Unit 5: Enlightenment and Revolution
Chapter 19: The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section I: Beginnings of the French Revolution
(Pages 434-441)
1. What were two “root” causes of the French Revolution?
2. Why was France’s economy in turmoil by 1789?
3. What was French society like before the French Revolution?
4. What effect did the absolute monarchs of France have on the lives of their subjects?
5. How did the common people feel about the way Louis XVI and his wife lived?
(How is power gained, used, and justified?)
6. What was the result of the 1789 meeting of the Estates General?
7. What was the connection between the character and abilities of Louis XVI and the state of the
nation?
8. What complaint did members of the Third Estate express to the King?
9. What did it mean to be a citizen of France at the dawn of the Revolution? (think of social classes
and responsibilities)
Go to your book (Page 440) or Mr. Pinnow’s web-site for the rest
(The National Assembly)
10. The conference remained _______________________ for more than a month.
11. Finally, the First Estate was asked for their _______________________.
12. Their vote to set up a National Assembly was the first outward act of _____________________.
13. When they were locked out of their conference rooms, they met at a _______________________.
14. The oath they took became known as the ____________________________________________.
Writing Essays: How to Organize your Thoughts
There are those who think that writing is a skill that some people possess, while others just aren’t born with it. That’s not
true. Just about anyone can write a good essay if they know what steps to follow. Essay organization makes the difference
between a good essay and a poor essay. A student may have some great ideas, but if those ideas are unorganized and poorly
worded it becomes difficult to read and despite the great ideas, will not be a good essay.
If your paper is unorganized and your reader has to work hard to figure out what you’re saying, you haven’t achieved your
purpose. There are three main components to any well-organized essay. Utilizing these components and following the
formula laid out in this article will help you organize your thoughts so that you can produce a well-written essay.
Three Essay Components: There are three main parts to an essay: the thesis, supporting points, and a conclusion. The
thesis is the purpose of your paper. If you can answer the question, “What’s your point?” then you have your thesis. You
cannot begin writing until you know what you’re writing about. The thesis should typically be stated in the last sentence of
your introduction paragraph. This gives the reader a clear idea of what the rest of the paper will be about.
Supporting points are the evidence you have found to support your thesis. If you can’t come up with very many supporting
points, you’d better find a new thesis that you can support with facts. Each supporting point will be its own paragraph. The
required length of your paper will have an impact on how many supporting points you will need.
Your conclusion is the final component of your essay. In your conclusion, you want to reiterate your thesis, but you don’t
want to just repeat words you’ve already written. This paragraph should be new writing tied closely to your previous points.
Once you understand the components that make up an essay, you’ll find that organizing your thoughts becomes easier.
Create an Outline: The first step to organizing your essay is to create an outline of the three main essay components: The
thesis, supporting points, and the conclusion. Here is an example of a simple outline:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Thesis
Supporting point #1
Supporting point #2
Supporting point #3
Conclusion
Purpose of your paper; point you plan to prove.
Concrete detail (facts) and commentary (opinion) that helps you prove your
thesis.
Re-iterate thesis in different words to wrap up.
You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint of the plans, and you can’t build an organized essay without a blueprint
either. This step may feel tedious, but it is necessary for organized writing. Do not skip your outline. Disorganized essays
are a result of a lack of planning by the writer. Your outline is your planning session. You can go into as much detail, or as
little detail as you’d like, but the more details you write into your outline, the faster the writing will go when you compose
your essay.
Organizing Your Writing: Here are a few organizational patterns you might consider:





Sequential—This style is particularly conducive when telling a story or relaying events chronologically. Simply
double-check that your events are written in the order in which they happened.
Spatially—This arrangement is a perfect fit when describing a scene. Depending upon what works best, you can
describe from left to right, bottom to top, center to edge, near to far, or the opposite. These structures will help you
take your reader along with you as you explore your observations.
Importance—When writing persuasively or trying to make a point, you'll first want to consider what works best:
hooking your reader with your main point and then following up with supportive details, or setting the reader up
with the details to lead to your main point. Similarly, do you want to move from your most to your least important
point, or vice versa?
Comparison—When comparing two objects or situations to each other, there are two basic organizational patterns.
