The French Revolution and Napoleonic Era - Sample Multiple-Choice Questions and Answers

1. Which of the following was the basic cause of the French Revolution? 

A. A majority of the French people wanted to replace the monarchy with the republic. 

B. France was a weak country and in economic decline in 1789. 

C. The past abuses of the Old Regime. 

D. The support of nobles for the absolute government of Louis XVI. 

E. The invasion of France by foreign countries.

2. The French bourgeoisie supported the French Revolution mainly because 

A. they believed in the Theory of Divine Right of Kings. 

B. they were not allowed to own property under the Old Regime. 

C. they resented their lack of political power under the Old Regime. 

D. they wanted a democratic form of government. 

E. the government set up a voting system based on universal male suffrage. 

3. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen adapted by the National Assembly in the French Revolution was 

A. a declaration of war against Austria and Prussia. 

B. a statement of the main principles of the French Revolution. 

C. a constitution establishing a republican form of government. 

D. a set of laws that confiscated Church property. 

E. an announcement of the French military victory over the enemies of the Revolution.

4. Which of these positions does Mary Wollstonecraft support in her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman? 

A. Edmund Burke’s belief that the revolution was creating chaos on the European continent 

B. That women should focus on economic progress over political progress 

C. That the ideas of Olympe de Gouges were too radical 

D. That inherited privileges were important in society 

E. That the ideals of the French Revolution of liberty and equality should be applied equally to men and women 

5. Which social group had the greatest number of victims during the Reign of Terror (1793–1794)? 

A. Bourgeoisie 

B. Clergy 

C. Nobility 

D. Foreigners 

E. Peasants

6. Which was an important result of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790)? 

A. The Pope continued to appoint Church officials. B. The Church was made a department of the French states. 

C. The clergy were given power to open more monasteries and convents. 

D. Church officials received privileged positions in the Estates General. 

E. The Pope was required to pay the salary of the clergy.

7. All of the following are true about the Napoleonic Code EXCEPT that 

A. it provided equal treatment before the law. 

B. it guaranteed religious toleration and trial by jury. 

C. it abolished what remained of serfdom and feudalism. 

D. it is the basis of law in Latin America and is still used in France. 

E. it improved the rights of women. 

8. In Goya’s painting, The Third of May 1808, the painter depicts the shooting of Spanish civilians by 

A. Napoleon’s troops. 

B. those involved in the Decembrist Revolution. 

C. Bismarck’s troops trying to eliminate Austria’s influence over Germany. 

D. Garibaldi’s Red Shirts trying to unify Sicily. 

E. the Estates General.

9. What was a major goal of the Congress of Vienna? 

A. To establish democratic governments in all European nations 

B. To maintain a balance of power in Europe 

C. To preserve the reforms of the French Revolution 

D. To encourage nationalism E. To reestablish the Holy Roman Empire 

10. The most influential figure at the Congress of Vienna was 

A. Talleyrand. 

B. Metternich. 

C. Napoleon Bonaparte. 

D. Nicholas II. 

E. Otto von Bismarck.

Multiple-Choice Questions: Answers and Explanations 

1. C. The Old Regime, which described the political, economic, and social conditions in Europe before 1789, was marked by absolutism in government, inequality among classes, and unequal and burdensome taxation. In 1789, France was divided into Three Estates. The First Estate was made up of the clergy and the Second Estate was composed of the nobles. They made up about 2 percent of the population, but owned about 40 percent of the land and paid no taxes. The Third Estate was made up of the middle class (bourgeoisie), city workers, and the peasants who comprised 98 percent of the population, controlled 60 percent of the land, and paid a variety of different taxes, such as the tithe to the clergy and feudal dues to the nobles. A majority of the French people supported the monarchy until 1791. In 1789, France was one of the wealthiest countries in Europe and not in economic decline. The nobles supported Louis XVI but wanted more influence in the decision-making process. The foreign powers invaded France in 1792, two years after the French Revolution had begun. 

 2. C. The French bourgeoisie supported the French Revolution mainly because they resented their lack of political power under the Old Regime. The bourgeoisie (middle class) included prosperous bankers, merchants, and manufacturers who propped up the French economy. They also included the officials who staffed the royal bureaucracy. The estates system allowed the clergy and the nobles to monopolize all the benefits while the majority received very little. The French bourgeoisie did not support the belief in the Divine Right Theory. They still were loyal to the monarchy but one with less absolute power. They did not support democracy. The middle class owned about 40 percent of the land but had little or no political influence. 

