Reign Of Terror Research Paper

924 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: French and english revolution

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, “Some believe the assembly laid the groundwork for the basic institutions that make France a democratic society today, while others see the Convention as a violent and destructive regime comparable to the totalitarian dictatorships of the twentieth century (Popkin, 63).” Even though historians disagree, they cannot disagree on the radical policies that are no doubt some of the most radical moments in French Revolution history. They’re related specifically to their creation of democracy and the polices of terror, which also rose the questioned of whether the government was a democracy or a dictatorship because of the lack of political freedom and complete control over the people of France. …show more content…

This led to radical policies being put into place without a balance of power, resulting in what some would say, a dictatorship.

In 1793, the execution of the king sent the government of France into a spiral of radical policies. It started in a struggle for power between the two parties of Montagnards and Girondins. The Montagnards ultimately took control, led by Maximilien Robespierre. The Montagnards were the more radical party. Due to internal and external rebellion, they created the Committee of Public

Show More
Related

  • Reign Of Terror Dbq Essay

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Reign Of Terror DBQ

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Reign Of Terror Dbq Analysis

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Reign Of Terror Is Not Justified Dbq Essay

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do the actions ever justify the end result? The Reign of Terror, the revolution lead by Maximilien Robespierre, began on January 21, 1793 when King Louis XVI and his wife were guillotined due to the way they had led the government into a financial crisis and as a result when Robespierre took over with his radical new government 20,000-40,000 people were brutally executed. So was this radical period in France really necessary or was it just mass killings with little progress. The Reign of terror was not justified because of the threats against the revolution, the methods used by the revolution were not justified, and the ideals of the revolution were not justified.

    Read More

  • Was The Reign of Terror Justified?

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Terror in the French Revolution

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this essay I shall try to find whether the Terror was inherent from the French revolutions outset or was it the product of exceptional circumstances. The French revolution is the dividing line between the Ancien Regime and the modern world. After France the hierarchy that societies of the time had been founded on began to change and they began to sweep away the intricate political structures of absolute monarchy, but however to achieve this was the Terror absolutely necessary? And was it planned/ or was it just the extraordinary circumstances, which the French had lead themselves into once they had deposed of Louis the sixteenth. Whatever way it is looked at, the political ideology of the rest of the world was going to change after the French revolution. The conflicting ideology's of the French revolution from socialism to nationalism would now be mainstream words and spearhead many political parties in years to come. The French revolution had been in high hopes that a peaceful transition could be made from absolutist to parliamentary monarchy, but what went wrong? Surely the terror could not have been in their minds at this time? Surely it was not inherent from the start.

    Read More

  • French Revolution Dbq

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Reign of Terror: Was it Justified?

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And The French Revolution

    2174 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • French Revolution - Motives of Committee of Public Safety

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    "laws passed went beyond national safety and revealed a Jacobin social vision for a secular and republican education system and a national program of social welfare" . The terror was their weapon, with which to establish and restructure areas of education, war and munitions, provisioning and supply, and ultimately change the very principles and traditions daily life relied upon. It became both their motive, and their mission, and it was part of their role which they played in the running of France. No longer was "The central purpose of the terror to institute the emergency and draconian measures necessary at a time of military crisis" , but rather to establish an official ideology from which would stem republicanism and other Jacobin ideals.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution started in 1787 because the country was going through financial difficulties and there was unrest between the classes of citizens in the country. The differences between the lower class citizens and higher classes, being nobles and the monarchy were great. The citizens had heard of the revolution that went on in the colonies and they also wanted freedom and independence. The real start of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. Between 1789 1793, a constitution was written, feudalism was abolished, war had broken out, and King Louis XVI was put to death. In late 1793 and early 1794, Maximilien Robespierre became the head of the Committee of Public Safety in France. This was the new governing body in France; it could be compared to the executive branch of a government. Robespierre was a great leader, he ins...

    Read More

  • Was The Guillotine Justified Essay

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sixteen thousand die in the guillotine. During the French Revolution, citizens wanted a change and they went to extreme measures to make these changes. The French revolution knows as the reign of terror because the national assembly, which was the new people’s government, insisted on using force in order to see change. Unfortunately, because of this conflict many people had to die for what they believed in. This causes one to think, could the French government have done things differently. The reign of terror was necessary for these three reasons: all citizens would have the rights, the guillotine was a symbol of change, and the revolution would allow all citizens to participate in political affairs.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Reign Of Terror By Simon Schohama

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    The French Revolution, also known as Reign of Terror, was a fire that burst crosswise over toward the finish of the eighteenth century. At least 40,000 people were killed and as many as 300,000 Frenchmen and women were arrested. In Citizens, the author Simon Schama provides a complex and extensive explanation about French Revolution and the events leading up to it. Schama’s book is filled with high vocabulary words and many details. He collects a vast amount of facts and writes out his detailed interpretation of the French Revolution. His description remains clear, direct, and unflaggingly engrossing. He combines the foremost serious scholarship with a stimulating talent for relation anecdotes that reveal the human aspect of known folks. He emphasizes the role of people in the preparation and taking part in out of the French Revolution.

    Read More

  • Skeleton: Causes Of The French Revolution

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution started in 1789 and culminated in Napoleon declaring himself Emperor in 1804. The causes of the Revolution are many, but stemmed from economic hardships being suffered by the masses and resentment of privileges held by the top of society. The goals of the revolutionaries were liberty, equality, and fraternity. Robespierre latter added “justice”. From the 5th of September 1793 to the 28th of July 1794 France’s newly formed republic had a vast change in power in which radical revolutionaries, led by Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, took power and began a tyrannic reign. Known as the “Terror”, this phase of the revolution ultimately diminished

    Read More

  • The French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...n after National assembly created liberal parliamentary system and rebelled against Monarch rule by passing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The National Assembly made governmental reforms forcing Constitutional Monarchy in France. The Constitutional Monarchy was represented by electorates. The legislative Assembly promoted liberty, equality, secularism, freedom of thought and replaced Constitutional Monarchy by Republic. It also declared war against Austria and Prussia in 1792. The government organised Terror of Regime to eliminate enemies of regime. The radical Jacobins won over the moderate Girondins. The Terror of Regime ended with the execution of Jacobin leader Robespierre in 1794. The executive directors governed from 1795 to 1799 under the Directory Rule. In 1799, Napoleon overthrows the Directory Rule and France fell back to Monarch Rule.

    Read More

More about Reign Of Terror Research Paper

Open Document