The French Revolution: The Reign Of Terror

The French revolution

The French revolution began in 1789 after Louis XVI called the estates general on May 5, 1789, which had not been called for 175 years. Louis XVI wanted more money to finish building Versailles. The king wanted to add another tax to the third class but the third class wanted there to be equal taxes. The third estate decided to write a new constitution for France. So they took the “Tennis Court Oath” where they vowed to continue meeting until a new constitution was written. When Louis heard he sent for soldiers to come and remove them from his tennis court.

The fall of The Bastille

When the people in Paris heard, on July 14, 1789, an angry crowd marched to the Bastille, a medieval fortress in Paris that was mostly housing political prisoners. To many people in France, it was considered a symbol of the much hated Louis’ regime. Angry, unemployed and hungry mob of Paris civilians saw it as a place to vent their frustrations. The civilians build barricades out of anything they could find to stop the soldiers from getting to the bastille. The commander of the

Maximillian Robespierre came to dominate the Committee and established himself as the leader of the so-called Reign of Terror. Robespierre wanted to rid France of all enemies of the Revolution and to protect the “virtue” of the nation. From September 1793 to July 1794, an estimated 16,000 people were guillotined. Many radicals were executed along with moderates. Most leaders of the French Revolution were now either dead or had fled the republic. Opposition to Robespierre grew both in the Committee of Public Safety and within the National Convention. The execution of popular Committee member George-Jacques Danton and Robespierre proclaiming himself as the leader of a new religion of the Supreme Being caused much resentment. On July 27, 1794, Robespierre was arrested. He was guillotined the next