One is to focus on the separate items, describing them in their entirety based on individual characteristics that they
have in common. A second pattern is to focus on the characteristics themselves, describing the items as they apply to
those characteristics.
Cause and Effect—To explain the connections between an event and what caused it, you can begin with a general
statement (either the cause or the effect) and then support that statement with details that represent the other.
Unit 5: Enlightenment and Revolution
Chapter 19: The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section II: Revolution and Terror
(Pages 442-447)
1. How did the French Revolution begin?
2. Why did the people storm the Bastille?
3. Why didn’t the troops in Paris stop the people from rioting?
4. What kind of government did the new leaders of France design?
5. What made Louis XVI accept the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen?
6. What became of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette?
7. What was the National Convention established to do? (What forces cause change?)
8. What was the purpose of the Reign of Terror?
9. Who was Robespierre?
10. What kind of government do you think France should have designed after the Revolution?
Go to your book (Page 441) or Mr. Pinnow’s web-site for the rest
(Interpret Political Cartoons)
11. A political cartoon is a drawing showing a cartoonists view of a __________________________.
12. It also uses ____________ to support a ____________________________.
13. Political Cartoons often use ___________________ to represent nations or political parties.
14. Political Cartoons often poke fun at _________________________ and __________________.
15. Cartoonists often ________________ and distort elements to create this humor.
16. This helps make an image more ____________________ and allows cartoonists to
__________________ their feelings on an issue more clearly.
17. The main purpose of a political cartoon is to _________________ or convert viewers to their point
of view.
Unit 5: Enlightenment and Revolution
Chapter 19: The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section III: Napoleon Bonaparte
(Pages 448-452)
1. How did Napoleon use the military to advance himself? (How is power gained, used, and justified?)
2. What are two qualities a military leader must have to be successful?
3. What’s at least one thing that may lead to a military leader’s eventual downfall?
4. Why did Napoleon spend so much of his time fighting wars?
5. What was Napoleon’s strategy for fighting wars?
6. Was the Code Napoleon a good or bad plan for the government of France?
7. Why do you think a country that had just overthrown their monarch a few years before, would now
accept Napoleon as Emperor?
8. Using what you already know about Napoleon, what do you predict is going to happen to
Napoleon/France next?
Paragraph 1
Introduction
Attention Getter:
Part A:
Part B:
Part C:
Detail 1:
Detail 2:
Detail 3:
Paragraph 3
(Part B)
Main Idea:
Detail 1:
Detail 2:
Detail 3:
Paragraph 4
(Part C)
Main Idea:
Detail 1:
Detail 2:
Detail 3:
Concluding Thoughts (including parts A/B/C):
Paragraph 5
Conclusion
Thesis Statement (Main idea)
Paragraph 2
(Part A)
Main Idea:
“Big Finish”:
Unit 5: Enlightenment and Revolution
Chapter 19: The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section IV: Napoleon’s Power Ends
(Pages 453-457)
1. How did the threat posed by France affect the other European nations?
2. Tell me something about the artist who painted the picture on page 455 of your book.
3. What effect did Russia’s geography have on the outcome of Napoleon’s invasion in 1812?
(Why is “where” important?)
4. How did Napoleon fall from power?
5. Why did Napoleon’s armies fail in Spain and Russia (something common to each)?
6. What was Napoleon able to do after he was exiled to Elba?
7. What’s the best thing to do to ex-rulers of countries (who may have caused some violence and
destruction)?
8. Why did the French and British banish Napoleon, instead of executing him, as they had with Louis
XVI and Charles I?
9. Was Napoleon a good leader or a bad leader for France? (Because…..)
Go to your book (Page 456) or Mr. Pinnow’s web-site for the rest
(The Battle of Waterloo)
10. Wellington prepared for Napoleon’s attack by moving his troops into a __________________
position.
11. The fighting went on ________________________.
12. The French were eventually ___________________ when the Prussians broke through their lines.
13. Several ___________________ men lost their lives in the battle.
14. Napoleon had suffered a ______________________________________
15. This defeat caused the end of his _______________ in France.
16. Napoleon ____________ to the British, who banished him to an island where he ___________.