Important Questions: The French Revolution | Social Studies (SST) Class 9 PDF Download

Answer: The term ‘Old Regime’ refers to the society and institutions of France before 1789, characterized by a feudal system where society was divided into three estates, with the First (clergy) and Second (nobility) estates enjoying privileges, while the Third Estate bore the tax burden.

Answer: Both assertion and reason are true, and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.

Answer: On June 20, 1789, the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly and took the Tennis Court Oath, pledging to draft a constitution to limit the monarch’s powers, marking a significant step towards challenging royal authority.

Answer: A subsistence crisis is an extreme situation where basic means of livelihood, like food, are threatened. In France, it occurred due to rapid population growth, poor harvests, and soaring bread prices, which worsened the gap between the rich and poor.

Answer: b) 1789

Answer:

• Political Causes: The French monarchy under Louis XVI was despotic, with no representative body to voice public needs. The king’s extravagance and reliance on corrupt ministers fueled discontent.
• Social Causes: The feudal society was divided into three estates, with the First (clergy) and Second (nobility) estates enjoying privileges, while the Third Estate faced discrimination and heavy taxation, leading to resentment. The educated middle class rejected privilege by birth, favoring merit-based status.
• Economic Causes: France’s debt exceeded 3 billion livres due to wars and court extravagance. Taxes like taille and gabelle burdened the Third Estate, while poor harvests and rising bread prices caused subsistence crises, worsening economic unrest.

Answer:

• Financial Crisis: Louis XVI’s government faced a debt crisis, needing to raise taxes but lacking authority to impose them.
• Estates General Meeting (May 5, 1789): Called to address the tax issue, it revealed tensions as the Third Estate demanded individual voting, which was rejected by the king.
• Formation of National Assembly: On June 20, 1789, the Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly, aiming to draft a constitution (Tennis Court Oath).
• Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789): Public unrest due to high bread prices and fear of royal troops led to the attack on the Bastille, symbolizing the start of the revolution.
• Peasant Revolts: Rumors of attacks by brigands led to widespread uprisings, with peasants looting chateaux and burning manorial records, forcing reforms like the abolition of feudal privileges on August 4, 1789.

Answer: c) Equal political rights as men

Answer: The French Revolution brought some advancements for women:

• Improvements: The revolutionary government introduced laws for compulsory education for girls, banned forced marriages, allowed divorce for both genders, and permitted women to train for jobs and run businesses.
• Challenges: Women of the Third Estate worked for low wages and lacked education. During the Reign of Terror (1793–94), women’s political clubs were banned, and their activities were suppressed.
• Struggle for Rights: Women formed about 60 political clubs to demand equal political rights, led by figures like Olympe de Gouges, who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen. However, women only gained the right to vote in 1946 after prolonged suffrage movements.

Answer:

• On France: Ended arbitrary monarchical rule, established a republic, abolished feudal privileges, and introduced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, ensuring liberty and equality. The Napoleonic Code standardized laws and measurements.
• On Europe: Promoted equality by abolishing privileges, spread liberty (social, political, religious freedom), and emphasized sovereignty of the people, inspiring nationalism across European nations.
• Global Impact: Influenced equality movements in India and shaped the UN Charter of Human Rights, which adopted principles from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, promoting global human rights standards.

Answer: Both assertion and reason are true, and the reason is the correct explanation of the assertion.

Answer: The Third Estate, comprising commoners like merchants, lawyers, peasants, and artisans, played a pivotal role by forming the National Assembly in 1789 to draft a constitution limiting the king’s powers. Their demands for fair voting and representation sparked revolutionary changes.

Answer: The Declaration (1791) outlined natural and inalienable rights, including liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression, equality before the law, freedom of speech, and the right to participate in law-making.

Answer: Philosophers significantly influenced the French Revolution by challenging traditional authority and proposing new governance ideas:

• John Locke: In Two Treatises of Government, he rejected the divine right of kings, advocating for government based on consent.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Proposed a social contract where authority comes from the people, inspiring the Third Estate’s demand for democratic voting.
• Montesquieu: In The Spirit of the Laws, suggested separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, influencing the 1791 Constitution.
  Their ideas, spread through salons, coffee-houses, books, and newspapers, fueled public anger against privileges and inspired demands for liberty, equality, and sovereignty, shaping revolutionary actions.

Answer: b) It symbolized the start of the French Revolution