SAMPLE MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS:  ABSOLUTISM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

1.  When Louis XIV said "L'etat, c'est moi," he was referring to
    a.  his role as an enlightened despot with the people's best interests in mind.
    b.  his assumption of the role of his own prime minister upon the death of Mazarin.
    c.  his title as Sun King.
    d.  his resistance to the Frondeurs.
    e.  his belief in the divine right of kings.

2.  All of the following accurately describe the reign of Louis XIV EXCEPT
    a.  he dominated the French or Gallican Church.
    b.  he took away the independent authority of the nobility.
    c.  he filled his government with bourgeois advisors.
    d.  he impoverished the national treasury by building the Palace at Versailles.
    e.  the Golden Age of French culture coincided with his reign.

3.  Why, if during the reign of Louis XIV French was the "universal language" and French styles were the measure of good taste, was the French army called the Huns of the 17th century?
    a.  The army relied primarily on cavalry tactics.
    b.  The army recruited troops from the Russian steppes.
    c.  Large, modern and aggressive, it upset the continent's balance of power.
    d.  Its top commanders - - Turenne, Vauban and Conde - - had trained under Attila.
    e.  It was the first European army to include integral artillery.

4.  During the 16th and 17th centuries, while France developed absolutism, the English monarchy was checked by
    a.  a strong peasantry.
    b.  a few powerful and independent noble families.
    c.  a Bill of Rights guaranteeing individual freedoms.
    d.  the Anglican Church.
    e.  a strong Parliament.

5.  That England developed a constitutional government can be explained by all of the following EXCEPT
    a.  the English kings rejected the divine right theory.
    b.  the Tudor monarchs, lacking a legitimate claim to the throne, had to cooperate with Parliament.
    c.  the English gentry blurred the sharp class distinctions between the nobility and middle classes that existed elsewhere in Europe.
    d.  revolution strengthened the role of Parliament.
    e.  a tradition of individual rights served as a basis for constitutionalism.

6.  Probably the most significant long-term result of the Puritan Revolution (1642-1660) was
    a.  the restoration of the Stuarts to the throne.
    b.  the issuance of the Petition of Rights.
    c.  the increased authority of Parliament.
    d.  the vindication of Calvinism as England's official religion.

7.  Which of the following was NOT a provision of the Declaration of Rights, 1689 [English Bill of Rights]?
    a.  Only Parliament can levy taxes.
    b.  The king may maintain a standing army without the consent of the Parliament.
    c.  All laws must be made with the consent of Parliament.
    d.  The right of trial by jury is guaranteed.
    e.  Due process of law is guaranteed.

8.  William III and Mary II's ascension to the English throne in 1689
    a.  restricted the right of Parliament to raise taxes.
    b.  nullified the Declaration of Rights.
    c.  was founded on the divine-right theory.
    d.  indicated the supremacy of Parliament.
    e.  restored the Tudor dynasty to power in England.

9.  When James I, Stuart, of England stated, "That which concerns the mystery of the King's power is not lawful to be disputed; for that is to wade into the weakness of Princes, and to take away the mystical reverence that belongs unto them that sit in the throne of God," he was referring to
    a.  the writ of habeas corpus.
    b.  the theory of divine-right monarchy.
    c.  the Calvinist concept of predestination.
    d.  papal supremacy.
    e.  balance-of-power politics.

10.  The political theorist who defended absolutism by picturing humans in a state of primitive anarchy, leading lives that were "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" is
    a.  Thomas Hobbes.
    b.  Niccolo Machiavelli.
    c.  Bishop Bossuet.
    d.  Jean Bodin.
    e.  Rene Descartes.

11.  A central feature of the English Bill of Rights was its
    a.  policy of imprisonment for unpaid debts.
    b.  insistence on the abolition of rotten boroughs.
    c.  acceptance by the monarch of parliamentary supremacy.
    d.  establishment of universal manhood suffrage.
    e.  allowance for a Catholic to become king of England and the realm.

12.  To strengthen the unity and uniformity of his state, Louis XIV did all of the following EXCEPT
    a.  revoke the Edict of Nantes.
    b.  appoint intendants throughout the country.
    c.  allow Colbert to draw up a commercial code.
    d.  have Versailles built.
    e. decrease the size of the French army.

13. In order to put French finances on a stable footing and make France self-sufficient, COLBERT did all of the following EXCEPT
    a.  set up the area of the Five Great Farms.
    b.  build an infrastructure of roads and canals.
    c.  reduce tariffs on Dutch and English products.
    d.  promote tax exemptions for manufacturers.
    e.  establish overseas trading companies.

14.  The Fronde was
    a.  a committee of civil servants whose creation marks the beginning of the modern state.
    b.  the effort by upper classes to assert their authority over the king.
    c.  a secret religious society headed by appointees of Catherine de Medici with the purpose of assassinating French Protestant leaders.
    d.  the association of French Protestants in service to the French monarchy.
    e.  an extremist group of French Catholics who sought expulsion of all non-Catholics from France.

15.  What is the political significance of the Treaty of Utrecht [1713]?
    a.  French expansionist policies were effectively ended.
    b.  The Hapsburg Empire was finally checked in its drive to dominate Europe.
    c.  The supremacy of the British navy was acknowledged.
    d.  The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved - - finally!
    e.  The Dutch was recognized as masters in Belgium.

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