Robespierre 1794
At the expense of thousands of lives, the recent terror that has struck France has helped to
rescue France from the brink of total collapse. The leadership of Robespierre and the
Committee of Public Safety have created a powerful military, rid France of internal opposition,
and placed a much needed cap on the price of essential goods. While the mass butchery
seems inhumane and drastic, this time period of terror was completely necessary. Though it
may sound harsh, many problems were solved that had been threatening France from within
and outside its borders during this time of terror.
During this time of terror, France has been able to drive all of its enemies off French soil,
crush all revolts that had been brewing within the French providence’s, and hold off what could
have been a devastating famine. All of the French people have been forced to contribute
towards the war effort. All unmarried men were forced to join the military, married men made
weapons, women made tents and served as battle nurses, and children made bandages and
gunpowder. All of this support for France’s army, although forced, proved invaluable beside a
strict discipline policy. The French army has overwhelmed the enemy forces by the large
numbers of men. In the past two and a half years of fighting, almost all enemies have been
driven off French soil, Flanders has been retaken, and the army has established a new
Batavian Republic in Holland.
Aside from fending off foreign invasion, the “Reign of Terror” also served to help resolve the
problems that had been threatening France from within. The Committee of Public Safety had
put forth steadfast efforts to resolve order to the French countryside, where revolts jeopardized
the nations security. Anyone suspected of opposing Robespierre’s “Republic of Virtue” could
be convicted and executed without any evidence being heard on the defendants behalf. Brutal
and wrongful as it was, the action of the Committee of Public Safety was essential in
extinguishing the rebellious uprisings that threatened France.
France was successful in battling off enemies from afar and within, yet it was faced with
another threat, famine. Food prices were dangerously high and to avoid mass starvation, the
Committee of Public Safety issued the Law of the Maximum. This new law demanded that forty
goods, including corn, flour, firewood and oil were to be frozen until further notice.
Right after the war, many of the returning servicemen had to return to the work force and found this very difficult. Many jobs were filled with women and many did not want to give up these jobs because this meant a better lifestyle for them and their family. This brought about the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act -- the G.I. Bill of Rights". The programs were meant to not only educate and train the returning soldiers, but also help them obtain low interest mortgages and business loans. These loans were backed by the Veterans Administration and guaranteed by the government.
Prices had risen since the Black Death. Wages didn’t rise as fast as the prices causing the peasants to suffer from hunger and supplies shortages.
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
A leading cause of this battle was the attack on Fort Douaumont. The French had a plan to reclaim their fort that was taken by the German Army. About 500,000 men were positioned into two forts, Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux. The Germans did not have the advance in the war as they anticipated. Both armies believed that they were skilled enough to win this battle, but the French would soon take over and recover the territory that they had lost. On October 24, 1916, the French repossessed Fort Douaumont. Erich von Falkenhayn was not happy with the retrieval of the land because of the rank of the French Army at this point in the war.
enabled France to be rid of the Allied army in a short period of time.
One of the biggest differences between the American revolution and France revolution was how they handled the fight against who they were Revolting. In America,
The French people were required to finance the German’s occupation, leaving the French bankrupted and short on food, labor, and resources. Malnutrition plagued the young, the elderly, and the remaining working class people. Most laborers were transferred to Germany under a German program Service du Travail
To begin, there were several contributing factors to the Revolution. Even though theorists have divergent opinions on the factors that started the rebellion, there are three widely accepted causes: financial status of the country, rapid overpopulation, and the relative unfairness of the French political system (“French Revolution,” Columbia). The French government was in great debt because it had assisted America in the American Revolution in the 1770s. Moreover, the underclass, made mostly of peasants and manual workers, worked increasing longer hours for less food. In addition, due to France’s bankruptcy, taxes increased, but some upper class citizens and institutions were exempt (Kreis). An increasing lack of food was primarily responsible due to an overpopulation of rural communities in the 1700s – over 80 percent of the twenty plus million French were concentrated in the rural areas (“Social Causes”). Furthermore, there was a series of relative droughts in the late 1700s, and one of the biggest occurred in 1788, just a year before the beginning of the Revolution (“French Revolution,” Encyclopaedia Britannica 1). Inversely, members of the upper class Bourgeoisie, composed of the nation’s small minority of noblemen, clergy, merchants, and professionals, found increases to their wealth due to an overall economic growth in the 18th century. Because of these tr...
