3.4 CHY4U Unit 3 The French Revolution Class Activity Express

Teacher: Wendy Moffatt
3.4 CHY4U Unit 3 The French Revolution Activity Sheet
After participating in today’s lesson please answer the following questions. Then submit
your work in Turnitin Drop Box 3.4
• What was the Old Regime?

The French Old Regime was the socio-political and economic structure from the 15th
century until 1789. This system divided society into three estates: clergy, nobles, and
commoners. Absolute monarchy, aristocratic feudal privileges, and significant social and
economic inequities characterized it.
• How does an absolute monarchy (absolutism) operate?

Under an absolute monarchy, the king has total authority over both the government and
the lives of the populace without any restrictions imposed by the constitution. The idea of
divine right, which maintains that a king or queen's claim to rule originates straight from
God, allows them to exercise unbridled political power. The king or queen enacts laws,
sets taxes, presides over the armed forces, and handles international relations at their
discretion.
• Describe the size, privileges, exemptions, and burdens of the three estates.
First Estate (Clergy): About 1% of the population owned 10% of the land and was free
from several taxes.
Second Estate (Nobility): About 2% of the population held crucial political, military, and
judiciary offices. Nobles were tax-exempt and enjoyed vast territory and wealth.
Third Estate (Commoners): Peasants, city workers, and bourgeoisie comprised 97% of
the population. The Old Regime taxed them heavily and gave them little political
authority.
• What is deficit spending?

A budget gap happens when the government spends more money than it brings in
through taxes and other sources. According to King Louis XVI, the French government
ran a significant deficit by paying for expensive wars and keeping up with expensive
court costs. This made the financial problem that led to the Revolution much worse.
Teacher: Wendy Moffatt
• Describe the type of thinking used by the philosophes.

Enlightenment intellectuals and philosophers promoted secular principles, reason, and
science above custom and religious authority. They stressed universal rights, individual
liberty, justice, and equality. Thinkers who shaped revolutionary calls for change and
constitutional government were Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu.
• What were the underlying (long-term) causes of the French Revolution?

Social Inequality: The inflexible social stratification of the Old Regime resulted in
widespread dissatisfaction.
Economic hardship was caused by inadequate fiscal management, expensive wars, and
dependence on regressive taxes, which burdened the economy.
The Enlightenment ideas included novel ideologies advocating democratic values and
reforms, which in turn inspired the general population.
Louis XVI's ineffectiveness in dealing with financial and political problems undermined
his power, resulting in a weak monarchy.
• What were the immediate (short-term) causes of the French Revolution?

Financial Crisis: Near-bankruptcy needed drastic budgetary adjustments.
Famine: In the late 1780s, poor harvests caused food shortages, high prices, and famine.
Estates-General Deadlock: Louis XVI called the Estates-General, which hadn't convened
since 1614 when customary methods failed to settle the financial issue.
• Explain the debate over voting which occurred in the Estates-General.

The main topic of discussion in the 1789 Estates-General was the voting procedure. The
First and Second Estates benefited from the one vote each estate had historically had,
even though the Third Estate had a far greater population. The Third Estate insisted that
heads, not estates, count votes to represent their numbers more accurately. The Third
Estate broke away and proclaimed itself the National Assembly due to tensions sparked
by the first rejection of this proposal.
• What was the Tennis Court Oath?

A crucial occasion in the early phases of the French Revolution was the Tennis Court
Oath. On June 20, 1789, Third Estate members convened on a neighbouring indoor
tennis court after their exclusion from their meeting venue. There, they promised not to
split until they wrote France's new constitution. This action launched a direct challenge
to King Louis XVI's power and signalled the start of a new phase in French politics.

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3.4 CHY4U Unit 3 The French Revolution Class Activity Express

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Teacher: Wendy Moffatt

3.4 CHY4U Unit 3 The French Revolution Activity Sheet

• What was the Old Regime?

• How does an absolute monarchy (absolutism) operate?

• What is deficit spending?

• Describe the type of thinking used by the philosophes.

• What were the underlying (long-term) causes of the French Revolution?

• What were the immediate (short-term) causes of the French Revolution?

• Explain the debate over voting which occurred in the Estates-General.

• What was the Tennis Court Oath?

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