How Did The Bastille Prison Influence The Reign Of Terror?

On July 14th, 1789, the commoners marched into the royal Bastille, a prison that held 1 crazy man, 2 lunatics, and 4 cons. Their target was the large amount of gunpowder. 98 commoners

The Storming of the Bastille, painted in1789, was a watercolor by French artist Jean-Pierre. It was used to depict the fall of the Bastille within Paris in July, 1789. Bastille contained approximately seven prisoners at the time, and the building was the visible nest symbol of French absolutism. Its fall was used to describe an increase in attacks in the French state. During that time, the partisan and commoners met to decide the lasting solution for a new constitution. After the dismissal of the minister several big passions were later raised. A great group of the partisan laid siege on the Bastille with the hopes of liberating the weaponry believed to be held there. Many supporters were killed when the powerful militia forced way to the prison gates. A lot of gun power was used in the process, and the prison was later closed down. This painting, therefore, was used to describe the fall of the Bastille. The fall of the Bastille was made a symbol of the potency of the French Movement. The message of the painting spread throughout out the country

The National Assembly states that ignorance, neglect or contempt of the rights of man are the sole reason of public calamities and the corruption of the government (Doc A).According to Article 2, the aim of [government] is the preservation of the natural rights of man. These are liberty,property and security and resistance to oppression. However, Robespierre and Committee of Public safety violated Article 1,2,7,10. The government wanted to dechristianize france, they severely punished or even executed people who spoke out against the government. They denied rights and liberty and they prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control… they were hypocrites. In March 1793, the revolutionary tribunal was established. On April 6,1793, the revolutionary government established the committee of Public Safety ( Document E) THe tribunal was developed to try crimes against the state. Anyone could come under suspicion but just criticizing the government in small way could get a person in trouble with the Committee of Pf Public safety. This did not justify these actions that the government took. There wasn't enough controls on the government to protect individual rights, the Committee of Public safety was know for suspecting almost everyone.That is proven by the fact, 35,000 to 40,000 people executed by the commission in the

Throughout history, symbols have had an overwhelming presence among citizens. The French Revolution had many symbols that represented power. Did the events leading up to the storming of the Bastille persuade the French citizens to believe that it was a symbol of power? There are many reasons why the French citizens would believe the Bastille to be a symbol of power. It was a very overwhelming stone structure, which stood robust, surrounded by small villages along with farmland. The architecture and placement of this fortress gave itself a reputation of strength and impregnation. It stood by itself, being the most intimidating structure of its time.

Whereas, claimed, “Austria and Prussia were monarchies and both were afraid that the revolution might spread to their countries, hence sent a 80,000- man army into France.” (Doc. C). Furthermore, the outsiders wanted to destroy this revolution springing for rights of man and fairer treatment, thus the radical killings through the Pro-Revolutionary people helped push back the tides from the armies attempting to eradicate them. Additionally, a counterrevolution was arising just the same within the French borders since stated, “People here fiercely fought against the military draft called the levee en masse and against laws,” which made purpose of the keepers of the revolution to unite and briefly display an essence of

After the execution of King Louis XVI, France was without a monarchy and the new revolutionary government ruled over all. However, the chaos was not even close to being over. As it became apparent that the new government wasn’t universally loved and had enemies within and outside of France, the Reign of Terror began. The Reign of Terror was a series of extreme methods and events the French Revolutionary Government put in motion during the revolution. As armies sent by both Prussian and Austrian monarchies approached the border, and fear rose within the people of France, the government took action.

During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries wanted to make a new government that would give the citizens more freedom, liberty, and equality. The Reign of Terror, led by Robespierre, was a period of the French Revolution during which many people were ruthlessly executed by the new government. This period of murder and blood shed started from the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 to late July 1794 called the Reign of Terror. During those eighteen months, more than 20,000 French people were put to death by guillotine. The behavior by the revolutionaries in the French government was not justified for these three reasons: internal and external threats were not serious, the manipulation of the Committee of Public Safety and Maximilien Robespierre wasn’t for the benefit of the all the French citizen, and the uses of the death machine, the guillotine, was inhumane.

