[9] In February 1794 in a speech he explains why this "terror" is necessary as a form of exceptional justice in the context of the revolutionary government: If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Voltaire's warnings were often overlooked, though some of his ideas were used for justification of the Revolution and the start of the Terror. The leaders felt that their ideal version of government was threatened from the inside and outside of France, and terror was the only way to preserve the dignity of the Republic created from French Revolution. This activity asks students to look beyond the “chopping block” to discover the political motivations of the man behind the Terror: Maximilien Robespierre. Bertrand Barère exclaimed on 5 September 1793 in the convention: "Let's make terror the order of the day! Marjorie Bloy. As early as May 1793 the National Convention imposed price controls on grain and bread in an effort to ensure an adequate food supply. ), Shusterman, Noah. Alternatively, he may have been shot by the gendarme Merda. Baskets full with several heads, countless corpses, and terror, roamed the streets of France. Some consider it to have begun only in 1793, giving the date as either 5 September,[1] June[2] or March, when the Revolutionary Tribunal came into existence. Laws were passed that defined those who should be arrested as counterrevolutionaries, and committees of surveillance were set up to identify suspects and issue arrest warrants. ". The Dantonists were arrested on 30 March, tried on 3 to 5 April and executed on 5 April. A combination of food scarcity and rising prices led to the overthrow of the Girondins and increased the popular support of the Montagnards, who created the Committee of Public Safety to deal with the various crises. The Reign of Terror was a continuation of the revolution that began in 1789. "[21], Though some members of the Enlightenment greatly influenced revolutionary leaders, cautions from other Enlightenment thinkers were blatantly ignored. Threatened from within by the movement for federalism and by the civil war in the Vendée in the northwest and threatened at the frontiers by…. In 1789, church lands were expropriated and priests killed or forced to leave France. People suspected of anti- revolutionary activities were sent to the guillotine in where thousands were killed. Yahoo Search. #6 Guillotine became known as “The National Razor” Invented by Antoine Louis, guillotine is a device to carry out executions by beheading.It consists of tall upright frame with a heavy blade which is dropped to sever the head of the victim. Ozouf, Mona. For example, the sans-culottes sent letters and petitions to the Committee of Public Safety urging them to protect their interests and rights with measures such as taxation of foodstuffs that favored workers over the rich. They fled. It was not until after the execution of Louis XVI and the annexation of the Rhineland that the other monarchies began to feel threatened enough to form the First Coalition. During the Terror, deputies on mission began attacking the symbols of Catholicism: smashing images, vandalizing buildings, and burning vestments. The French Revolution was an important movement in world history. While the sans-culottes did not have direct power, the gathering appeared amid the fear of the significance of the relationship between political figures, and the subjects of the state. [16][17] Those who resisted the government were deemed "tyrants" fighting against the virtue and honor of the general will. "[19][20] This was, in fact, the same virtue defined by Montesquieu almost 50 years prior. With civil war spreading from the Vendée and hostile armies surrounding France on all sides, the Revolutionary government decided to make “Terror” the order of the day (September 5 decree) and to take harsh measures against those suspected of being enemies of the Revolution (nobles, priests, and hoarders). Bloy, Marjorie. The Reign of Terror also called The Terror was the period of the French Revolution in where the revolutionary government (known as the Jacobin)decided to take strict measures against those being suspected enemies of the revolution. 2014. "Terror, Vengeance, and Martyrdom in the French Revolution: THE CASE OF THE SHADES - Oxford Scholarship", 2014, accessed 1 May 2018. [6], There was a sense of emergency among leading politicians in France in the summer of 1793 between the widespread civil war and counter-revolution. [42], The reign of the standing Committee of Public Safety was ended. In the provinces, representatives on mission and surveillance committees instituted local terrors. On 20 Prairial (8 June 1794) the Festival of the Supreme Being was celebrated across the country; this was part of the Cult of the Supreme Being, a deist national religion. The Reign Of Terror: Was It Justified? 27 February 2018. It was ratified by public referendum, but never put into force. What Robespierre calls "terror" is the fear that the justice of exception shall inspire the enemies of the Republic. Toward the end of the Reign of Terror, Danton was accused of various financial misdeeds, as well as using his position within the Revolution for personal gain. The Terror originated with a centralized political regime that suspended most of the democratic achievements of the revolution, and intended to pursue the revolution on social matters. Leopold, II, and Frederick William. It ended on July 27, 1794 when Robespierre was removed from power and executed. 