His superior military ability lead to the defeat of the Prussian and Austrian armies, as well as the defeat of many other countries such as Germany, England, Spain and Italy. He earned France a fearsome reputation and created a superpower out of a country that had just emerged from civil war [A]. International powers were threatened by Napoleon’s success and began using propaganda to try and diminish his power [H].
production of goods and foods decreased drastically and this ultimately led to starvation as people were
In 1789, thousands of starving peasants abandoned the lands of their ancestors as the price of bread rose to eighty percent of the average peasant’s income (Kreis). Blazing buildings marked the path they took to the source of their woes in Paris. They attacked any food cart they passed. The outline of their skeleton could be seen from under their filthy, thread-bare clothing. Their impoverished condition had reached its climax. Their desperation led them to action. They over took the largest fortress in France, the Bastille, in search of weapons. Members of the Bourgeoisie had formed the National Assembly three weeks prior to the storming of the Bastille to begin to address the grievances of the peasants (Dabney). On August 4, the National Assembly met in Paris, and, with one enthusiastic fell swoop, they agreed to abolish the feudal system forever, thus gaining the support of the mob. “The Decree of the National Assembly Abolishing the Feudal System” created equality between the nobility and citizens, ended the Church’s authority over the state, and pledged to work with King Louis XVI to rectify the injustices of the people.
“Europe cannot conceive of life without Kings and nobles; and we cannot conceive of it with them. Europe is lavishing her blood to preserve her chains, whereas we are lavishing ours to destroy them”(Maximilien Robespierre). For centuries upon centuries, the monarchal system had dominated European life. The very nature of this method of rule incited rebellious feelings, as a definite imbalance of power was present. Understandably, people under this system had risen against authority. The glorious nation of France was no exception. The eighteenth century brought about a great deal of economic and social turmoil. By the end of this one hundred year period, rebellion had been talked about by many citizens for quite some time. However, no definitive action was taken until one man stepped to the forefront; Maximilien Robespierre. Born in Arras, France about thirty years prior to the French Revolution, Robespierre was an immensely intelligent man as is seen from his ability to read and write fluently from the age of eight (the Force of 10). Robespierre rose from fairly humble origins to become a provincial lawyer, advancing further to become a representative in the Estates General, and eventually ascending to the leader of the French Revolution itself. For its sake he sent thousands to the guillotine, overthrew a monarchy, declared a new national religion, and invigorated the will of a nation. “No individual of the French Revolutionary era, with the exception of Napolean Bonaparte, has excited more passion in his time than the…dedicated provincial lawyer, Maximilien Robespierre”(Maximilien 1). During this era, Robespierre led France’s world inspiring cry for the liberation of mankind and petrified the world with its relentle...
Drastic overspending by the government of King Louis XVI left the treasury depleted of funds, and with little revenue coming in from taxes, France was experiencing the beginnings of a revolution. With the Se...
An immediate cause of the French Revolution was the rising price of bread. The grain harvest had been low the previous year, so the price of bread rose. Bread was usually the only thing that the poor ate, and raising prices would make them starve
The bad living conditions of France and its depressed economy was one of the primary drivers for the French Revolution. The people of France were so poor that they had no shoes to wear and no food to eat. The poverty of France breaks its economy at its root. The economy got so bad that “By December 1788, there was a nationwide revolt against food shortages and rising prices, which continued to spread till the summer of 1789, when there was another bad harvest”(Todd 528). One ...