Government By Terror 1793-4 Flashcards
What were the two periods of terror?
- First began with the Attack on the Tuileries 10th August 1792 and ended with the Battle of Valmy
- Second started 31st May and ended in June 1794
Who was the leader of the plain?
Barere
What did Barere say the convention should recognise?
In emergency, the government can’t rule by usual methods
The bourgeois shouldn’t isolate itself from the people, whose demands it should meet
Necessary measures should be introduced to ensure the survival of the revolution
What 3 objectives did the measures of 10th March to 20th May 1793 aim to achieve?
- identify, observe and punish suspects
- make government more effective and ensure its orders are carried out
- meet some economic demands of the sans-culottes
When was the Revolutionary Tribunal set up and what was its purpose?
10th March 1793 to try counter revolutionary suspects
What were representatives on mission?
Mainly jacobin deputies from the convention sent to various parts of France to reassert government authority
What did the Summary Execution decree allow?
Trial and execution of armed rebels within 24 hours without a
jury or appeal.
19th March 1793
When was the CPS set up and what was its function?
6th April 1793
Supervise activities of ministers whose authority it superseded
What was the makeup of the first CPS?
7 of 9 members, including Barere from the Plain
2 Montagnards, of whom Danton was one
What did the CPS pass on the 4th May
A maximum on grain prices
What happened on the 2nd June 1793?
80000 national guardsmen surrounded the Convention and demanded the Girondins be removed. 29 Girondin deputies and 2 ministers arrested
Who killed Marat
Charlotte Corday
Why were Girondins expelled from the Convention?
On suspicion of supporting revolts backed by royalists, aimed at destroying the republic
What is federalism
A rejection of the central authority of the state in favour of regional authority
What 3 areas rejected the authority of the convention in June 1793
Marseille, Lyon and Toulon
During the federal revolt of 1793, how many departments were affected?
60 out of 83
Why did the federal revolt 1793 never pose s serious threat to the government?
They were unable to rally a huge number of troops which allowed them to be picked off easily. 3500 in Marseille, 400 in Lyon
Why was Toulon the most serious revolt?
To avoid starvation, as the government had blocked off food supplies, they negotiated with the British, whose soldiers arrived on 28th August 1793
When was the new CPS formed and what was its makeup?
Between July and September 1793, 12 members all Montagnards
Who was the head of the new CPS.
No one, they were all equally responsible for the actions of the committee
When did Robepierre join the CPS and why?
27th July 1793, to form a link between the middle-class jacobins and the sans-culottes
What was Robespierres nickname and why?
Incorruptible
He didn’t seek power or wealth for himself and put the good of the country ahead of all other considerations
What were the main characteristics of the sans-culottes? [4]
Hated the aristocracy
Wore red caps to signal equality
Passionate anticlericals
Believed in direct democracy
How many members of the revolutionary committees were there in 1793-4
454
What concessions did the CPS make to the sans-culottes? [3]
New constitution of 24th June 1793 went further than old one
To fight the war effectively, the sections demanded conscription
Economic concessions, making hoarding of grain a capital crime
When was the levee en masses decreed and what did it mark?
23rd August 1793, the appearance of total war
What kind of men were conscripted and how many were there?
Half a million unmarried men between 18 and 25
Give some other features of the levee en masse? [2]
State factories set up to make arms and ammunition
Church bells melted down for cannon
Who were the enrages and what did they demand?
A group led by Jacques Roux who wanted the Convention to deal immediately with the starvation and poverty of ordinary people
Why did Robespierre dislike Roux?
He was threatening the Commune and Convention with direct action of the streets
When did the Convention authorise the formation of an armed revolutionaire and what was its purpose? [3]
5th September 1793
- ensure food supplies to the cities
- round up deserters, hoarders, refractory priests
- mobilise the nations resources for war
Why did the CPS dislike the armee revolutionaires?
They were anarchic and out of the governments control
They created anti-revolutionary feelings due to their heavy handedness with in dealing with the peasants
When was the General Maximum imposed and what did it do to prices and wages?
29th September 1793
Set prices to 1/3 above prices in 1790
Set wages to 50% above prices in 1790
Why did the General Maximum set people against each other?
Peasants disliked it as the prices were below the cost of production
Sans-culottes liked it as it meant they could afford bread
When did the CPS suspended the new constitution?
October 1793
What three forms did the Political terror take?
