The Reign of Terror: French Revolution (1793-1794)

• Reign of Terror (1793-1794) was a period of extreme violence and mass executions during the French Revolution.
• This period targeted perceived enemies of the revolution.
• Maximilien Robespierre was a Jacobin leader and the architect of the Reign of Terror.
• Robespierre advocated for terror to defend the revolution.
• Jacobins were a political faction that supported radical measures.
• Girondins were a political faction within the National Assembly and were more moderate.
• The Committee of Public Safety, led by Robespierre, controlled France during the Reign of Terror.
• The guillotine was the execution device used frequently during this period and became a symbol of the Reign of Terror.
• Olympe de Gouges was a feminist writer executed for advocating democratic voting rights for both men and women.
• Sans-Culottes were lower-class revolutionaries who supported radical policies and the execution of royalists.
• The Law of Suspects allowed for quick trials and execution of those suspected of being enemies of the revolution.

Key Documents and Their Significance:

• George Washington expressed admiration for the French Revolution, but warned that too much bloodshed could destabilize it.
• Washington feared France might replace one form of despotism with another.
• Robespierre advocated for a totalitarian revolutionary government where anyone against the Republic should be eliminated.
• Robespierre called for an alliance between the people and the Convention.
• A law passed by the Committee of Public Safety allowed the imprisonment and execution of suspects with minimal evidence.
• This law established a system where terror was the primary tool of control.
• De Gouges advocated for democratic reforms and women’s rights.
• She was executed for suggesting a constitutional monarchy as an option.
• Robespierre justified terror as a means of achieving a democratic state.
• Robespierre claimed that terror without virtue is murder, but virtue without terror is powerless.
• Robespierre argued that a revolution does not need to follow traditional laws.
• He prioritized punishing traitors and maintaining order over legal processes.
• Modern analysis compared Robespierre to modern totalitarian leaders like Stalin and Mao.
• These analyses criticized the French Revolution’s transition into a period of mass murder.
• The Girondins initially supported the revolution but were executed for being too moderate.
• Robespierre accused the Girondins of being secret royalists.
• Robespierre was found wounded and later executed by the same methods he had used against others.
• His downfall marked the end of the Reign of Terror.
• A political cartoon from 1794 depicts the guillotine surrounded by severed heads.
• The cartoon represents the justification of terror as a means of achieving security.

The Reign of Terror (1793-1794) was a violent period in the French Revolution, marked by mass executions of perceived enemies. Led by Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, it involved radical policies and the use of the guillotine.