Tereshpate: A Summary And Analysis

The French Revolution is arguably the bloodiest period in French history, with men such as Maximilien Robespierre leading the country into a situation of state sponsored terror. Originally being quite a liberal thinker inspired by the works of Rousseau, Robespierre quickly gained a reputation for being a radical throughout the course of the Revolution, especially during the Terror. Early on terror was justified as a means to root out foreign and domestic enemies of the Revolution, however; once the foreign threat had been taken care of it became increasingly difficult for Robespierre to rationalize his use of terror to bring about a supposed Republic of Virtue. In his speech, the “Justification of the use of Terror” which he presented to

The radical turning point of the revolution, marked by the Reign of Terror, was an atmosphere of mass executions and imposed paranoia, with more than ten thousand “counterrevolutionaries” (vaguely defined, which at the end turned out to be anyone with dissent) sent to death under the Law of Suspects. Robespierre himself states that “Terror is nothing but prompt, severe, inflexible justice; it is therefore an emanation of virtue… The government of the revolution is the despotism of liberty against tyranny”. “Severe and inflexible”, as justified by Robespierre, the revolution needed a push in order to reach its goals. France under the committee's total control sent anyone with dissent to the guillotine because they were considered to be a threat to the new government, which ironically named itself “for the people”. An anonymous eyewitness during the reign commented on the Reign of Terror collection of authentic narratives that “It seemed as if their blind fury was particularly directed against the weakest and most amiable.The loveliest, the youngest, and the most interesting females, were dragged in crowds into this receptacle of misery, whence they were led, by dozens, to inundate the scaffold” (325). The sickening extent of human toll

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,

Maximilien Robespierre has always been known to be controversial and misunderstood. He was the face of the French Revolution. In accordance with the Jacobins, they controlled the time known as the Reign of Terror, due to their influence in the accumulation of murders of those opposed to the revolution. Reign of Terror was a symbolic time period within the French Revolution that involved corruption of power and influence and mass executions. With Robespierre at the forefront, he became one of the most important men in the Revolution. As soon as Maximilien Robespierre decided to react to enemies of the revolutions, mass execution being his choice of force; his implementation of the Reign of Terror was a villainous act striking those who

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

The radical views of Robespierre cost thousands of people’s lives. He ordered the death of 45,000 to 50,000 throughout all of the Reign of Terror. Nothing compared to the levée en masse deaths by people just fighting for their right to worship God. In October 1793, Revolutionaries decided to reenact an example of counterrevolutionaries in Lyons. One day, revolutionaries destroyed 1600 homes and chopped off 12 heads just in 5 minutes. Robespierre is sending his revolutionary followers basically just to torture people and take away their rights. The people the revolutionaries were members of the aristocracy, priests, farmers, and townspeople especially. He killed them because he thought they weren’t in support of the French Revolution, they didn’t support him, or they supported the Catholic Church. By August of 1793, people were fed up of Robespierre and his radical ways so they started revolting against him. 3,000 national guardsman were sent to establish order and peace in Niort, France (Doc D). Even this wasn’t enough as a government official had to ask the National Convention for more troops and assistance in calming

For example, revolutionary figurehead Maximilien Robespierre can be seen holding the head of King Louis XIV next to the symbolic guillotine (Document F). The execution of a politician by another politician is highly unconscionable; revolutions can be successful without the death of one’s adversary. Other perceived “enemies” of the revolution were executed via guillotine, resulting in a total death count of over 16,000—all guillotine executions were public and normalized the butchering of political opponents. Moreover, Robespierre was a vehement opposer of the death penalty, but during the Reign of Terror, often used the guillotine to eliminate his rivals. This convenient change of morals within a revolutionary leader began the decadence of