- Official one, controlled by the CGS and the CPS, where victims were put before the revolutionary tribunal
- in the areas of federal revolt such as the Vendee, where the worst stuff took place
- In other parts of France under the control of representatives on mission and the revolutionary armies
Of 260 cases the Revolutionary Tribunal heard up to September 1793, how many were sentenced to death?
66
When was Marie Antoinette sentenced to death?
16th October 1793
What happened in the Vendee from January to March 1794? [3]
Troops marched through shooting peasants, burning crops and killing animals
How many people were shot without trial near Angers?
2000
What happened in Nantes?
The representative drowned 1800 people by placing them in barges in the mouth of the Loire
How many were killed in Toulon?
800 shot without trial and 282 further sent to the guillotine
What did the Law of Suspects in September 1793 do?
The government delegated power to local revolutionary committees
Anyone suspected of Counter revolution could be held indefinitely without trial
What is the number of official executions that took place in the Terror?
16,600
What % of deaths during the Terror were in the Vendee?
53%
What was dechristianisation? [3]
Destroying Christianity as the dominant cultural from in French society
Churches were closed
Priests forced to marry and denounce their priesthood
By what point had all Churches being closed?
Spring 1794
What part of the Terror most affected ordinary people?
Dechristianisation
When was the new revolutionary calendar introduced and what was the structure?
5th October 1793
Backdated to 22nd September 1792
12 months of 3 weeks of 10 days
Towards the end of 1793, what threats had the government overcome? [5]
Federal revolts crushed Food supplies moving into cities Assignat value rising Civil war in the Vendee over French armies doing well
Why was the Government keen to restore its authority?
It couldn’t tolerate anarchy indefinitely
What steps were taken to restore government authority in September 1793? [2]
Sections only allowed to meet twice a week
Consitution of 1793 suspended
What did the Law of Frimaire do and when?
4th December 1793
Gave the two committees full executive powers
What did the new policies following the Law of Frimaire result in? [3]
End of anarchy
Broke down the power of the sans-culottes
Provided France with the first strong government since 1787
Why did Robepierre justify a dictatorship in December 1793?
Claimed it was necessary until the internal and external enemies of the revolution had been defeated
What was Heberts left wing newspaper called and what did it call for?
Le Pere Duchesne
More hoarders be executed and property redistributed
What did Hebert call for in March 1794 that led to his death?
Insurrection
Guillotined on 24th March 1794
How did the CPS take advantage of Heberts death to strengthen the dictatorship? [4]
Parisian revolutionary army disbanded
Cordelier’s clubs shut
All popular societies disbanded
Representatives recalled
Why did Danton represent more of a threat than Hebert?
Had a large following in the Convention
Why was Danton labelled as corrupt?
Over £400,000 livres were unaccounted for whilst he was in charge at the Ministry of Justice
When were Danton and Desmoulins executed?
5th April 1794
When did the Great Terror last from?
10th June until 27th July 1794
What did the government do in May 1794?
Abolished all provincial revolutionary tribunals meaning that suspects had to be brought before the Tribunal in Paris
What did the Law of Prairial do and when?
10th June 1794, allowed suspects to be tried and executed much quicker and without a jury or appeal.
Only two verdicts: death or not guilty
How many people were killed during the Great Terror?
1594
What three areas did Robespierre lose support in in Summer 1794?
Catholics
Sans-culottes
CPS and CGS
What religious body did Robespierre set up on 7th May 1794?
Cult of the Supreme Being
Why did no one like the Cult of the Supreme Being
Catholics didn’t like it as it ignored Catholic doctrine
Anticlericals didn’t like it as it seemed to be the reintroduction of Catholicism
What had led to a decline in Robepierres popularity amongst the sans-culottes? [4]
Execution of Herbertistes
Dissolution of popular societies
End of direct democracy
Imposition of a maximum on wages
Why did many question the need for the Terror to continue?
French forces had driven all foreign armies off French soil and internal enemies had been defeated
What action from the CPS caused tension between it and the CGS?
The set up of a police bureau in April 1794 to prosecute dishonest officials
What period did Robespierre make no speeches at the convention?
18th June and 26th July
What did Robepierre do on 26th July and what happened the day after?
Made a speech attacking his colleagues who were undermining the revolution, but wouldn’t name then.
Led to his arrest the day after as people were scared that he would name them
When was Robespierre killed?
28th July 1794
What did the Coup of Thermidor mark?
The end of the Terror
What were the pros [2] and cons [3] of the terror?
Enemies of the revolution defeated
Highly motivated citizen army created
Loss of life and devastation in the Vendee
Catholics and bourgeois alienated
Sans culottes became disillusioned with the extremism
