The Reign of Terror, a time of pure evilness and hecticness, is highly unjustifiable, because it went against what it stood for. During this time, thousands were killed without a fair trial, and it completely shifted the view of society for those in and out of France. The Reign of Terror was meant to kill the “enemies” of the revolution, but power hungry people ended up completely out of control.
The National Assembly, governing body in the beginning stages of the revolution, created the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen in August of 1789. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, recognizes the rights, and includes seventeen articles that state them thoroughly. The DORMAC seems like a step in the right direction for freedom and equality, but it is far from it. The Reign of Terror opposes all the articles and goes completely against them. This preamble to the new French constitution was nothing but a tremendous deception to the people. The innocent citizens faced unjustifiable death and pain. Article 1 states, “Men
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His goals were to make France a constitutional republic instead of a monarchy. The new government Robespierre established, executed thousands of those who were believed to be enemies of the revolution. He had churches closed, denied the people of legal counsel, and even started drafting people to war. His original goal was peace. He stated, “In order to lay the foundations of democracy among us and and to consolidate it, in order to arrive at peaceful reign of constitutional law, we must finish the war of liberty against tyranny and safely cross through the storms of the revolution: that is the goal of the revolutionary system which you have put in order” (Document G). The only ones safe were the republicans, everyone else was due to die. Robespierre caused this anguish and even fell back on his promises. He only made the government system worse for the of
Aside from giving the guillotine a purpose, the Reign of Terror stands as a necessity in the story of French independence. It might not have been the proudest of times, but the Reign began on a strong premise: holding together a new government by purging the bad apples for the betterment of the whole cart. While the Reign of Terror developed into an overly excessive bloodshed, it was justified by the war stricken circumstances and necessity for the support of the ongoing revolution. Despite the extreme heights the Reign of Terror reached, it was necessary to maintain the fragile presence of the government and preserve the new liberty a majority of the population had been denied before. In a 1793 letter from Vendée —a major counterrevolutionary hub— local government was fending off on-going riots and rebellion while being invaded from the north by Prussia.
He wrote pamphlets insisting that the poor deserved to have a voice in government” ( DiConsiglio. 78 ) it is easy to see how strongly Robespierre felt about the inequality at the time to the point where he was creating pamphlets in order to spread his beliefs and to meet his goals and ambitions. He did this as a way to rally up the people of France and to educate them about the injustice that was taking place. To many people, Maximilien Robespierre was a hero because of he successfully gave faith and hope to his people that change and equality could happen. Maximilien Robespierre became obsessed with this passion to create equality within France and to abolish the segregation that he began to be worshiped by other and seen as a beacon of hope “ Robespierre won a reputation as a completely devoted revolutionary ” ( DiConsiglio. 45
The Declaration of the Rights of Man was formed and intended in 1789 by the National Assembly of France to be the very backbone for the constitution. This allowed the nation of France to become liberated and achieve a more secure and structured society by changing from that of an absolute monarchy to a more constitutional democracy. France sought to gain equality and freedom for all individuals; after being fed up with the constant corruption for so long. France managed to successfully obtain an equal nation and government, in which power was given to the people and not to some tyrannical or dictatorial figure.
The French Revolution was a tumultuous period, with France exhibiting a more fractured social structure than the United States. In response, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proposed that “ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities, and of the corruption of governments” (National Assembly). This language indicates that the document, like its counterpart in the United States, sought to state the rights of men explicitly, so no doubt existed as to the nature of these rights. As France was the center of the Enlightenment, so the Enlightenment ideals of individuality and deism are clearly expressed in the language of the document. The National Assembly stated its case “in
These leaders taught the French people more about what type of government would be the best option for them. One of the most radical, and extreme leaders was Maximilien Robespierre. The duration of his dictatorship was known as "Reign of Terror." He demanded a republic and soon after his demands the monarchy was overthrown. He also felt that a constitutional government would have to wait until all the enemies of the revolution had been eliminated.
The first reason the Reign of Terror was not justified was because the inside/outside threats against the revolution didn’t warrant it. The Prussians and Australians were fighting against the revolution to keep their king and to not have the ideas of the revolutions (Doc C) so in turn Robespierre declared a military draft where all adult males would be forced by the Levee en Masse where the vendee region in france were totally against (Doc B). Rightfully so as well considering the fact that when Robespierre declared for the draft the threat had practically been stopped and so there was no real need for the draft and in turn no need for the Reign of Terror. It also proves the
In 1789, the French people began to stand up to their current monarchical government in order to obtain rights and laws that they felt they deserved. The Reign of Terror followed after the Revolution and seemed to stand for the complete opposite of what the people had previously stood up for. The Reign of Terror began in 1793 and ended in 1794 due to the decapitation of Maximilien Robespierre. The Reign of Terror can be explained as a time period in France when many counter revolutionaries were killed because of their traditional beliefs. Counter revolutionaries believed in preserving the ways of the monarchy, but since the majority of people thought otherwise, these opposing beliefs led to death. The French government did not have good reason to conduct such drastic measures against those who challenged the Revolution.
