CBSE Class 9 Social Science Advanced The French Revolution Very Short Answer Questions Set 01

Very Short Answer Questions

Question 1. How was the French society organized during the Old Regime?
Answer:
French society before 1789 was a society of three estates.
1. First Estate: the clergy, who were exempt from paying taxes to the king.
2. Second Estate: the nobility, who were also exempt from taxes and in addition enjoyed feudal privileges such as collecting feudal dues from the peasants.
3. Third Estate: big businessmen, merchants, court officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, landless labourers and servants, both rich and poor. They paid most of the taxes.
In simple words: Society was split into clergy, nobles and everybody else, and only the third group paid taxes.

Teacher's Note:
1. Write the three estates as three numbered points.
2. Always mention the tax exemption of the first two estates; it is the heart of the question.

Question 2. What do you mean by 'subsistence crisis'? Why did it occur frequently during the Old Regime in France?
Answer:
A subsistence crisis is an extreme situation in which the basic means of livelihood, mainly food, are endangered.
It occurred often in the Old Regime because:
1. the population grew from about 23 million (1715) to 28 million (1789), so the demand for grain rose faster than production;
2. harvests failed because of bad weather, and the price of bread and other food grains rose;
3. wages did not rise with prices, so the poor could not buy enough bread.
In simple words: A subsistence crisis means people cannot get enough food to live on.

Teacher's Note:
1. Give the definition first and then two or three reasons.
2. Link the answer with the bad harvest of 1788-89, which led to the unrest of 1789.

Question 3. What was the composition of the Estates General of May 5, 1789?
Answer:
The Estates General was a political body to which each of the three estates sent representatives.
1. The First Estate sent 300 representatives and the Second Estate sent 300 representatives; they sat in rows facing each other on two sides.
2. The Third Estate sent 600 representatives, who had to stand at the back.
3. Each estate had one vote. Peasants, artisans and women were not allowed to enter.
In simple words: It had 300 clergy, 300 nobles and 600 Third Estate representatives, but voting was one vote per estate.

Teacher's Note:
1. The numbers 300, 300 and 600 are the facts examiners look for.
2. Point out that the Third Estate had half the members but only one vote out of three.

Question 4. What was the main aim of the National Assembly?
Answer:
The National Assembly, formed by the representatives of the Third Estate on 20 June 1789, aimed to draft a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.
The members swore at the Tennis Court not to disperse until the constitution was ready.
In simple words: The Assembly wanted a written constitution that would control the king's power.

Teacher's Note:
1. Relate the aim with the Tennis Court Oath.
2. The result was the Constitution of 1791.

Question 5. Mention two activities of the French Assembly which hastened the Revolution.
Answer:
1. The Tennis Court Oath (20 June 1789): the Third Estate deputies declared themselves the National Assembly and vowed not to disperse until they had given France a constitution. This challenged the king's authority.
2. On the night of 4 August 1789 the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes, which ended the privileges of the nobles.
In simple words: The Tennis Court Oath and the abolition of feudal dues pushed the Revolution forward.

Teacher's Note:
1. Other good answers are the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the drafting of the 1791 constitution.
2. Give the date of each activity.

Question 6. Why did Louis XVI want to raise taxes? Why was he opposed?
Answer:
Why he wanted taxes: The treasury was empty when he became king in 1774. Long and costly wars, the extravagance of the court and the huge debts (on which interest kept growing) had drained the finances of the state.
Why he was opposed: The first two estates were exempt from taxes, and they did not wish to lose their privileges. The Third Estate, which already paid most of the taxes, resented the burden and demanded a vote by head. When the king rejected this, the Third Estate walked out and formed the National Assembly.
In simple words: The king needed money because of debts, but those who could pay refused and those who paid were already overburdened.

Teacher's Note:
1. Write the answer in two parts as the question has two parts.
2. Mention the exemption of the clergy and nobles.

Question 7. What was the National Anthem of France? Who composed it?
Answer:
The national anthem of France is La Marseillaise.
It was composed in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, an army officer, as a war song for the revolutionary army. It became the national anthem in 1795.
In simple words: France's anthem is La Marseillaise, written by Rouget de Lisle in 1792.

Teacher's Note:
1. This answer is not in the chapter text; learn it as general knowledge about the Revolution.
2. The song got its name from volunteers from Marseille who sang it as they marched to Paris.

Question 8. What is a Guillotine? Who invented it?
Answer:
The guillotine is a device with two poles and a blade, used to behead a person quickly.
It was named after Dr Joseph Ignace Guillotin, a French doctor who recommended it as a quicker and less painful method of execution. (It was actually designed by Dr Antoine Louis.) It was widely used during the Reign of Terror, and Louis XVI himself was executed with it.
In simple words: The guillotine is a beheading machine named after Dr Guillotin.

