the Reign of Terror. France was in the middle of a political and social revolution and wanted all citizens against this movement to be destroyed. Drastic measures such as mass killings and legal actions were taken to rid the country of these enemies, thus beginning the Reign of Terror. There were many reasons as to why this time period occurred. Over the course of one year, several events influenced the people of France prior to, during, and following the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror began
The Reign of Terror was a time during the French Revolution hundreds of thousands of people were executed by various means: guillotine, shot, and drowned. The Committee of Public Safety, lead by Maximilien de Robespierre, were in charge of these executions, and with the job of finding anti-revolutionaries forces. Many thought that what Robespierre was doing would just lead to a greater anti-revolution movement, which would in turn increase the number of executions. Others did not take action against
The Reign of Terror History is said to be written by the winners, but is it possible to rewrite history? In a way, the French, like many who have preceded them, and many who will proceed them have done the impossible, rewriting history. From trivial folklore, such as George Washington chopping down a cherry tree, to the incredibly wrong, the African slave trade; people's views of history can be shaped and molded. The French have done a superb job of instilling all of us with the concept
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
The Reign of Terror Throughout history there has been a lot of bloodshed from wars, civil wars, revolutions, and revolts. Each of these events changing people's lives, some for the better, and worse for others. When talking about these events the question to whether the event was justified or not comes up. This is where people disagree on many aspects. After the onset of the French revolution the Reign of Terror began, and just by reading the name one can already assume that the Reign of Terror was
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
The French Revolution, known for the political intrigue present during its course, specifically contained the highest quantity and quality of political intrigue within the Reign of Terror. This aptly named “Reign of Terror” lasted for around eleven months from September 1793 to July 1794, during which a handful a men belonging to a Committee of Public Safety, hereinafter referred to as the “CPS”, ruled as the executive branch of French Government, supplemented by a larger National Convention. Elected
wanted liberty in the country and independence (Wokler, 1998). This difference in ideologies and social class caused tension between the two groups hence causing the Reign of Terror. In case the two groups were from the same class then they would not have the differences that led to the formation of the two groups causing the Reign of Terror. The geographical difference between the two groups was another factor that contributed to the conflict between Jacobins and Girondins (Germani, 2002). This is
answer is whether the Terror was a necessary, justifiable stage in ensuring success for the Revolution, or was it a brutal Jacobin policy put in place for the ruling faction to keep power? This essay argues that while violence and terror are by no means a positive, Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety’s actions were justified. In this paper I critically discuss how Robespierre has been misrepresented by a number of historians, and although he did engage in Terror during the French
The guillotine itself was used prior to the reign of terror and is documented being used after the reign of terror as well (Symbol of Revolution). In light of this it was not the invention of the guillotine that proves Mead’s theory but rather the idea the guillotine championed that proves her ideas. The guillotine was a representation of an idea to show more compassion and humanity in the treatment of all humans. Even those who had been convicted of a serious crime. The French did this by enacting
The Reign of Terror was one of the most bloodiest and violent periods in the history of France. The Terror lasted thirteen months and with it saw the law of Maximum, which in theory was supposed to help with the food storages France had dealt with since 1788. But in practice, caused insufficient amounts of food getting into the cities and caused the food shortage to worsen. The Terror also brought the de-Christianisation of France, which led to the loss of approximately ten percent of all constitutional
The Reign of Terror 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
of Public Safety took over with Maximilien de Robespierre as head. Those in control believed that anyone blocking their path to liberty should be annihilated, and went to many extents to do so. From 1793 to 1794 France was in the midst of the Reign of Terror, which was characterized by mass executions. Those who supported the revolution thought of the executions as a step on the path to liberty; however, others stood firmly against the revolution as did many outside of France. Those who called themselves
The Reign of Terror is an extremely controversial time period during the French Revolution because it shows France turning on its people with opposing political views that threatened the Revolution’s progression. At this time, the rebels were considered violent threats and the ways to deal with them became increasing violent and dictatorial. In 1792, the National Convention created fundamental changes in France’s government, drastically changing the political and social landscape. According to Popkin
The French revolution turned into the Reign of Terror. Under the leadership of Maximilian Robespierre, a new picture of France was trying to be achieved. However, that picture could only be achieved after the people were re-educated and the Old Regime was out of sight. Until those goals were accomplished, Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety would rule over France. However with change comes revolution and therefore people took charge. To wipe out the Old Regime, Robespierre sentenced twenty
gain the rights not extended to them, the Terror grows becoming more and more gruesome. The French revolution began in late 1789 to obtain the rights that every citizen in born with. The motto of the French was liberty, equality, or death and the price to be paid for the civil liberties was blood. The revolutionary leader Robespierre and journalist Marat explained the more blood the better so that was what raged the people and started the Reign of Terror. Were the values expressed by the French Revolution
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
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror was a time of death and war. In 1789, France was ruled by King Louis XVI. France was in debt from war, because of this, a lot of it’s people were starving and living in poor conditions. To make matters worse, there were riots and killings. There were over 40,000 people killed by guillotines because they were suspected to be enemies of the government(Doc F). All this is known as the Reign of Terror. Some people see it as unjustified, but I think it is. It is justified
The Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror was a time of extreme savagery by the revolutionaries. “…17,000 people — counter-revolutionaries as well as dissident thinkers within the revolution — were executed by the guillotine. Tens of thousands more were killed without trial or died in jail…” (Walters, 2015, p.1). The dissatisfied state of the commoners led to an acute amount of violence and was the driving force of the revolution itself. The Reign of Terror started with the revolutionary mindset
biggest turnabouts in history would be The Reign of Terror. In the year 1793, Maximilien Robespierre declared an act called The Reign of Terror. This brought upon the French people heavily consequences for trivial things but it was sentenced with purpose. The chaos that Robespierre broght was truly a tragedy upon the French but it seems clouded by the bias of the statement, was the Reign of Terror, Justified? Thus asking the question was the Reign of Terror justified and the author believes it was