Configuración [31] Once the Montagnards gained control of the National Convention, they began demanding radical measures. Accessed 21 October 2018. "War and Terror in French Revolutionary Discourse (1792-1794).". Maximilien Robespierre, Master of the Terror. 2014. Omissions? By the end of 1793, two major factions had emerged, both threatening the Revolutionary Government: the Hébertists, who called for an intensification of the Terror and threatened insurrection, and the Dantonists, led by Georges Danton, who demanded moderation and clemency. With the enactment of the law, the number of executions greatly increased, and the period from this time to the Thermidorian Reaction became known[by whom?] In September 1793 price controls were extended to other staple consumer goods, and the armées révolutionnaireswere cre… "During the Reign of Terror, at least 300,000 suspects were arrested; 17,000 were officially executed, and perhaps 10,000 died in prison or without trial."[6]. This created a mass overflow in the prison systems. "[18] In Robespierre's speech to the National Convention on 5 February 1794, titled "Virtue & Terror", he regards virtue as being the "fundamental principle of popular or democratic government. The tension sparked by these conflicting objectives laid a foundation for the "justified" use of terror to achieve revolutionary ideals and rid France of the religiosity that revolutionaries believed was standing in the way. Montesquieu. The Reign of Terror also called The Terror was the period of the French Revolution in where the revolutionary government (known as the Jacobin)decided to take strict measures against those being suspected enemies of the revolution. French Revolution. On 29 September, the Convention extended price fixing from grain and bread to other essential goods, and also fixed wages. Many of his contemporaries commented on Danton's financial success during the Revolution, certain acquisitions of money that he could not adequately explain. "Terror, Vengeance, and Martyrdom in the French Revolution: THE CASE OF THE SHADES - Oxford Scholarship", 2014, accessed 1 May 2018. An execution by guillotine during the Reign of Terror, depicted in, France: The French Revolution and Napoleon, 1789–1815. The Reign of Terror: Was it Justified? [28] With so many similarities to the first days of the Revolutionary Wars for the French government, with threats on all sides, unification of the country became a top priority. Émigrés (EHM•ih•GRAYZ), nobles and others who had fled France, hoped to undo the Revolution and restore the Old Regime. Plato’s Republic was a roadmap to justify the City-State. [4], Violent period during the French Revolution, This article is about the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. A Web of English History. [citation needed]He protested against Catholic dogmas and the ways of Christianity, stating, "of all religions, the Christian should, of course, inspire the most toleration, but till now the Christians have been the most intolerant of all men." During the Terror, deputies on mission began attacking the symbols of Catholicism: smashing images, vandalizing buildings, and burning vestments. [16][17] Those who resisted the government were deemed "tyrants" fighting against the virtue and honor of the general will. (Contextualization) Why did the Committee of Public Safety pass the Decree Against Profiteers? The Convention used this as justification for the course of action to "crush the enemies of the revolution…let the laws be executed…and let liberty be saved. As early as May 1793 the National Convention imposed price controls on grain and bread in an effort to ensure an adequate food supply. This activity asks students to look beyond the “chopping block” to discover the political motivations of the man behind the Terror: Maximilien Robespierre. A Web of English History. The fear of the guillotine and the mob justice led to self exile of several nobles and clergy. #6 Guillotine became known as “The National Razor” Invented by Antoine Louis, guillotine is a device to carry out executions by beheading.It consists of tall upright frame with a heavy blade which is dropped to sever the head of the victim. The Reign of Terror took place during the brief period of rule of the urban workers, or 'sans-culottes' , called the Jacobin government because of their alliance with the political Jacobin Club. As many as 23,000 more were killed without trial or died in prison. The last prisoners awaiting execution during the Reign of Terror in 1794, undated engraving. Baker, Keith M. François Furet, and Colin Lucas, eds. [10][5], Some historians argue that such terror was a necessary reaction to the circumstances. It was not until after the execution of Louis XVI and the annexation of the Rhineland that the other monarchies began to feel threatened enough to form the First Coalition. [9] In February 1794 in a speech he explains why this "terror" is necessary as a form of exceptional justice in the context of the revolutionary government: If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. The Terror originated with a centralized political regime that suspended most of the democratic achievements of the revolution, and intended to pursue the revolution on social matters. It marked the first time that the lowest class in a country had overthrown the highest class. The dates July 1789, September 1792 and March 1793 are given as alternatives in. Threatened from within by the movement for federalism and by the civil war in the Vendée in the northwest and threatened at the frontiers by…. However, for the most part, it destabilized the country, rather than solidifying the gains of the Revolution and leading to a virtuous and happy republic, as its authors had hoped. A great orator, he had been a longtime opponent of Robespierre. On 13 July 1793 the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat—a Jacobin leader and journalist—resulted in a further increase in Jacobin political influence. The Reign of Terror. "[7] This quote has frequently been interpreted as the beginning of a supposed "system of Terror", an interpretation no longer retained by historians today. On 10 October the Convention decreed that "the provisional government shall be revolutionary until peace." It is the contention of this "Reign of Terror" series to provide accounts and evidence that the nation has endured under a shadow government of ruling elites; especially, since the elimination of a President, who dared challenge the interests of the true masters of the establishment. There is disagreement among historians over when exactly "the Terror" began. [36] A Festival of Reason was held in the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was renamed "The Temple of Reason", and the old traditional calendar was replaced with a new revolutionary one. Jeremy D. Popkin, A Short History of the French Revolution, (London: Routledge, 2016), 64. Voltaire's warnings were often overlooked, though some of his ideas were used for justification of the Revolution and the start of the Terror. What Robespierre calls "terror" is the fear that the justice of exception shall inspire the enemies of the Republic. On 24 October the French Republican Calendar was enacted. Though some members of the Enlightenment greatly