THe French Revolution

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During the summer of 1793, the radical phase of the French Revolution was intensified by the Terror, created by The Committee of Public Safety. The Terror successfully preserved the Revolution by weeding out counter-revolutionaries to eliminate corruption within the government and giving equality to all social classes which untied France under one government. However, these successes were undermined by the many failures of the Terror due to the oppression of citizens which would lead to many executions and the paranoid slaughtering of citizens from all social classes which led to the changes in support of the Revolution.

The Terror was successfully preserved the Revolution by weeding out counter-revolutionaries to eliminate corruption within the French government. On December 25, 1793 in a speech to the National Convention, Robespierre stated that the Revolution was waged by liberty against enemies of the state and expressed the need to destroy those that opposed the Revolution (DOC 7). Robespierre, a leader in the Terror, supported the actions of the Committee of Public Safety. The Terror was his instrument in ridding the government of France of corrupt individuals. He whole heartedly embraced his ideas without making any exceptions and fully supported all the executions because he believed the suspects to be counter-revolutionary rebels. As it turned out, Robespierre’s many executions actually did weed out many corrupted individuals in France. In a letter from General Ronsin, dated December 17, 1793, Ronsin described the justice he served to over four hundred rebels by guillotine and firing squad. He goes on to say that the republic is in the need of an example made by these rebels, the Terror will scare anyone who dares to eve...

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...France but his expenditures for war brought his rule to an end and his country to its downfall.

The Reign of Terror prolonged the Revolution but caused more trouble than necessary. Although the Terror eliminated counter-revolutionaries, it sparked mass hysteria within France’s people. The oppression of citizens pushed them into further paranoia which caused many executions of innocent individuals, and people began to doubt the new governmental system. This uncertainty caused opposition to the National Convention and Committee of Public Safety and to their eventual dismemberment. In the end, the Reign of Terror was helpful yet damaging for the French Revolution. The Terror left France dismantled and unstable because it did not have a constant government to rely on, but the people of France had become somewhat unified through their experiences during the Terror.

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