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 to serve by their peers in the National Convention, nine men were selected to lead the French Government, one of them being Georges Danton. Soon after, however, more radical individuals replaced the moderates led by Georges Danton in the CPS. One …show more content…
of these radical revolutionaries was Maximilien Robespierre. The Polish/French film Danton from 1983 portrays the events surrounding both Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre in an interesting light, portraying them both as incredibly different, although aware individuals who ended up on the guillotine as a result of each other’s political manoeuvring. While the film seems to give equal attention to both Danton and Robespierre, given that the film is named after him, Georges Danton is likely the protagonist of the film. As early as the first scene of the film, a viewer can discern that Danton is portrayed as a hero of the people. As Danton’s carriage passes through Robespierre’s neighborhood, a crowd of people swarm around him, his carriage, and his new wife, pumping their fists into the air, while Danton exits his carriage to greet them. Due to his differing political orientation opposing Robespierre, the people flock to him, all asking for help, for food, and for solace. Danton’s followers in the Convention are then shown calling for the breakup of Robespierre’s secret police who had just targeted a Dantonist printshop, continuing to highlight the disconnects between these two men. Danton, that night, invites Robespierre over for dinner. At this dinner, Danton proceeds to drink until he falls asleep in front of Robespierre, and prepares a large feast that remains uneaten, making a fool of himself. All part of Danton’s plan, however, the audience realises that he means to act the fool and martyr himself to incite unrest among the people, unseating Robespierre and freeing the people of Paris. Thus, Danton dies at the end of the film having outwitted a trapped Robespierre who would die months later due to a public insurrection of those who believed in what Danton stood for. According to the film Danton, Georges Danton lived as an incredibly dedicated political mastermind who trapped Robespierre into executing him, ending the Reign of Terror soon after, completing his political agenda in impeding the radical revolutionaries. The film characterizes Maximilien Robespierre in a negative light when compared to Danton, although still maintaining his prowess as a politician.
At the beginning of the film, while Danton exits his carriage and greets those who believe in him, Robespierre looks on at the commotion, sweating profusely, revealing his sickly nature. Immediately after this scene, Robespierre’s men are shown ransacking a Dantonist print shop, meaning to curtail Daltonist sympathies among the disenfranchised of Paris. In light of the possibility of a Dantonist coup, Robespierre’s CPS urges him to have Danton executed. Robespierre refuses this idea due to Danton’s prestige among the Convention, and in fear of a reaction by Dantonists. This reveals how the film means to portray Robespierre’s political awareness. Robespierre’s interaction with Danton at the dinner builds upon this argument. Robespierre invites Danton to cease his criticism of the actions taken by the CPS; Robespierre does not want his hand forced in executing Danton. Even though Robespierre uses his skills at intrigue in an attempt to persuade Danton, Danton still refuses to cease his counter-CPS activities. Thus, caught between the necessity to keep the CPS in power, and the possible coup that could go hand in hand with the execution of Danton, Robespierre orders Danton, his followers Lacroix, Desmoulins, Westermann, and Philippeaux to be tried unfairly, leading to their executions, wagering against the possibility of an uprising of the common people against the CPS. This bet, of course, was a loss for Robespierre who died several months later as a result of coalition opposing the tyranny of the CPS. Maximilien Robespierre, shown as a master of political intrigue in Danton, eventually becomes desperate and outwitted by the likes of Danton and his followers, resulting in both of their
beheadings.
Twelve Who Ruled by R.R. Palmer is a book that was written with a very meticulous amount of detail. The story covers the reign of terror in France from 1793-1794. Palmer takes the Committee of Safety and individually explains each member along with their role in the Reign of Terror. The book was originally published in 1941 by the Princeton University Press, however, in 1989, a new preface was added, leading to a reprinting of the story. The purpose of Palmer’s book was to discover what led to the extreme outbreak of violence during the Reign of Terror. He sheds light on the killings, paranoia, and the well known guillotine.
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.
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.
In his book Twelve Who Ruled, Palmer eloquently writes this narrative, "weaving the biographies of the twelve into the history of their time," and provides a coherent and convincing explanation of the terror. The book is not only educational for someone interested in the time period when these twelve men ruled the nation of France, but it is also enjoyable from the perspective of a person reading the book solely for interest in revolutions and how they affect the people who are involved in them. The book deals with a brief period of time during the French Revolution, namely the year of terror. The book ventures to interpret the foundations and rationale for the terror and Palmer illustrates his speculations on the subject through gracious, flowing writing.
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.