Teacher's Note:
1. Most textbooks say that Guillotin 'invented' it, so write his name.
2. Mention the Reign of Terror for extra marks.

Question 9. State any two laws passed by Napoleon.
Answer:
1. The Napoleonic Code (1804) protected private property and gave France a uniform system of law.
2. A uniform system of weights and measures based on the decimal system was introduced.
In simple words: Napoleon protected property rights and brought in common weights and measures.

Teacher's Note:
1. Give two laws exactly as asked.
2. These were exported to the countries Napoleon conquered.

Question 10. Identify Napoleon, telling the part played by him in the French Revolution.
Answer:
Napoleon Bonaparte was a brilliant army general who rose to power in the unstable years of the Directory.
He took control of the government (as First Consul in 1799) and ended the political instability, and in 1804 he crowned himself Emperor. He spread revolutionary laws across Europe through his conquests but ruled as a dictator. He was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815.
In simple words: Napoleon was the general who ended the revolutionary period by becoming emperor.

Teacher's Note:
1. Mention his rise through the Directory's weakness.
2. The words 'First Consul' and 'Emperor' are the key terms.

Question 11. Fill in the blank: On __________ the members of the third estate assembled in an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles.
Answer:
20 June 1789
In simple words: The Tennis Court Oath was taken on 20 June 1789.

Teacher's Note:
1. Link the date with the Oath.
2. The Bastille fell about three weeks later, on 14 July.

Question 12. Fill in the blank: The National Assembly completed the drafting of the constitution in __________.
Answer:
1791
In simple words: The constitution of the National Assembly was ready in 1791.

Teacher's Note:
1. This constitution made France a constitutional monarchy.
2. It began with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

Question 13. Fill in the blank: Between 1793-1794 __________ ruled over the country of France.
Answer:
Robespierre
In simple words: Robespierre headed the government during the Reign of Terror.

Teacher's Note:
1. The period 1793-94 is the Reign of Terror.
2. He was guillotined in July 1794.

Question 14. Fill in the blank: __________ are the National colours of France.
Answer:
Blue, White and Red
In simple words: The French flag, the tricolour, is blue, white and red.

Teacher's Note:
1. The tricolour is also one of the symbols in Le Barbier's painting.
2. Remember the order in which they are named.

Question 15. Fill in the blank: In 1804 __________ crowned himself emperor of France.
Answer:
Napoleon Bonaparte
In simple words: Napoleon made himself emperor in 1804.

Teacher's Note:
1. He crowned himself rather than let the Pope crown him.
2. Waterloo followed in 1815.

Question 16. True or False: The most successful of the clubs was that of the Jacobins Club.
Answer:
True. The Jacobin club, named after the former convent of St Jacob in Paris, was the most successful political club.
In simple words: The Jacobins were the strongest club of the Revolution.

Teacher's Note:
1. Their leader was Robespierre.
2. The club planned the insurrection of 10 August 1792.

Question 17. True or False: John Locke wrote 'The Social Contract'.
Answer:
False. 'The Social Contract' was written by Jean Jacques Rousseau. John Locke wrote 'Two Treatises of Government'.
In simple words: The Social Contract is Rousseau's book, not Locke's.

Teacher's Note:
1. Keep the four thinkers and their books in a small table.
2. Locke refuted the divine right of kings.

Question 18. True or False: On the Night of 4 August 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes.
Answer:
True. The decree ended feudal obligations and taxes.
In simple words: The feudal system was abolished on the night of 4 August 1789.

Teacher's Note:
1. This came three weeks after the fall of the Bastille.
2. It ended the nobles' special rights over the peasants.

Question 19. True or False: The third estate consisted of nobles, landlords and dukes.
Answer:
False. Nobles belonged to the Second Estate. The Third Estate consisted of businessmen, merchants, officials, lawyers, peasants, artisans, landless labourers and servants.
In simple words: Nobles were in the Second Estate, not the Third.

Teacher's Note:
1. Learn the three estates with their members.
2. Landlords and dukes are examples of nobility.

Question 20. True or False: About 3 million men, women, children and youth below 25 comprised passive citizens.
Answer:
True (as per the book's key). In the chart of the 1791 system, about 3 million men are shown as passive citizens, together with women, children and youth below 25; only about 4 million of the 28 million people were active citizens.
In simple words: The statement agrees with the book's chart; only active citizens could vote.

Teacher's Note:
1. The figure of '3 million' refers only to the passive men; with women, children and young people the passive group was much larger.
2. Active citizens could vote; passive citizens could not.