“The execution of Louis XVI marked the beginning of an 18- month period of the French Revolution that has come to be called “The Reign of Terror” (Background Essay: Was it justified). The French revolution lasted from 1789 until 1794. During this period of time, the most terrifying part was the Reign of Terror. Even though some of the intentions from the Reign of Terror were good, it was a very destructive and unnecessary time.

2. The soldiers surprised the Patriotes by attacking immediately and not waiting for more men. After two hours of fighting, the order was given to charge with fixed bayonets. The Patriotes did not have bayonets and so were at a disadvantage.

Revolutions are often started as a response to an unjust form of government, and the Reign of Terror’s new revolutionary government was no exception. Although the revolutionary government was meant to replace a tyrannical government, it quickly turned into the dictatorial government it tried to replace and in many cases stepped far outside of the bounds of lawful or just action. During late 18th century France in the time period between the execution of King Louis XVI and the execution of Maximilien de Robespierre, the Reign of Terror senselessly guillotined thousands of people. Conditions in France in 1793 and 1794 were not serious enough to justify the revolutionary government’s response due to the response to external threats, response to internal threats, and the extreme methods deployed.

Document A best conveyed the significance of the storming of the Bastille. This Document told the events from the point of view of an unbiased citizen. It gave the most detail and a clear picture of what took place that day. For example, the Document included how people shouted “Give us the Bastille.” It gave an idea of the attitudes of the people and how it all began.

During the year of 1793, Maximilien Robespierre was appointed by the Committee of Public Safety (Document B) to bring all the chaos that the French Revolution caused to a close, but Robespierre had his own agenda. As of September 5, 1793 Robespierre did just that and declared “Terror the order of the day;” beginning of Reign of Terror. As stated in document G, Robespierre

In June of 1793, the Committee of Public safety began the Reign of Terror, which would not end until July of 1794. As a result of the Terror, over 14,000 people were killed by the use guillotines, firing squads, and drowning. A large majority of these deaths occured in the French Departments of Lore, Lyon, and Vendee (Document 1). In Paris, most of those executed were nobles and upper middle class citizens, while throughout the rest of France, the majority of those executed were peasants and working class citizens. (Document 2). Over 10,000 of the people executed committed hostile acts against the French State (Document 3). The Reign of Terror was a chaotic time period in which France was warring against Austria and Prussia and in deep financial troubles. The revolutionaries used the terror to their advantage, eliminating all of those who were in opposition. The terror, however, was disadvantageous to the revolutionaries because it caused more chaos and civil unrest throughout all of France.

Citizens were seen as enemies of the government, and they were not allowed to walk freely. People who were opposed to the government were either imprisoned or killed. The storming of Bastille angered the state; the government felt that people did not respect the leading class. Bastille prison showed the authority of the French government and the storming of the building angered the state. During its storming the prison did not have many prisoners; however, it still showed the torture that was involved with imprisonment.

Smoking and drinking were permitted as well. The fortress developed to be a symbol of despotism because many people from the population were sent to the Bastille without a trial. During the revolution, a vast amount of writers, who had been released from the Bastille, described it as a living hell. The former prisoners also saw the Bastille as a symbol of corruption of the government. The smaller amount of prisoners kept in the Bastille, while Louis XVI was in control, had superior treatment and even treated better than the general public (Wilde). In the opening days of the French Revolution, the angry crowd of Parisians received a large amount of arms from the Invalides. Both Paris and the National Assembly endured pressure by forces loyal to the crown. In addition to the Prussians having arms, gunpowder was also needed, which was locked inside of the Bastille. The crowd ended up storming the prison to obtain the gunpowder they needed for their arms. Seven prisoners, four foreigners, two insane, and one stray aristocrat, were set free in this situation, while many Prussians and French soldiers