The Reign of Terror began by the public beheading by guillotine of Louis XVI, This event took place on the 21st of January. As evidenced by Document F, An attendee says “The king’s blood flowed and cries of joy from eighty thousand armed men struck my ears. I saw people pass by arm in arm laughing and chatting familiarly as if they were at a festival.” (Document F.) This depicts the graphical display put on by the executioners. which is an example of the French government implementing fear tactics to rule over their people. Shortly after his wife Marie Antoinette was guillotined to death publicly. The Reign of Terror lasted 18 months. During this period a man named Maximilian Robespierre led the government. He executed a large number of people who he thought could be enemies or somewhat threats to his new fragile form of government. It was rumored that he had spies everywhere who would turn others in, just for not being enthusiastic about the revolutionaries form of government. also if an individual complained or made a comment pertaining negatively to life in France after the revolution they would be executed. His Reign of Terror not only focused upon the citizens of his country but it also focused upon specific groups. For example his Reign of Terror also focused upon the catholic church. The catholic church had been in power for a very long time, and had a very large influence on modern society and culture.

To begin with, Robespierre had gained solo power of a country almost immediately. Whenever power is shifted to quickly and power is given to one leader to become a dictator, it is unlikely for government to run smoothly. Robespierre was put into power due to the unstable revolution occurring in the country. Advisors to the National Convention wanted to end the revolution by killing as seen by the departmental adviser of Vendée who requested to, "...issue a decree whereby the criminal court of Niort judges this case as the last resort" (Document D). The case was against revolutionaries seen as bandits. The solicit meant that all these people should be put to death without appeal. A month after this incident Robespierre was placed into power and had the intention to kill as a way of fixing. When having ideals such as this, citizens will start to dislike the government. The Committee of Public Safety was set up in order to protect the populace Robespierre at the time was the head of this council. The situation of this group got ugly when they, "employed a shadowy network of informers and spies to achieve these ends" (Document E). This network was basically the NSA of 1793. They watched and checked on the public to hear the word and what words were being said. One can imagine how people will react if a watch committee is set up, like America and the NSA, we went crazy about our privacy and still are. People

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.

In the French Revolution, Robespierre had begun ruling in July 1793. Historians call this time period the Reign of Terror. Textual evidence written by historians includes this, “Robespierre justified his use of terror by suggesting that it helped French citizens to remain true to the ideals of the Revolution” (Modern World History).

Robespierre led the Reign of Terror, the new government of France executed individuals believed to be as enemies of the French Revolution (B.E.). The French government believed to reach a society that included, “Indivisibility of the Republic, Liberty, Equality, Unity, Fraternity or Death”; the government would need to eliminate the rebels of the new government (Overview). Another target was the Catholic Church, which it was considered as the old order (B.E.). During the Reign of Terror, foreign strain was building up into war against France (B.E.). There were violent battles inside and outside the country with the new government (B.E.). The Reign of Terror was justified because their goal of the government

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.

The ensuing Reign of Terror led to the execution of many, including the revolutionary leaders Jacques Hébert and Georges Danton. At his insistence, the Convention proclaimed the cult of the Supreme Being, antagonizing both atheists and believers. With the support of the powerful Paris Commune, however, Robespierre was elected president of the Convention as the Terror intensified, with even many Jacobins fearing for their lives. After a series of military victories in Cholet; Vendée; Fleurus, Belgium; Wattignies, in northern France, made extreme security measures less urgent, a conspiracy was formed to overthrow Robespierre and, on 9 Thermidor, Year II (July 27, 1794), he was banned from speaking at the Convention and placed under arrest. An uprising in his support was suppressed on July 28, and Robespierre was executed along with his close associates Georges Couthon and Louis Saint-Just and a number of other supporters. The death of Robespierre soon brought an end to the

Robespierre was the main person to implement the laws he put forth.[Footnote] He believed in solving all his problems through violence. Those who were born to a particular family, having certain opinions, or simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time, would fall victim to him. Although Robespierre was obsessed with violence, he never actually performed acts himself, unless assured he would succeed, he’d have other people to do his work for him. The most common device used to punish people was the guillotine. Robespierre used other methods at times; he’d burn, hack, stab, shoot, and even cannonade a person. Those he objected, or had been his enemy would soon be imprisoned, and eventually executed. He was relentless and ordered people dead with no trial, killing people without proving or even knowing if they were truly “guilty”. He believed the mass murders he was responsible for were justified.