Wiesner-Hanks

A brutal form of academic torture in which a student is forced to read an impossibly hard historical primary source. They are asked unanswerable questions in the second person, are triggered by rude historical quotes, and a few pages in are referred to a figure at the back of the reading, all while screaming and crying. This torture is inescapable and will almost always result in a tremendous headache unless you are a fucking whale who makes her idiot boyfriend go through it instead.

Then, read Wiesner-Hanks: "A Day in the French Revolution: July 14, 1789" and answer the following questions:

1. Why would the Bastille be a place crowds would naturally gather? What evidence do the documents give to answer this question?
2. How did the layout of Paris help or hinder large protests? How did Parisian architecture help unhappy residents join a political cause? What evidence do the documents give to answer this question?
3. How did news of action on the streets spread around Paris? How would that help or hinder protestors and, on the other hand, the government in controlling protests? What evidence do the documents give to answer this question?
4. How did the price of wheat affect every citizen? Consider the impact of high prices on each socioeconomic group in your answer. What evidence do the documents give to answer this question?
5. How did a person's socioeconomic status impact their willingness to either join the protest or support the government (and status quo)? What evidence do the documents give to answer this question?
6. If you were in the working class living in Paris in 1789, do you think you would have joined the protests? Why or why not? Use specific evidence from the documents in the Wiesner-Hanks packet to support your answer.