Although it may have been true that the Committee of Public Safety took measures to protect the revolution from its enemies, their use of violence to force citizens into submission and their attempt to destroy and replace part of French history suggests that their main goal was instead to gain absolute power over France.
The Committee of Public Safety’s use of violence in order to exert control over French citizens seemed to reflect a power-hungry nature and an attempt to impose a strict government. On September 5, 1793, the Committee declared that terror was “the Order of the Day,” allowing them to use force against citizens in order to carry on the revolution (Timeline). During this time, constant uprisings, such as protests in Vendée on
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March 11, were coupled with pressure from external enemies including Prussia and Austria. This created rising paranoia, likely fueled by Maximilien Robespierre, the head of the Reign of Terror. As tensions increased, the Committee may have wanted to assert their dominance and maintain complete control over the public. In the following year, the Committee executed almost 14,000 citizens who were deemed enemies of the revolution (Death Sentence Charts). The Committee of Public Safety often justified their cruelty by arguing that they defended the ideals of the revolution. However, their actions, seemingly motivated by paranoia and fear of opposition, often appeared to be excessively vicious and forced citizens to bow to the will of the government. By attempting to destroy all traces of France’s past and establish new customs, the Committee of Public Safety may have been trying to maintain their control and ensure that old leaders would never rise again.
Shortly after Robespierre rose to power, any remains of the old government and the feudal system were quickly destroyed. Families named Leroy, meaning “the king” in French, changed their last names to be less politically oriented, and symbols of the monarchy such as kings, queens, and jacks on decks of cards were changed (Textbook). Furthermore, from October to December of 1793, the Committee of Public Safety organized a “dechristianization campaign” to destroy and remove any symbols of the Christian Church. They established a new revolutionary calendar that contained no Sundays and renamed months to follow the weather instead of religious icons (Timeline). Because there were no Sundays in the calendar, citizens could not practice their religion and the authority of the Church may have decreased. Furthermore, the complete removal of the monarchy from French culture meant that that new leadership was firmly established and present. The Committee of Public Safety’s adamancy on the destruction of “old France” indicates that they were attempting to diminish the influence of other institutions in order to maintain a position of
power.
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.
Throughout this book, Palmer does an exquisite job painting the collage of the twelve men's ride to the top upon the horse of the committee of Public Safety. He wonderfully combines each man's individual actions with the more general problems that the Committee of Public Safety confronted. He discusses in detail the policies adopted to defend the Revolution, as well as how and why they were put into effect.
Taking into account the reality of the effect of the Reign of Terror and its acts to secure the government, it is important to highlight the circumstances that made the Reign the most necessary: war. Marching an 80,000-man army into France, Prussia and Austria moved to attack and capture the providences of Longwy and Verdun. Along with the pressing overseas forces, an additional “10,000 French army officers.formed armies and allied themselves with France’s foreign enemies” (Document B). To match the amassing legion that was shaping against them, the French government had to enforce regulations (in example: The Tribune) to divert the internal forces they were spending calming riots back to their needed place on the front lines. Similarly, without the Committee on Public Safety “employing a.network of informers and spies” (Document E) it’s impossible to say how the French would have suffered if the infantile government had lost information to enemies, especially considering many of their own countrymen had abandoned their patriotism and fled to the Austrian-Netherlands.
First, the Jacobin leader Robespierre’s tried to protect the revolution but this plan backfired. It backfired because immediately after the publication of this decree, all suspected persons within the territory
Mob violence was a persuasive feature of the Revolutionary War in every port city, particularly Boston. These mobs, which were often described as motley crews, were central to protests and ultimately played a dominant role in significant events leading up to the American Revolution. Throughout the years, leading up to the American Revolution, many Americans were growing tired of British rule and thus begun to want to break free from Britain and earn their own independence. Some of these Americans, out of anger, madness, and in defense of their rights, began terrorizing towns, sometimes even to the point of paralysis highlighting grievances and concerns that the common man couldn’t say with mere words. These groups would then be absorbed into a greater organization called the Sons of Liberty. With the use of violence and political strategy , these radicals defending their rights, struck terror into anyone opposing them but also carried out communal objectives ultimately pushing for change which was a central theme for the American Revolution. It will be proved that these men through their actions not only were the driving force behind resistance but also proved to be the men who steered America toward revolution.