influenced revolutionary leaders, cautions from other Enlightenment thinkers were blatantly ignored. He opposes the idea of terror as the order of the day, defending instead "justice" as the order of the day. "The Declaration of Pillnitz (1791)." Robespierre believed that the virtue needed for any democratic government was extremely lacking in the French people. They regrouped and planned to attack France. "Maximilien Robespierre, Master of the Terror." While this series of losses was eventually broken, the reality of what might have happened if they persisted hung over France. The Reign of Terror occurred from September of 1793 until July of 1794, and was a time period of extreme violence and paranoia during the French Revolution. Many of the early battles were definitive losses for the French. [39] In reaction to the imprisonment of the Girondin deputies, some thirteen departments started the Federalist revolts against the National Convention in Paris, which were ultimately crushed. As a result, he decided to weed out those he believed could never possess this virtue. The Committee's powers were gradually eroded. In July 1794 Robespierre was arrested and executed as were many of his fellow Jacobins, thereby ending the Reign of Terror, which was succeeded by the Thermidorian Reaction. On 16 Pluviôse (4 February 1794), the National Convention decreed the abolition of slavery in all of France and in French colonies. The Committee of Public Safety took actions against both. [6], There was a sense of emergency among leading politicians in France in the summer of 1793 between the widespread civil war and counter-revolution. Massive reforms of military institutions, while very effective in the long run, presented the initial problems of inexperienced forces and leaders of questionable political loyalty. In Paris a wave of executions followed. During the Reign of Terror, at least 300,000 suspects were arrested; 17,000 were officially executed, and perhaps 10,000 died in prison or without trial. Government by terror was imposed in response to two perceived dangers: public panic and popular violence provoked by food shortages and rising prices; and the threat posed by traitors at a time when both war and civil war confronted the nation. The Terror had an economic side embodied in the Maximum, a price-control measure demanded by the lower classes of Paris, and a religious side that was embodied in the program of de-Christianization pursued by the followers of Jacques Hébert. During the Terror, the Committee of Public Safety (of which Maximilien de Robespierre was the most prominent member) exercised virtual dictatorial control over the French government. Discontent in the Vendée lasted – according to some accounts—until after the Terror. The Dantonists were arrested on 30 March, tried on 3 to 5 April and executed on 5 April. It is called the Reign of Terror because of Robespierre. "Modern History Sourcebook: Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws, 1748." In March rebellion broke out in the Vendée in response to mass conscription, which developed into a civil war. Accessed 23 October 2018. The most damaging significance of the Terror is the sanguinary era that claimed lives of 35,000 people The way the system run, denounced persons, … [3] Today there is consensus amongst historians that the exceptional revolutionary measures continued after the death of Robespierre. [33] The resulting instability caused problems that made forming the new Republic and achieving full political support critical. [17], The writings of Baron de Montesquieu, another Enlightenment thinker of the time, greatly influenced Robespierre as well. Between his arrest and his execution, Robespierre may have tried to commit suicide by shooting himself, although the bullet wound he sustained, whatever its origin, only shattered his jaw. Almost 17,000 people were killed by official executions during the Reign of Terror, with historians estimating hundreds of thousands more deaths as part of the revolts throughout France or as unrecorded murders. The Reign of Terror, or the Great Terror, was a massive culmination to the horror of the French Revolution, the gutters flowing with blood as the people of Paris watched with an ntertained eye. Voltaire's warnings were often overlooked, though some of his ideas were used for justification of the Revolution and the start of the Terror. Voltaire. Bertrand Barère exclaimed on 5 September 1793 in the convention: "Let's make terror the order of the day! On 20 Prairial (8 June 1794) the Festival of the Supreme Being was celebrated across the country; this was part of the Cult of the Supreme Being, a deist national religion. Moreover, the sans-culottes, the urban workers of France, agitated leaders to inflict punishments on those who opposed the interests of the poor. Power in this assembly was divided between the more moderate Girondins, who sought a constitutional monarchy and economic liberalism and favored spreading the Revolution throughout Europe by means of war, and the Montagnards, who preferred a policy of radical egalitarianism. [29] As the war continued and the Reign of Terror began, leaders saw a correlation between using terror and achieving victory. Omeka RSS. Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws defines a core principle of a democratic government: virtue—described as "the love of laws and of our country. [4] By then, 16,594 official death sentences had been dispensed throughout France since June 1793, of which 2,639 were in Paris alone;[2][5] and an additional 10,000 died in prison, without trial, or under both of these circumstances. Georges Danton was one of the foremost radical leaders during the French Revolution. During the Reign of Terror, the sans-culottes and the Hébertists put pressure on the National Convention delegates and contributed to the overall instability of France. Prior to the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror (1793–94), France was governed by the National Convention. "The First Coalition 1793-1797." The device takes its name from Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician on whose suggestion it was introduced. "The federalist revolt, the Vendée, and the start of the Terror (summer–fall 1793)." Accessed 23 October 2018. Even though they were vague laws, people accepted the terror because it helped to combat their feelings of alienation and paranoia in regards to all aspects of the revolution. Enlightenment thought emphasized the importance of rational thinking and began challenging legal and moral foundations of society, providing the leaders of the Reign of Terror with new ideas about the role and structure of government. Some consider it to have begun only in 1793, giving the date as either 5 September,[1] June[2] or March, when the Revolutionary Tribunal came into existence. While the sans-culottes did not have direct power, the gathering appeared amid the fear of the significance of the relationship between political figures, and the subjects of the state. In the provinces, representatives on mission and surveillance committees instituted local terrors. The major Hébertists were tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal and executed on 24 March. 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