Do the ends justify the mean? If you were an American soldier ready to be deployed for a massive land invasion of Japan, the atomic bombs saved your life. World War II ended when the United States dropped the atomic bombs and saved thousands of American lives. The French Revolution faced a similar dilemma. The rallying cry for the revolution was equality, liberty, and fraternity, bringing the first democracy to France. The Reign of Terror was led by Maximilien Robespierre, he violently suppressed counter-revolutionary forces within and outside the country. Did the French government have good reason to conduct a violent campaign to uphold the ideals of the French Revolution? The Reign of Terror was justified because of three reasons: the revolutionary …show more content…
80,000 Austrian and Prussian armies were marching towards France to end the revolution (Doc C). It is true that the French forces stopped them at the Battle of Valmy in 1792, a year before the Reign of Terror (Doc C). But the goals of the revolution was to spread the new ideas of liberty, equality, and male suffrage (the right to vote) across Europe. In 1791, Austria and Prussia officially expressed their support for the French monarchy (Doc B). Furthermore, France faced internal threats in the Western region of Vendee, where emigres or nobles conspired against the young republic. Nearly 10,000 French army officers and aristocrats (nobles) were ready to join the foreign invasion (Doc C). France was facing a real crisis with only two years into the revolution. The Reign of Terror was bloody, but it clarified the goals of all French citizens- join the army, protect the revolution, and resist the return to feudalism and the Old Regime. The map addresses that France had external threats, in August 1792, 80,000 Austrian and Prussian armies were marching towards France to suppresses the French Revolution. That was not the only problem France had though, they also had internal troubles, 10,000 French army officers and aristocrats had moved to the Austrian-controlled Netherlands to form armies and they allied themselves with France’s foreign enemies. Also many French citizens fought against the military draft called the levée en masse and against laws that tried to abolish Christianity in France. France was being attacked from two fronts, outside invaders and by rebels and émigrés. Desperate times require desperate measures. The timeline enforces that The Reign of Terror was justified, it successfully fought enemies from both inside and outside of France. First, the counter-revolution in Western France fell in December 1793. Second, the French Revolutionary
The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.
The Reign of Terror opened the door for the government of France to secure military victories with thus decreased the amount of stress on the government. In Documents B and C, they both illustrate how actions taking by the Committee of Public Safety, the leading Terror body, helped lead to France to victory against foreign enemies. Document B gives us a timeline of the events leading up to the Reign of Terror and we can see how the actions taken by the Committee of Public Safety, such as the Levee en Masse, helped bring about French Victory. We can also see how Document C supports this deduction from Document B as Document C talks about the effect of the revolution and the Reign on the outside threat to France. We can also deduce from Document
Robespierre led the French Revolution known as “The Reign of Terror”. The new government would execute large numbers of individuals whom they believed to be enemies of the revolution. So, the Reign of Terror was unjustified, for it not only violated the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen in multiple cases, specifically articles two and ten, but also caused the death of thousands. Although the Committee of Public Safety had good intentions, it ended up doing more harm than good as they invaded people’s lives and disregarded their rights as human beings.
This leads to even more chaos in the country and the beginning of the Reign of Terror. Although the French formed the conscripted army which protected them from foreign threats, the entire nation fell into chaos and immense amounts of public executions
The Reign of Terror in France was not justified. This claim can be supported by looking at three areas: external threat, the internal threat, and the methods. The external threat was not enough to justify the Reign of Terror. One example of this is that “churches are soon closed by revolutionary government” which is wrong, because people should be able to choose what they believe in (Document A). Another example is that the “Government denies legal counsel to accused enemies of the revolution” (Document A).
The Reign of Terror In September 1793 to July 1794, the Reign of Terror killed over 40,000 people in France using the guillotine a machine that made it a simple way to execute a mass amount of people. The Reign of Terror was led by no other than , Robespierre. He was trying to form a new government but instead caused thousands of people to be massacred. Ultimately, The Reign of Terror in France was not justified because the threats did not require it, the methods were too extreme and It did not support the ideals of the revolution.
Was The Reign Of Terror Justified? The French Revolution was a very problematic time period. After the execution of Louis XVI, the Reign of Terror began during the years of 1793 - 1794 which was led by French politician, Maximilien Robespierre and lasted for 18 months. This topic is controversial when the question, “Was the Reign of Terror justified?” is asked.
The American and French Revolution are both remembered in history as two major changes that would shape what we know today. Every child learns of the American Revolution at least once in their lives. Both these revolutions had the similar cause, effects, and stages that resulted or started them. Just like in every warring country, it is inevitable that there will be some change that occurs whether it be for the better or for worse. Although the American and French revolutions were very similar in the actions, there were many differences leading them into ultimately different paths and states of rest.
A goal of the French Revolution was that the third estate became eager to have an actual leader that would pay attention to their needs so they because the National Assembly and agreed on the tennis court oath. They also wanted to create a new government but king Louis XVI wouldn’t sign it off so the National Assembly got mad and they overthrew the bastille. The bastille was a jail where all the prisoners were being kept. The third estate created the Declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen to express these goals. The goal of the American Revolution was to get away from the British government and be free.
The main difference between the American and French Revoultion was that one successfully converted to a democratic government and one did not. The French Revolution was not successful in forming a democratic government due to France’s history of a monarchy, economic issues and divison among its’ people. Unlike America, France had a long history of sole rulers and dictatorship which made the change to a democratic government much more difficult and ultimately impossible. America’s motto of “all men are created equal” (Doc A) was the complete opposite of France’s dividing estate class system. The third estate consisted of peasents, common people and the bourgeoisie, the second estate belonged to the Nobles, and the first was the home to the Clergy.
The French Revolution was one of the most significant wars that changed France’s history. The Revolution started in 1789 and ended in 1799 and was mainly initiated by the conditions affecting the Third Estate. Louis XVI was predominately the king during this time period but little did he know that an uprising among the peasants was happening. The French Revolution was caused by the Enlightenment ideas because of the American Revolution, the knowledge of rights, and the questioning of France’s government. The American Revolution was basically the “fire” that ignited the change the Third Estate wanted to see in their country.
”(Doc 3) This demonstrates that the removal of the Edict of Nantes drove people insane because it granted the people France substantial rights, however when the rights were removed by Louis XIV people became infuriated, which is another reason to why the French Revolution occurred. Fundamentally, the actions that Louis XIV took had a great impact towards his people. His actions ultimately led the people of France initiate the French Revolution, which left France and its people in a vulnerable
Rebellion Against Government Many words are associated with the word “rebellion.” These words may include “disobedience,” “anarchy,” “instability,” or “teenagers.” A word that should be included in that group is “justified.” Throughout history, people have often been deprived of the rights and freedoms that they deserve as citizens.
This enormous massacre of people went against Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, all of which the national assembly declared were every man 's right. Much of the killing can be blamed on Robespierre and King Louis XVI. Although it was mostly a failure, some achievements can be seen through the Revolution. The French Revolution helped the French people become a more equal and socialist state. This showed Europe that the French were capable of revolting and they were not afraid to stand up for what they believed.
Was the French Revolution preventable? This is a question that is fascinating to think about. What could have been done differently to prevent this revolution that cost countless people their lives? Why were others willing to give their lives, for what cause? Why was life so turbulent?