AP European History Practice Quiz: The Congress of Vienna
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Test your understanding with short quizzes. This quiz has 7 questions to check your progress.
Question 1 of 7
All Questions (7)
A) To promote the spread of revolutionary ideals across Europe.
B) To establish a new balance of power and prevent future domination by a single nation.
C) To create a single, unified European state under French leadership.
D) To permanently dismantle the French state as punishment for the Napoleonic Wars.
Correct Answer: B
The text explicitly states that the Congress of Vienna "attempted to restore the balance of power in Europe" to prevent the kind of dominance one country (France under Napoleon) had achieved.
A) The principles of absolute monarchy.
B) The restoration of traditional European borders.
C) The ideals spread by the French Revolution.
D) The establishment of a coalition of European powers.
Correct Answer: C
The French Revolution championed ideas of liberty, equality, fraternity, and nationalism. The conservative leaders at the Congress of Vienna viewed these revolutionary and nationalistic ideals as dangerous and destabilizing, and therefore sought to suppress them.
A) successful unification of the German states.
B) outbreak of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
C) collective European response to Napoleonic rule.
D) decline of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.
Correct Answer: C
The text establishes a clear cause-and-effect relationship: European states first responded to Napoleon by forming a coalition to defeat him, and the direct consequence of that victory was the convening of the Congress of Vienna to create a new European order.
A) The storming of the Bastille.
B) The defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of European powers.
C) The beginning of the Reign of Terror.
D) The publication of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Correct Answer: B
The text states, "After the defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of European powers, the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) attempted to restore..." This indicates Napoleon's defeat was the immediate trigger for the conference.
A) support for traditional monarchies.
B) failure to modernize the French legal code.
C) disruption of the existing European balance of power.
D) refusal to embrace Enlightenment philosophy.
Correct Answer: C
Napoleonic rule upset the traditional balance of power by creating a vast French-dominated empire. Other European states formed a coalition to counter this dominance and, as the text later notes, the Congress of Vienna's goal was to restore that balance.
A) a positive expression of the people's will, consistent with their goals.
B) a dangerous and destabilizing event that must be suppressed.
C) an internal matter for the affected state with no bearing on European stability.
D) a necessary step toward creating stronger, more unified states.
Correct Answer: B
The text explicitly states that a key goal of the Congress was to "contain the danger of revolutionary or nationalistic upheavals." A popular uprising for national self-determination is a prime example of a nationalistic upheaval, which they feared would lead to more war and revolution.
A) during the height of Napoleon's Empire.
B) before the outbreak of the French Revolution.
C) of the Roman Empire.
D) during the Protestant Reformation.
Correct Answer: B
By attempting to restore the balance of power and contain revolutionary and nationalistic ideas, the Congress of Vienna aimed to reverse the changes brought about by the French Revolution and Napoleon, effectively seeking to restore the pre-1789 political order (the Ancien Régime).