The horrendous acts of the Jacobin leaders during the Reign of Terror led to many unfortunate deads and crimes. Robespierre was a power hungry tyrant, he was unforgiving. He killed Louis and thousands of others because he had become paranoid. His proposal of Republic of Virtue left the people hungry and angry. He also tried to protect the revolution but the plan backfired. All together, these horrible acts prove that the tyrants were extremely power hungry and blood
"French Revolution: The Reign of Terror — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .
Initially popularized during the French Revolution, the term “terrorism,” at its inception, was a distinctly positive word; from the rubble of the first revolts in 1789, stemmed the regime de la terreur, an instrument of governance meant to further propel the success of the revolutionaries through the intimidation of those loyal to the dictatorial regime which governed France for much of the eighteenth century (Hoffman 3). Ironically, given the modern interpretation of terrorism, the revolutionaries who would ultimately constitute the regime de la terreur were advocating for virtue and democracy––in fact, one of the figureheads of the revolutionary movement Maximilien Robespierre was renowned for having said: “virtue, without which terror is
The French revolution was a significantly dangerous time period because of the chaos and conflict that took place in the streets of France, resulting in the mass slaughter of thousands of innocent people. Within the revolution, there were many characters who took part in resolving the conflicts that had arisen. One thing that sparked the revolution was the shortage of food caused by a drought which lead to the bread prices going up since most were too poor to afford food at the new price people started revolting against their government in hopes to be heard and treated fairly while many were still dying of hunger. Within the revolution, there were figures such as George Danton, Jean Bailly and Reine Audu who contributed in the development and the recognition of the 3rd estate.
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...
While Robespierre and Napoleon violated the French Revolution’s ideal of liberty, both rulers preserved the ideal of equality. Neither Robespierre nor Napoleon led with freedom from absolutism, but both spread the nationalist zeal during or after the Reign of Terror. There are also other ideals of the revolution preserved and undermined by the two rulers, including will for a limited government, religious toleration, and protection of individual rights. Specifically, Robespierre preserved the ideal of equality during the Reign of Terror.
The French Revolution produced countless influential politicians throughout its tumultuous course. As a political figure in the French Revolution, Jean Paul Marat began as a nonentity and became a martyr to the revolutionary patriots of France. His influence is often misconstrued, and sometimes overlooked. Although he was not a political leader like Robespierre, his influence was substantial in that he motivated many people through his writings and powerful personality. Through his involvement with the Cordeliers’ Club and his journal Ami du peuple, started September 1789, Marat was able to express the indignation of the bourgeois class through his hopes for social revolution. His conspiracy theories and alleged prophetic outlook on the Revolution created an aura of mystery and intrigue around him, as well as detestation. Because he often stood alone behind his radical ideas, Marat became marked as the scapegoat for various controversial events of the period, and was several times forced into hiding to evade the law. Targeting Marat was an easy and effective way for the warring factions in the National Convention to assert their political dominance. It is curious how a virtual unknown and newcomer to government could become so crucial to the politics of the French Revolution, only to be murdered by another unknown in a seemingly isolated event. Marat’s assassination played a great part in what became the cycle of the Terror. Even though he was not a preeminent leader, both his life and death had an impact on the course of the Revolution. Because of his incendiary political beliefs and bold nature, the government targeted Marat, however, his assassination by the outsid...
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.
Unlike the leaders of America, the leaders of the French did not turn out to be as positive for the country. In fact, some of these leaders caused much more harm than good. 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 have been eliminated. To accomplish this task, he murdered close to 40,000 people, most by guillotine, and some sentenced to life in jail. The Reign of Terror was one of the most controversial, and terrifying phases of the Revolution. Some French colonists thought it to be a path to democracy; others thought it was just a attempt for Robespierre to assume dictator. The other great leader was Napoleon Bonaparte. He believed that the only way to have control in France was to put a limit on democracy. Over a period of time Napoleon 's party overthrew Robespierre 's party. Soon enough, Napoleon was dictator of France. The French soldiers who fought in the American Revolution came back from the war with new ideas and reason for revolution. These ideas included the right to take up arms against tyranny, all men should
Freedom is a critical part of any society - without freedom citizens tend to become unhappy and no longer want to associate with their government. However the same goes for order; no order means anarchy and anarchy means that the people will want to disassociate with the community. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys crash land on an uninhabited island in the Pacific in the midst of war and must establish a functioning society based on what little they know about government from civilized life. A new society as had to be formed during the French Revolution, also by people with limited political experience. They based their new government off of Enlightenment ideas that would ensure them their natural rights: life, liberty,