A rather ominous name for the unaware; “The Reign of Terror”. An oblivious person could completely bypass the horrifying events related to the French Revolution, had it been named differently. The title for these events is appropriate from my perspective. Those four words could easily interest a curious, ordinary person, and so the history can survive, along with the information transferring to yet another carrier. Of course, everyone can benefit from knowing a few terms that can increase your understanding of the topic. An absolute monarch is a person that has absolute power among his or her people. The Estates General is a representative body drawn from the three ‘estates’ into which society had been theoretically divided. A fraternity is a group of people sharing a common profession or interests. A radical person is a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform. The device used to execute most people was the guillotine: a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people. 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 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. Was The Reign of Terror justified? An outstanding amount of people died for good and bad reasons. Every system was corrupt, there was practically no right and wrong; no order, just rebellion. Several conflicting arguments can be made, but there is a definite decision to make in this situatio...
By 1791 their had been a constitutional monarchy with the revolutions mission complete, now major changes would have to be made to ensure that the country benefited from this change, but this would be hard, the church had already been abolished and its funds taken to resolve the spiralling debt problems. A lot of groups had been set up to fight the revolutionary committee including the Monarchiens and the Noirs. The main opposition came from ...
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.
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. 1793, the first year of the Reign of Terror, Robespierre grasped on to his new power and as the revolution spun out of control the Jacobins Club established a new way to “fight enemies” by constructing a Committee of Public Safety and a Tribunal Court. (Doc A) This new government was working swell it contained counterrevolutionaries in the Vendée Region, and it smothered and ferreted the internal threats. (Docs A, C, G) The counterrevolutionaries adopted a name that meant trouble – the rabble. (Doc D) In a letter written by a city official of the Town of Niort a...
It is tough to pin the Sans-Culottes as they are humongous group that represented the common people, but it is apparent that many if not most of the deaths that resulted were from the frequent arrests and accusations made by the Sans-Culottes. The Sans-Culottes started off with good intentions. They were described as hard working and loyal. Their main demands were not excessive. They desired caps on bread prices, laws against hoarders, and a levée en masse. As Colin Jones stated though the French Revolution and Terror was the shocking result of people with good intentions becoming bad. “What was both terrifying and sobering about the Terror of 1793-4 was the aura of randomness which hovered over the violence it visited out – even when it was being conducted by individuals of impeccable Latinate education and high moral principle.” Although the education of the sans-culotte was by no means the best, they prided themselves and their morals and considered themselves the opposites of the crooked and corrupt politicians. Slowly but surely the Sans-culottes became the tool that these politicians used to claim
The Sans-Culottes were a powerful driving force in the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror because of the massive impact their violence had on society. The peasant French women played a large role in the Revolution because of their aggression, zeal and participation in the Sans-Culottes’ protests. There was a riot police handled on February 25th 1973 where “there was a new crowd of citizens there… But we had brought along with us many armed citizens who dispersed this mob.
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.
On July 14, 1789, several starving working people of Paris and sixty soldiers seized control of the Bastille, forever changing the course of French history. The seizing of the Bastille wasn’t caused by one event, but several underlying causes such as the Old
“Society was cut in two: those who had nothing united in common envy; those who had anything united in common terror.” The French Revolution was a painful era that molded the lives of every citizen living in France and changed their ways of life forever. Beginning in 1789 and lasting ten years until 1799, the people of France lived in a monarch society under King Louis XVI’s rule. He was a very harsh ruler and had many restrictions placed on his people. They eventually overthrow him and become a monarch society. Among his deceptive ways, the people also experienced “The Reign of Terror,” which was a period where many lives were taken by the guillotine. Other revolutionary events included rebellions, constitutions, and groups. One of the popular groups that contributed greatly to the French Revolution were the Jacobins who were led by Maximilien Robespierre.
...ic Safety, stated that the revolutionary government will protect the good citizens while punishing the enemies of the government. He justifies the terror by saying it is only punishing the enemies of the state while protecting the god citizens from another revolution. Being the leader of the committee he has been trusted with making decisions on behalf of the government (Doc4).General Ronsin, a leader of the revolutionary army, stated how for the anti-revolutionary ideas to truly be gone the ideas need to be exterminated at the source. He though that the new France needed an example to truly understand how the new government treated those who were against them. Being a leader of the army he was a true revolutionary and he saw the terror as a great thing for France; this was because he was unaffected by the terror because he was so high up on the chain of command.