussing in your paragraph? DO NOT BEGIN YOUR PARAGRAPHS BY REFERENCING A
DOCUMENT.
Because you are discussing three causes of the French Revolution, you MUST have three body paragraphs.
Each of these body paragraphs will discuss one particular cause.
When using information from the documents, you must indicate which document you are using. For example:



According to Lord Acton, "The ideas of the philosophes were not directly responsible for the outbreak."
95% of the population owned only 55 percent of the land (Doc. 2)
DO NOT JUST QUOTE A DOCUMENT WITHOUT INTRODUCING THE QUOTE.
Analysis:
It is not enough to simply reference documents. You must ANALYZE the documents and discuss how the
documents that you are using support your thesis and arguments. Tell me what you think they prove This should
be the largest part of your essay and needs to be done for each of your main points (remember you have three).