224 Chapter 7 In addition, factions outside the Legislative Assembly wanted to influence the direction of the government too. Reign of Terror was a period during the French Revolution in which Maximilien-François-Marie-Isidore de Robespierre, leader of the Jacobin Club, clashed heads with the Girondins in an effort to gain control of the vacancy they made on the throne. Government by terror was imposed in response to two perceived dangers: public panic and popular violence provoked by food shortages and rising prices; and the threat posed by traitors at a time when both war and civil war confronted the nation. Voltaire's warnings were often overlooked, though some of his ideas were used for justification of the Revolution and the start of the Terror. The Girondins were more conservative leaders of the National Convention, while the Montagnards supported radical violence and pressures of the lower classes. It is the contention of this "Reign of Terror" series to provide accounts and evidence that the nation has endured under a shadow government of ruling elites; especially, since the elimination of a President, who dared challenge the interests of the true masters of the establishment. Georges Danton was one of the foremost radical leaders during the French Revolution. The Committee of Public Safety passed the Decree Against Profiteers so the profits would have to sell goods and not hold them for themselves. Corrections? [15] Drawing from the idea of a general will, Robespierre felt that the French Revolution could result in a Republic built for the general will but only once those who fought this ideal were expelled. After their victory in expelling the Girondins, Parisian militants “regenerated” their own sectional assemblies by purging local moderates, while radicals such as Jacques-René Hébert and Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette tightened their grip on the Paris Commune. Massive reforms of military institutions, while very effective in the long run, presented the initial problems of inexperienced forces and leaders of questionable political loyalty. The revolution itself was caused by a combination of factors the led to an economic and social crisis that left the French third class little choice but to revolt. Pp. "[7] This quote has frequently been interpreted as the beginning of a supposed "system of Terror", an interpretation no longer retained by historians today. As many as 23,000 more were killed without trial or died in prison. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The reign of terror, the period in the French revolution when around forty thousand people lost their lives in the name of the revolution was the climax of the French Revolution. Émigrés (EHM•ih•GRAYZ), nobles and others who had fled France, hoped to undo the Revolution and restore the Old Regime. Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the patrie [homeland, fatherland]. Among those charged by the tribunal, about half were acquitted (though the number dropped to about a quarter after the enactment of the Law of 22 Prairial on 10 June 1794). In July 1794 Robespierre was arrested and executed as were many of his fellow Jacobins, thereby ending the Reign of Terror, which was succeeded by the Thermidorian Reaction. These were the infamous September Massacres when Parisian mobs killed thousands of suspected royalists and set the scene for the events to come, when Madame La … Document A: Decree Against Profiteers 1. Even though they were vague laws, people accepted the terror because it helped to combat their feelings of alienation and paranoia in regards to all aspects of the revolution. The device takes its name from Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician on whose suggestion it was introduced. Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws defines a core principle of a democratic government: virtue—described as "the love of laws and of our country. A Cultural History of the French Revolution. He opposes the idea of terror as the order of the day, defending instead "justice" as the order of the day. Internet History Sourcebooks. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Reign-of-Terror, UNRV History - Roman Empire - Reign of Terror. Under the social contract, the government was required to act for the general will, which represented the interests of everyone rather than a few factions. In response to what they viewed to be the meddling of foreign powers, France declared war on 20 April 1792. The Reign of Terror is a well-known component of the French Revolution, mostly due to the excessive use of the guillotine to preserve the Revolution. As a result, he decided to weed out those he believed could never possess this virtue. Merriman, John (2004). (1987), Shulim, Joseph I. Favourite answer. France began this war with a large series of defeats, which set a precedent of fear of invasion in the people that would last throughout the war. [27] While the French military had stabilized and was producing victories by the time the Reign of Terror officially began, the pressure to succeed in this international struggle acted as justification for the government to pursue its actions. Enlightenment thought emphasized the importance of rational thinking and began challenging legal and moral foundations of society, providing the leaders of the Reign of Terror with new ideas about the role and structure of government. In Paris a wave of executions followed. 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