Reign Of Terror DBQ

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.

The French Revolution began in 1789 as an attempt, by the revolutionaries, to form a new government that would give the people more liberty, equality and value people’s rights. Between 1793 and 1794 the government used extreme ways to achieve their goals. This period of time, led by Robespierre, was called the reign of Terror because between 20,000-40,000 french people were killed by the government forces. The Reign of Terror was not justified for three reasons:The external and internal threat did not deserve it, they denied natural rights against people who opposed them and the methods of the Terror were too extreme.

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

In 1793 and 1794, were conditions in France serious enough to require such a violent response by the revolutionary government.The Reign of Terror lasted less than two years, from the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 to late July 1794.During those eighteen months, more than 20,000 French people were put to death by guillotine.The behavior by the revolutionary French government was not justified because Any society that invents the machine to publicly cut off people’s heads is off base. The action is unjustified because it is barbaric.The reign of terror was not justified because Robespierre’s s Desperate times required desperate measures not justified In a government that says it values liberty, passing a law like the levee en mass is unjust because it requires people to do things they do not want to do wrong in a government that says it values freedom and liberty. The revolutionary government made too many demands on individuals who were right to rebel against the oppressive revolutionary government. speech sounds rational, but he is out of touch. When a government has to “smother” its own citizens in order to eliminate individuals who challenge it, the government is not promoting freedom.To lay the foundations of democracy and the rule of law, rulers need to follow democracy and the rule of law, not the blade of terror. Any society that invents the machine to publicly cut off people’s heads is off base. The action is unjustified because it is barbaric.Nine people

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 Reign of Terror was justified in that it put fear in people against the French revolution. In Document C, The map shows that the area that was French territory (which covered most of France and the land around Brussels) dwarfed the amount of land of the rebellion had. The reign of terror scared the people against the French Revolution that they had significantly less land controlled then the French. Document E showed a paragraph about the Tribunal, a group that tried all crimes against the state. The people who on the Tribunal were not elected pn but appointed, any criticism against the government of France the person responsible was put in jail or killed. During the Reign of Terror everyone new that saying against the revolution would probably be their death, so there for no one spoke out.

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

After the European discovery of the New World, there arose a series of conflicts as foreign powers tried to solidify ownership of the new land. France, once holding a profitable portion of North America, was displaced after the Seven Years’ War, draining its money even further by aiding the colonies during the American Revolution. What was left was a country characterized by unrest, economic duress, and enlivened revolutionary spirit. King Louis XVI watched his Estates General reject his authority and create a new Constitution, storming the Bastille and setting the precedent for violent uptake. However, the ensuing Reign of Terror is largely accredited to Maximilien Robespierre, where prominence of public killing by guillotine created

The Reign of Terror was the culmination of foreign enemies, a superfluous amount amount executions, and distrust amongst the citizens of France. The Austrian-Prussian war that plagued France in 1792 was a natural response to the rising threat of the French Revolution, which was followed by the growing support of the death penalty via guillotine; behind these conflicts, the revolutionary government of France followed their agenda of purging the revolution of any individuals who disagreed with or criticized their ideals. Others may view the French Revolution as more successful than the American Revolution, but fail to realize that France’s monarchy only evolved from a “divine right” to a “constitutional right”, as seen from Napoleon’s reign and

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.

Reign of Terror lasted from September 1793 until the fall of Robespierre in 1794. Its purpose was to get rid of the enemies of France during the Revolution, and protect the country from foreign invaders. From January 1793-July 1794, France was governed by the Committee of Public Safety. This lead to many executions, and revolts. It ended up being a large conflict in France during this time. The Reign of Terror was not justified because the people were not treated with respect. Their rights were violated, didn’t have fair trials, and many of the people were killed.

The French Revolution was a result of influence and inspiration gained from the American Revolution. This event occurred in 1789 and continued until the late 1790’s due to bloodshed and disagreement. During this time period the people with nothing began to have a voice and the people with power were rapidly executed leading to democracy, which meant every man was free with equal rights. The French’s method was named the Reign of Terror because of the French’s unique scare tactics. This event was not justified due to the oppression of the guillotine, the Tribunal system, and Declaration of the Rights of man.

King Louis XVI and Marie Antionette were two people that should not have been ruling a country. King Louis was always gone on hunting trips and Marie Antionette spent every dime of French money. Once the Monarchy ran out money, they started to tax the Third, and poorest, estate. The third estate took up 97% of the population. 97% of the population was starving and the royal family kept spending large amounts of money until the people revolted. The people of France tried to reason with King Louis, but he refused to change his ways and kept taxing the third estate. When the people revolted, they stormed the Bastille and took all of the weapons they could. The people then went to the King’s palace and demanded he fix the way he was ruling before they killed him. The King didn’t listen and was executed along with his wife. Of the three kids that Marie Antionette had, the two boys died of Tuberculosis in jail and the daughter was sent to live the remainder of her life in exile in Austria. It may seem as though the people of France had successfully overgrown their monarchy and could begin a life of freedom, however this is not the case. The French had rushed into combat too fast and did not have a plan for what to do after they had killed their rulers. The right of Terror begins where Maximilian Robespierre beheads 40,000 people in the span of ten months for speaking against the revolution. In the end, Robespierre ends up getting

The French Revolution was spreading and Prussia and Austria had grown fearful; therefore, to stop the spreading of the revolution the countries waged war against France, gaining land, troops, and power bringing fear to the French. The neighboring countries in the awakening of the revolution, August 1791, formed an alliance wreaking havoc in the French cities. (Doc A) When the guillotining of Louis the 16th occurred Austria became fearful and angry hoping for the safety of the queen and beloved sister Marie Antoinette. (Doc A) The raging war went on for many years but in 1794 the invasion of foreign enemies grew short and the French are close to stopping them. (Doc A) In the words of Robespierre “We must smother the … external enemies of the Republic or perish.”(Doc G)

France was experience a great amount of change in the summer of 1793, when the Jacobins succeeded the moderates in the National Convention. With the radical Jacobins in power, the country was in tumult, and a Reign of Terror ensued due to a law of suspects that legalized local revolutionary committees. Because of this, thousands of people were killed by guillotine or other methods. Throughout the summer of 1793, the radical Jacobins’ control of the Committee of Public Safety instituted the Terror which was advantageous in it’s intended purpose, yet it was disadvantageous because of the enemies it created.