The French Revolution was a period of time in which France underwent many changes, many which could be considered revolutionary. France’s whole system and way of being was completely changed. New ideas were proposed everyday. An idea is revolutionary when it is a new idea, when it is something that has never been thought of before. The Declaration of the Rights of Women written by Olympe de Gouges on September 1791, was one of the ideas proposed to the National Assembly (Hunt, Web 1). The document proposed that since the French Revolution was all about finding equality for all people, women should be equal to men and therefore, should have the same rights as men did. Women at the time live in terrible conditions. They had little access to education, and therefore could not enter professional occupations that required advanced education, were legally deprived of the right to vote, and were not considered citizens (Class Discussion Notes). If equal rights were not given to women, the French Revolution had not reached its full potential, according to Gouges. She expressed this idea in her document, saying, “This revolution will only take effect when all women become fully aware of their deplorable condition, and of the rights they have lost in society” (Gouges, Web). Anyone that questioned the Revolution was immediately put to death (Class Discussion Notes). If Gouges’ document and ideas were important enough to catch the attention of the National Assembly and for her to be put to death, her ideas could be considered important and revolutionary (Britannica, Web 1) But, the document was not revolutionary. The Declaration of the Rights of Women was not a revolutionary document because its ideas were taken from other people and were no...
The Reign of Terror is generally defined as a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, but in particular, it is the period of the Terror during the French Revolution. Conservatives are people that hold to traditional attitudes and values and are cautious about change or innovation. Now that we can speak of our topic with more knowledge of terms typically used for this subject, we can address the pending question. Is The Reign of Terror justified? An outstanding number of people died for good and bad reasons.
Liberty, equality, and freedom are all essential parts to avoiding anarchy and maintaining tranquility even through the most treacherous of times. The Reign of Terror is well known as the eighteen month long French Revolution (1793-1794). In this period of time, a chief executive, Maximilien Robespierre, and a new French government executed gigantic numbers of people they thought to be enemies of the revolution, inside and outside of the country. The question is: were these acts of the new French government justified? Not only are the acts that occurred in the Reign of Terror not justified, they were barbaric and inhumane.
On August 26, 1789, the assembly issued the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” Through judicial matters, this document was written in order to secure due process and to create self-government among the French citizens. This document offered to the world and especially to the French citizens a summary of the morals and values of the Revolution, while in turn justifying the destruction of a government; especially in this case the French government, based upon autocracy of the ruler and advantage. The formation of a new government based upon the indisputable rights of the individuals of France through liberty and political uniformity.
His main goal was to create a world of “brotherly love” where people were all united in friendship (Furet 1970, 199). Basically a utopia, a sham. At one time, under Robespierre’s influence, the Committee on Public Safety announced its efforts for a world of perpetual peace. There would be no more diplomats, armies, or bloodshed. They would not perform any act of war with the view of making conquests or use its force against the liberties of anyone (Gaxotte 85).
Even though, the French Revolution saw the Terror as a sign to create peace and restore a new France, it was not justified because the extremities of the internal and external threats spun out of control and the methods of the period were over the top. As the Reign of Terror in France grew and invoked fear, the internal threats became more radical and deadly. The French Revolution began in 1789 as an attempt to create a new and fair government. (Doc A) As year four of freedom lurched, the thirst for power in Maximilien Robespierre stirred and the hunger for more blood provoked him, urging him to create the Reign of Terror.
These events were a subtle dénouement to a climax that was filled with both blood and pain. The Reign of Terror, or the Reign of Terror? 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 entertained the eye of the man. No matter what the French may claim, if one chooses to open.
...wn the monarchy because “World History,” states that, “Louis was well-intentioned and sincerely wanted to improve the lives of the common people.” (Beck Roger, Black Linda, Krieger, Larry, Naylor Phillip, Shabaka Dahia, 653) However, King Louis XVI lacked the conviction and initiative to carry out any of his plans to truly improve the lives of the French citizens. Proof of this was that the French citizens were desperate enough to riot the streets of France and storm the prison of Bastille. After all that has been said, it is clear that the citizens were indeed justified to overthrow the monarch.