Maximilien Robespierre: The French Revolution

Sources A and B support the claim established by contemporaries and historians that Robespierre was “incorruptible”, however Robespierre was also despotic, extreme, and radical. Robespierre’s strong opinions, extremism, and despotism support that he was not easily persuaded or corruptible. Source A shows Robespierre saying “the sword that gleams in the hands of the heroes of liberty resembles those in the hands of the henchmen of tyranny”. This statement supports that the government was despotic, which shows that Robespierre was a brutal leader not easily persuaded or corrupted. His statement, “Let the despot govern by terror his brutalised subjects; he is right, as a despot” supports that Robespierre had very strong opinions, showing that

"Where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government, which sooner or later becomes autocratic government" (William Lyon Mackenzie King). In 1793, Maximilien Robespierre, head of the Committee of Public Safety, took over the unmanned French government. His ruling consisted of killing anyone that thought of enlightenment ideals or ill of him. Running as a dictator for only less than a years worth of time, Robespierre caused the Reign of Terror, a time where around 40,000 individuals who were rather innocent were killed for having slightly different

The spark that set off the Reign of Terror can be attributed to the king’s attempted escape from France in 1791 (Document 6). It is impossible for people of the modern world to comprehend exactly what caused this mayhem simply because no one lived during that period. Regardless, the event left the nation in a state of shock and uncertainty. The National Convention was forced to make the difficult decision to place all of its power into an entirely new political branch, knowing that something different was needed to save France. Before he was chosen to run the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre was revered for his courage and sheer determination. He ridiculed the notion that a monarchy could last and instead pushed for democratic reforms (Document 2). Robespierre spoke to the people of France with an air of confidence that quickly won them over. His morals were fundamentally based on the ideals of early enlightenment thinker Jean Jacques Rousseau. Both men asserted that man is good by nature but poisoned by society. Robespierre also believed that all men deserve to be treated as equals in the eyes of the law (Document 3). The central cause of the French Revolution was the nation’s lack of a strong military in the face of civil war and foreign invasion. Rebuilding the military was arguably the most significant advancement that occurred during the Reign of Terror. Robespierre created a law called the Law of Universal Conscription in an effort to propel the French military to a reasonable state. This law mandated all men between the ages of 18 and 40 to join the army. Additionally, women were called into service to make uniforms. Robespierre further ensured that his troops were well-fed and prepared to spring into combat at any moment by reserving the best bread for soldiers only. After decades of internal and external conflict,

Robespierre created the Committee of Public Safety. Anyone who was considered enemy of the revolution had the tendency to be arrested, thousands of people died, the period from 5 September 1793 to 28 July 1794 was denominated Reign of Terror, the whole nation was mobilized for war, any invading army was defeated, the citizens started feeling increasingly insecure. The Jacobins did not accept any criticism; they were isolated from society, lost the support of the sans-culottes and attracted the rage of the bourgeoisie and the marsh. It was considered

Robespierre had intended to rid France of any people that were considered a threat to the revolution through the Reign of Terror, but his actions were not necessary for France to progress. His intentions to overthrow the monarchy under Louis XVI and replace it with a new utopian republic were reasonable because, with a reformed republic, he could establish the principle stating, “the ‘rights of man’ should extend to all men – including the poor, and the slaves in the colonies” (Linton). He relentlessly advocated for equality within the working class, also known as the sans culottes, and fought for the abolishment of rigid class systems between the three estates. This allowed for him to gain a positive reputation with civilians who were mistreated within the Third Estate and obtain reverence from the Jacobins. Robespierre’s first order of business to purify France and progress the revolution began with the trial of Louis XVI. Originally, it had been known that Robespierre “was for a long time a vehement opponent of the death penalty” (Linton), so it was unexpected when he began to advocate for the King’s death. His change of opinion occurred after witnessing how Louis had committed treason through attempting to escape an unstable France which branded him as a traitor to the revolution. In his speech arguing against allowing the King to be given a trial, Robespierre claimed “yes the penalty of death generally is a crime...it can be justified only in cases when it is necessary for the safety of individuals or the social body...Louis must die, because the country must live” (“Maximilien”). It was this trial that became the root to which Robespierre’s terror stemmed from. He speculated that “...in order to defend the Revolution against those who would destroy it, the shedding of blood was justified” (Linton). From here on out, his philosophy of the ends

As the Reign of Terror came into effect, triggering the most radical phase of the Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre was determined to reconstruct France as a new republican democracy. According to Robespierre, this system could only be achieved if every and all forms of resistance to the Republic were to be eradicated. He declared that anyone who did not support the revolution as radically as he did was a traitor, a threat to the country, and deserved to be executed.

