French Rev - revolution to the directory III Flashcards
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The Popular Terror of Autumn 1793
- The sans-culottes were increasingly powerful and had been the engine of revolution for 4 years - they were empowered through the Paris sections and played a key role in informing and purging as they could demand conscription
- Also played a powerful position after the purge of the Girodins as they had helped Jacobins get into power, who now made up the CPS
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Sans-culottes concessions
- The Constitution of 1793 - the declaration of the rights of man were expanded to include rights such as the right to work, public welfare, and the right to insurrection. All adult males could vote
- To fight the war effectively, the sections demanded conscription as part of the levee en masse
- Economic - maximum legislation to fix prices, making the hoarding of goods a capital offence
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Journee of 4-5 Sept 1793
- Sans-culottes mounted another mass demonstration to demand that the Convention assure food at afforable prices and ‘place terror as the order of the day’
- The Enrages demanded action on the deterioration of the summer of 1793 - with the assignant value 1/3 less and reduced grain supplies 3/4
- Denounced convention and the death of hoarders - Robespierre wanted them destroyed - threatening the commune with direct action in the streets
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ECONOMIC TERROR
- Convention bowed to the popular pressure from Roux and the sans-culottes by passing a law that imposed a death penalty for hoarding food and other supplies - law of General on the 29th Sept 1793
- Fixed the price of breads and many essential goods at 1/3 of the price in June 1790, wages were fixed at 50% above the level of 1790 - peasants hated this law because it made it almost worthess to do the work necessary to produce food
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POLITICAL TERROR
- Girodins leaders executed, former comrades who expressed doubt about the rigorous terror was also purged - the indulgents - danton and desmoulins
- Law of Suspects - widened the definition of who was against the Revolution to include royalists, federalists, relations of emigres and anyone without a certificate of loyalty
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The Extent of the Terror
- 17,000 died
- 23,000 might have more - anyone who threatened the French Rev
- Noble deaths - 1200
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Law of Frimaire
Robespierre:
- Consolidated executive authority over the Committee of Public Safety
- Curtailment of popular insurrections and suppression of radicalism
- Reversed the ideals of 1789/1791 and 1793 of de-centralisation, impartial justice and seperation of the executive, saying a dictatorship was needed until all the enemies of the revolution destroyed
Hebert
Robespierre disliked Hebert’s political extremism in his newspaper ‘Le Pere Duchesne’ and leading role in dechristianisation - when he called for insurrection in March 1794 he was arrested alongside 18 supporters
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Why were the sans-culottes turning against Robespierre
- The execution of the Hebertistes
- The dissolution of the popular societies
- The end of direct democracy in the sections
- The imposing of the maximum on wages
- The raising of maximum prices in March, which led to inflation and lowering the assignant to 36% of its original value
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Fall of Robespierre
- Fear of dictatorship - dominance in the CPS and moralistic rhetoric to tolerate dissent
- Alienation of allies - sans-culottes, moderates and Jacobins
- Escalation of the Terror - the Coup of Thermidor and mystery and suspicion
- Loss of control over the Revolutionary Tribunal
Coup of Thermidore
The Coup of Thermidor, which took place on July 27, 1794, marked the end of the Reign of Terror and the downfall of Maximilien Robespierre and his radical allies in the Committee of Public Safety. The coup was orchestrated by a group of moderate revolutionaries and former allies of Robespierre, such as Paul Barras, Jean-Lambert Tallien, and Louis Saint-Just, who grew increasingly concerned by Robespierre’s authoritarian rule and his use of the Reign of Terror to maintain power. Robespierre’s attempt to purge more of his political rivals, including key members of the Committee, led to a loss of support among the revolutionary leaders and the army. On July 27, Robespierre was arrested and executed the following day, along with many of his supporters, in what is known as the Thermidorian Reaction. This marked the beginning of the Thermidorian Period, a time of relaxation in revolutionary policies and the dismantling of the Terror. The coup was significant because it ended the most radical phase of the Revolution, signaling a shift towards more moderate rule and the eventual rise of the Directory. It also demonstrated the volatility of revolutionary politics and the dangers faced by leaders in a period of intense political upheaval.
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Why did the Terror start?
- Political rivalries
- Economic hardship and instability
- Threats of foreign invasion
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Why did the Terror end?
- Military success
- Coup of Thermidor
- Loss of support for Robespierre
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What caused the Terror to escalate?
- Law of Prairal and ideological radicalisation
- Breakdown of trust
- Political rivalries and purges - internal counter-revolutionaries and popular pressure from sans-culottes
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Ending the Terror
- Ensuring the membership of the CPS was changed frequently and reorganising their revolutionary tribunal
- Setting up new comittees to share government responsibilities
- Repealing the law of Prairal and releasing all suspects from prison
- Abolishing the Paris commune and closing the Jacobin club
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The rising of Germinal (1st April 1795)
- The removal of price controls inevitabely led to a fall in the value of the assginat and a return to the price inflation - assignats value was just 4% of the 1970 figure May 1795
- 1st April 1795 - a crowd of 10,000 unarmed demonstrators marched on the convention, disrupting with demands for bread, the constitution of 1793 and the release of former members of the CPS
- Government response relatively lenient and demonstrators themselves were largely let off - leading agitators arrested, put under martial law
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The rising of prairal (20th May 1795)
- 20,000 sans-culottes comrpised of workers, housewives and members of the National Guard marched on the convention - armed and forced their way into a meeting hall where they murdered a deputy who tried to stop them - demanded the release of Jacobins prisoners, the return of price controls and the 1793 constitution
- No one seemed willing to fire and the deputies took advantage of the hesitation, pacifying the crowd by initially signing a petition, however 2 days later, the Convention went on the offensive - 6K arrested and 42 sentenced to death
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White Terror key features
- Campaign of violence against those responsible for the Terror
- In Paris, violence was led by groups of wealthy youths, known as ‘muscadins’ or ‘jeunesse d’oree’ who roamed towns armed with canes and clubs to attack sans-culottes
- In addition, gangs formed in areas most affected by the Terror - Vendee to attack Jacobins - but viokence was never as widespread it as random as it had been under the Terror
- Largely motivated by revenge rather than attempt to overthrow the republic and restore the monarchy
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White Terror government response
- Not considered a serious threat so little effort made to crush them
- Let the attacks continue until they petered out in 1797
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Vendemaire uprising key features
- Anger at new constitution - 2/3 law
- Royalists felt that they were being unfairly treated and gov did protect interests (failure to deal with inflation and food shortages)
- On 5th October 1795 (13 Vendemaire) a large royalist crowd of 25,000 gathered to march on Convention and try to seize power
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Vendemaire government response
- Faced with 7800 government troops but armed with cannon and under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte
- ‘Whiff of grapeshot’ crushed rebellion - over 300 killed or wounded
- Followed by light repression - just 2 executions but abolished sections and national guard placed under command of army of the interior - last time people tried to overthrow gov until 1830
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New constitution of 1789 features
- All men over 21 who paid direct tax were allowed to vote in the primary assemblies to choose electors
- Electors had to pay taxes equivalent to 150-200 days labour - fell from 50K in 1790 to 20K in 1795
- The Thermidorians rigidly seperated the legislature from the executive to prevent dictatorship
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Weaknesses of constitution of 1789
- Yearly elections promoted instability, as majorities in councils would be overturned
- No means of resolving conflicts between legislature and executive
- Councils could paralyse directory by refusing to pass laws that the government required, AND directors could neither dissolve the councils nor veto laws
- Legislature can alter the composition of the directory only by replacing the one director who retired each year with their own candidate
