40 Questions
What was a significant advantage of using the guillotine for execution?
It ensured immediate severing of the head
Who were the first victims of the Terror in October 1793?
Marie Antoinette, other members of the royal family, and aristocrats
Where did one of the infamous incidents of the Terror occur, involving tying people to rafts and drowning them in the river Loire?
Nantes on the west coast of France
Who were the victims of the Terror in the provinces in early 1794?
Thousands of people, most of whom were peasants
What was a reason for the Convention moving against the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women?
It was seen as endangering Jacobin control
Which social class did the victims of the Terror come from?
Every social class, including the sans-culottes
What was a method of execution used in the provinces, apart from the guillotine?
Mass shootings
Who presided over the summary execution of thousands of people in the provinces?
Deputies on mission
When did the Terror move to the provinces?
Early 1794
Who were executed in the same weeks that the Convention had moved against the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women?
Girondist politicians
What did the people in the Convention and the Committee of Public Safety believe they had created?
A republic of virtue
In the 'republic of virtue', what was the core value in line with Rousseau’s thought?
Upholding of the public over the private good
What did the republic of virtue manifest itself in?
Renaming of streets and republican dress
What was the justification for the policies of the terror carried out by the Committee of Public Safety?
The public good
What did the republic of virtue aim to replace?
Selfish aristocratic and monarchical corruption
What type of literature was suppressed in the 'republic of virtue'?
Insufficiently republican literature
What did the 'republic of virtue' champion over individual interests?
The general will
What was the absence of in the 'republic of virtue'?
Powdered wigs
What was the core value of the 'republic of virtue'?
Upholding of the public over the private good
What was the main focus of the 'republic of virtue'?
Sacrifice of one’s self and one’s interest for the good of the republic
Who was the dominant figure on the Committee of Public Safety by late 1793?
Maximilien de Robespierre
What did the republic of virtue, as defined by Robespierre, emphasize?
Whole-hearted support of the republican government
What was the purpose of the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women founded by Pauline Léon and Claire Lacombe?
To fight the internal enemies of the revolution
What was the most dramatic step taken by the republic of virtue to justify the Terror?
The attempt to de-Christianize France
Which calendar was proclaimed by the Convention in November 1793?
A revolutionary calendar
What did the Convention decree the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris to be in November 1793?
A 'Temple of Reason'
What was the mandate of the revolutionary tribunals established by the Convention during the summer of 1793?
To try the enemies of the republic
What instrument was used for the execution of those condemned by the revolutionary tribunals?
The guillotine
Who was Olympe de Gouges and what happened to her in November 1793?
Author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, guillotined
What did the exclusion of women from public political life signify in the Jacobin republic of virtue?
Men would be active citizens in the military and political sphere
Who emerged as the dominant figure on the Committee of Public Safety in late 1793?
Maximilien de Robespierre
Who was guillotined in November 1793 for opposing the Terror?
Olympe de Gouges
What did the policies associated with terror in the name of republican virtue include?
Exclusion of women from active political life and de-Christianization of France
Who were the initial supporters of the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women?
Jacobin leaders
What did the radical religious policy of de-Christianization alienate?
Parts of the French provinces from the revolutionary government in Paris
What did the revolutionary tribunals try to systematize and channel?
Popular resentment
What was the mandate of the revolutionary tribunals?
To try the enemies of the republic
What did the republic of virtue attempt to establish?
A new revolutionary calendar and the closure of churches
What did the Reign of Terror manifest itself in?
Revolutionary tribunals
Where were those condemned by the revolutionary tribunals in Paris beheaded?
On the guillotine
Study Notes
The Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France
- Maxilien de Robespierre, a controversial figure, emerged as the dominant figure on the Committee of Public Safety in late 1793
- Robespierre was a selfless revolutionary who favored a republic from the beginning of the revolution and relied on the support of the sans-culottes
- The republic of virtue, as envisioned by Robespierre, meant support for the republican government and renunciation of selfish gains from political life
- The policies associated with terror in the name of republican virtue included the exclusion of women from active political life and the de-Christianization of France
- The Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, initially welcomed by the Jacobin leaders, became increasingly radical and was eventually banned in October 1793
- Olympe de Gouges, author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, was guillotined in November 1793 for opposing the Terror
- The Republic of Virtue attempted to de-Christianize France, establishing a new revolutionary calendar and closing churches
- The radical religious policy of de-Christianization alienated parts of the French provinces from the revolutionary government in Paris
- The Reign of Terror manifested itself in revolutionary tribunals, established by the Convention during the summer of 1793
- The mandate of the revolutionary tribunals was to try the enemies of the republic, but the definition of who was an "enemy" shifted over time
- The Terror of the revolutionary tribunals systematized and channeled the popular resentment that had manifested itself in the September Massacres of 1792
- Those condemned by the revolutionary tribunals in Paris were beheaded on the guillotine
Test your knowledge of Robespierre's justification of the "Republic of Virtue" and the use of terror during the French Revolution. Explore the factors that led to the dispensation of legal due process and the Committee of Public Safety's role in justifying the use of terror.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