During the French Revolution, a radical by the name of Maximillian Robespierre was appointed leader of the Committee of Public Safety. The Committee of Public Safety was created to protect France from its enemies. In the process, they killed 40,000 people. The committee of Public Safety did not protect France’s Revolution from the enemies, especially through the way they expressed ideals and their various laws.

Later, when he was elected as the head of the Committee of Public Safety, he used his position to further impose his grandeur and beliefs onto the people of France. Simply, by being a part of the committee, the Jacobin Club and with help of the sans coulottes he brutally killed anyone he suspected of opposing him and his beliefs. In less than an year approximately 300,000 people suspected as enemies were arrested, more than 10,000 died in prison and 17, 000 were executed by guillotine. During this time, Robespierre also executed numerous political opponents. Overall, Maximilian de Robespierre had a significant impact on the French Revolution as he himself was the creator of the most symbolic part of

The Committee of Public Safety was the political council created by the National Convention during the Reign of Terror. This committee was formed to help protect France against enemies of the Republic. The council had 9 members but later expanded to 12. This committee was responsible for supervising ministers and defending in emergency situations. They were also expected to help win the war and end the famine. Over time, the committee gained a lot of power and eventually took over all the power in France and ran the government. The Committee of Public Safety was led by Robespierre and his fellow Jacobins.. With the committee gaining all the control over France, Robespierre used the committee to prevent any counter attacks. Because the Committee

With all of the chaos and commotion going on with the Revolution, a sense of victory without the people was impossible. Robespierre once said, "The domestic danger comes from the bourgeois; to defeat the bourgeois we must rally the people." This concept helped to create a defense policy that rested on the Sansculottes and the middle bourgeoisie, this of which Robespierre became that symbol (Soboul 56). The Jacobins and Sansculottes forced this revolutionary of national defense upon the French leadership and upper class. This is where Robespierre 's villainous side begins to emerge. Upon implementation of this strategy, overthrow and mass executions began to appear.

     Maximillien Robespierre is commonly viewed as the symbol of the Reign of Terror, the short period in which thousands of people were executed because they were thought to be traitors. However, Maximillien was actually an idealistic reformer with an image of peace and equality driving him on, who is unfairly credited with the Terror, and assumed to be a power-hungry tyrant.

Twenty thousand to forty thousand died; it is still unknown exactly how many people were lost through the blood drenching event of the Reign of Terror.[Footnote] Throughout the French revolution, specifically the eleven month, 1793-1794 Reign of Terror, revolutionary leaders, such as Maximilien Robespierre believed in enforcing fear to resolve the instability of France. “Terror is nothing else than swift, severe, indomitable justice; it flows, then, from virtue”-Maximilien Robespierre.[Footnote] This period in history signified great atrocities of massacres, and a time where fear was evoked within every French civilian. The National Convention of France was a great factor in encouraging the start of the Reign of Terror; they continued on

On the date of April 6, 1763 during the French Revolution the Committee of Public Safety was established. This was a political body of the French Revolution that gained almost all dictatorial control over France during the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror was a period of violence occurring between September 5 1793 and July 28 1794. It happened after the onset of the French Revolution and was encouraged by the two political factions the Girondins and the Jacobins. This committee was designed to provide for the defense of the nation against enemies and oversee the executive government. It was first consisted of 9 members, then it was increased to 12 that were elected by the National Convention. Which was an assembly that Governed France during

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

The French Revolution spanned ten years and was a period of great change within France. The official beginning of the French Revolution was in May-August of 1789 when common citizens, upset with how the upper class was treated them, forced King Louis XVI (the king of France at the time) to sign the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (the DoRoMaC). The DoRoMaC was a document that described exactly what rights the citizens wanted, such as freedom of speech and religion and innocence until proven guilty. Over the next four years, commoners lobbied for a democracy and, when King Louis XVI was executed in early 1793, a new governing body was formed called Committee of Public Safety., which was designed to subdue counterrevolutionaries. A man named Maximilien Robespierre was part of the Committee, and on September 5, 1793, he decided that the best way to keep France under control was fear. That day marks the start of the Reign of Terror.