 3. B. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was a statement of the main principles of the French Revolution. The declaration guaranteed basic civil rights and that all political sovereignty rested in the hands of the people, not the king. It also proclaimed that all male citizens were equal before the law. Its principles captured the slogan of the French Revolution, “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” The declaration established a constitutional monarchy, not a republican form of government. The Civil Constitution of the clergy led to the confiscation of Church land. The declaration was a statement of political principles and not an announcement of any military victories. 

 4. E. Mary Wollstonecraft was directly influenced by the ideas of Olympe de Gouges. She accepted her belief that women should have the same rights as men. Wollstonecraft also stressed, like de Gouges, that women should be given improved educational opportunities in conjunction with political rights. Her goals were to achieve economic and political freedom and to not sacrifice economic freedom for political gains. As a firm believer in liberty and equality, Wollstonecraft rejected Edmund Burke’s ideas about the fear of freedom and the ideas of privileges based on birth. 5. E. Of the 40,000 who died during the Reign of Terror, about 70 percent were from the peasant class. About 15 percent were bourgeoisie and the remaining 15 percent were clergy and nobility. There were no major executions of foreigners. 

 6. B. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which was passed by the National Assembly, denied the power of the pope’s control of the Catholic Church in France. The clergy became salaried officials of the state. The clergy were elected by the people and were independent from the pope. The clergy were denied special privileges and the government dissolved monasteries and convents. 

 7. E. The Napoleonic Code did not improve the rights of women. The Code had several weaknesses in regard to women: Women could not vote; a wife owed obedience to her husband, who had total control over property; and an unmarried woman could not be a legal guardian. The Code recognized civil marriages and divorces; however, it was easier for a man to sue for divorce than a woman. Male heads of households regained complete authority over their wives and children. The Napoleonic Code embodied the Enlightenment principle of equality of all citizens before the law, religious toleration, and trial by jury. The Code also abolished the remnants of serfdom and feudalism. It is still the basis of law in Latin America and France.

8. A. The painting, The Third of May 1808, shows the execution of Spaniards by Napoleon’s troops. In 1808, Napoleon replaced the king of Spain with Napoleon’s brother, Joseph, who introduced liberal reforms that sought to undermine the Spanish Catholic Church. The Spanish remained loyal and conducted a campaign of hit-and-run raids. These attacks kept Napoleon bogged down when troops were needed elsewhere. The painting does not depict events associated with the Decembrist Revolution, Bismarck, programs of Nicholas I, or the Estates General. 

 9. B. A major goal of the Congress of Vienna was to maintain a balance of power in Europe. Following Napoleon’s defeat, diplomats of the victorious nations and France met in Vienna from 1814 until 1815. This was a peace conference to reconstruct war-torn Europe. Although the leaders of the Congress had different objectives, they were determined to turn back the clock of Europe to the time before the French Revolution. They wanted to establish a balance of power, or a distribution of military and economic power, to prevent any one nation from becoming too strong. To ensure this balance of power, Prince Metternich of Austria created the Concert of Europe. The Concert included all the major European states and pledged to maintain the balance of power and to suppress any uprising inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution. The representatives of the Congress of Vienna did not support establishing democratic governments in all European nations. They opposed the French revolutionary ideas of equality and democratic governments. Napoleon brought about the end of the Holy Roman Empire. The leaders of the Congress of Vienna were interested in stopping the spread of democracy and nationalism and not interested in reestablishing the Holy Roman Empire, which Napoleon had destroyed. 

10. B. Prince Metternich of Austria was the most influential figure at the Congress of Vienna. This is because Metternich set a pattern of anti-democratic policies that was followed by most of the rulers of Europe. For 50 years, he was the most influential diplomat in Europe. Talleyrand of France was not the most influential figure at the Congress because he played a secondary role to Metternich. Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled at St. Helena and did not attend the meeting in Vienna. Nicholas II of Russia and Otto von Bismarck of Germany were leaders of their respective countries in the middle of the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries.