Reports From Nantes, Law of the Maximum, and Robespierre’s Speech are three documents that reflect the motivations and ideals of the Terror during the French revolution. The radical and frightening actions by the Committee of Public Safety were motivated by fear of the activity by the counterrevolutionaries. This fear was seen during the Great Fear, and established in “La Marseillaise” where the “savage soldiers … come right into our arms to cut the throats of your sons”. Maximilien Robespierre dominated the Committee, and he believed that by losing their rights in the name of their rights being defended, in the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”; the only way to defend liberty is to suspend it. Therefore, the Terror represents …show more content…
Robespierre said that “it is time for us to become aware ourselves both of the obstacles which still keep us from reaching that goal and of the means which we must adopt to achieve it” (6). The “obstacles” are those who do not fit in this new kind of society, such as counterrevolutionaries; and to reach the goal of a new society, education, deportation, or death are the means to achieve the goal. Killing those unfit was so prevalent that the most executions during the Terror was in the summer of 1794, when France was advancing on all fronts and the fear of counterrevolutionaries had drastically dropped. Robespierre defends himself by stating that all he wants it to do is “fulfill the wishes of nature, accomplish the destiny of humanity, [and] keep the promises of philosophy” (6) while also saying that “the strength of popular government in revolution is both virtue and terror; terror without virtue is disastrous, virtue without terror is powerless. Terror is nothing but prompt, severe, and inflexible justice” (6). To create his perfect society, measures must be taken beyond the extreme that France is willing to go. Although this document was meant to “define the aims of the Revolution,” it shows the horrors of the Revolution. Robespierre, a man that believed that“the despot [can] govern his brutalized subjects through terror” (6), was put to death in July of 1794, ironically by the guillotine. The Terror was an attempt to remake society,
Prior to Napoleon's reign as emperor, France had been through the rein of terror and the French Revolution. King Louis the Sixteenth and his wife Marie Antoinette had put France in major debt and took no responsibility for it. He was killed by the guillotine. Robespierre took control after his death and caused more problems for France and killed anyone who was not passionate enough about his ruling. He too was killed by the guillotine.
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.
He justified and proved that what he is doing is “right” by doing speeches and even using an audience to watch deaths of the many “enemies of the state”. Robespierre said in one of his speeches, “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”. He is saying that terror is what is needed in his time, there are no other plausible solutions. This is the only one. But I want to ask him, is a person aged 18 that sawed a tree that represents this so-called liberty deserved death?
In July of 1793 he became the leader of the Committee of Public Safety. He ruled as a dictator for about the next year and this ruling became known as the Reign of Terror. The whole point of the Committee of Public Safety was to protect the revolution from its enemies but with Robespierre as leader the people often had these enemies. He said that this use of terror enabled french citizens to remain true to the ideas of the revolution. The people who challenged his leadership the most where radicals.
After his beheading in January 1793, the radical Maximilien Robespierre took over beginning the period of French Revolution called the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was a 18 month period where the Catholic church, and monarchy were targeted. Over 40,000 countrymen were
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 was a climatic event of violence that insured the death of many people. The Reign of Terror was one of the most historical events during the French Revolution because it helped save France from invasion by other countries, and in that sense preserved the Revolution. During this time, there were many public executions and mass killings of suspects in September 1793 through July 1794. In total 300,00 people were arrested, 17,000 were executed, and 10,000 presumably died in prison. The Reign of Terror was also organized by the twelve-man committee of safety.
Robespierre was influenced greatly by the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which inspired Robespierre’s belief and morals and became the main reason why he fought for equal rights for men and demand for justice and change from the French monarchy. Robespierre was not fond of the French monarchy and believed that they were abusing their power so he used his platform to advocate for change. “Robespierre and his youthful colleague, Saint-Just (1767-94)-also once an opponent of the death penalty led the way in claiming that ‘Louis must die in order for the Revolution to live,” (Robespierre and The Terror). Robespierre’s begin to call for more purges and execution, causing the people and other government officials to question Robespierre’s motives. They began to fear for their lives and in fear of another revolutionary, they decided to overthrow Robespierre and execute
Imagine being alive in a time when more than 40,000 people were beheaded in the name of freedom. That's exactly what happened in the early stages of the French revolution. The French Revolution was a period of drastic social and political change in France and is thought to have been carried forward in the later years by one man, Napoleon Bonaparte. Much controversy surrounds this idea, many say he betrayed the revolution, some say he saved it, and others say the revolution ended before Napoleon's rule even began. The truth is Napoleon Bonaparte was a young man who wished to fulfill the ideals of the revolution at the beginning, with those ideals being equality, liberty, and fraternity in simple terms.
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.
French Revolution Inquiry: Was Robespierre justified in his actions during the Reign of Terror? Rebecca Kaddis World Studies June 7, 2023, What caused a person who was once opposed to executions to become so accepting of them? How does Robespierre go from supporting these ideas to sending thousands to the guillotine? Were the rights of the people he labeled enemies of the French Revolution really enemies? Robespierre once loathed the thought of execution no matter the crime and regulated mass murder.
Sunday worship, Christmas, and Easter were abolished…in Auxerre.” (Map created from various sources, Document C). The Reign of Terror was not justified because they enforced laws that made people do things that they didn’t want to do, which means that they don’t value liberty. Robespierre ultimately ruined the chances of peace, killing anyone who got in his way to stay in
The Reign of Terror was an unfortunate event in French history, but it was certainly needed for the French Revolution. The Reign of Terror was a direct consequence of the French Revolution that started in the year 1789, which was overall caused by the starving of people due to the serious damage the American “Revolution” and Seven Years War did to France’s wealth. The nobility at this time were faring well in their palaces and castles while the common people were neglected and therefore decided to revolt against their unfair treatment. The Reign of Terror was a one year period where the purpose was to exterminate the enemies of the revolution. Even the smallest contempt shown for the revolution was punishable by death that was typically brought
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.
Robespierre’s once said “any law which violates the inalienable rights of man is essentially unjust and tyrannical; it is not a law at all”, which is completely hypocritical. It is hypocritical because Robespierre passed the Law of Suspects which violated the Declaration of Rights of Man, especially the right saying that everyone has freedom to speak, write and print what they want. The Law of Suspects made everyone have to agree with the Republican Democracy and permitted people from having the freedom to state their opinion, especially if they were against the revolution. Robespierre tried his best and succeeded so that the Third Estate could have equal rights because they make up most of the population and he create a society revolved around them and removed the monarchy. But when he did this and forced the revolution among France and their citizens, he did what the First and Second Estate did to the Third Estate during the Old Regime, he didn’t let the people who supported monarchs have any rights and to an even worse extent, he killed them all!