The Convention and the Radical Republic (1792-1794) Flashcards
the trial of the king
in September 20, 1792 (opening session of the Convention) France was declared a Republic. the debate over Louis’ faith split the convention between Girondins and Montagnards. a majority of the convention decided to give the king a trial. the king’s defence worked under the lead of Malesherbes who was later killed for taking on this position. he was found guilty and then the Girondins suggested many alternatives to execution but the final vote resulted in his immediate execution. on January 21, 1793 he was decapitated in Place de la Concorde.
mounting tensions
no compromises in the factional struggle within the Convention and it became more and more unstable. in early 1973 France faced new enemies in Britain, the Netherlands, Spain. In March 1973 the Austrians regained initiative after several losses. in the beginning of April Dumouriez went over to the enemies side with his troops. the possible American allies remained neutral and a wave of black refugees from the colonies in July 1973 made the Americans expel the Frnech spokesman Genet.
at home an attempt to draft new troops set off an uprising and turned into what could be called a civil war. the leaders of the Conventions shifted blame to the first two estates as they were unwilling to admit that their own actions had alienated people from the revolution.
economic crisis continued to deepen.
the victory of the Montagnards
under the sans-culottes pressure the wedge between the Jacobin factions continued to grow. Girondins became less and less popular. this split echoed throughout the country as in local governments radicals and moderates were fighting for control. on May 31-June 2, 1793 the National Guard made the convention dismiss 29 Girondins who fled to the provinces. this resulted in Montagnards having full control in the convention.
On June 24, a new and more democratic constitution was endorsed but never put into effect. as the provincial revolts remained uncoordinated it proved no trouble for the organized convention.
terror becomes the order of the day
sans-culottes continued to demand even more radical measures and Montagnards had trouble with controlling the streets. the enrages were very vocal in talking about their wishes. their ideas appealed strongly to the lower classes and especially women. women’s participation reached its peak in the summer of 1793.
the convention enacted new measures in response: death penalty for hoarding grain, levee en masse. committee of public safety was made responsible for running the day-to-day government. after sans-culottes demand in September the convention decided to create a revolutionary army. for ten months France was ruled under a revolutionary dictatorship.
the dictatorship of the committee of public safety
the government had become centralized and it made itself more and more independent of the Paris popular movement. Committee of Public Safety had in practice become the real center of the government. there was also growth in the governments bureaucracy. Robespierre was still a leading member.
revolutionary culture
christian calendar was replaced with a revolutionary one in October 5, 1793 with September 22, 1792 being the beginning and the year divided into 12 months named by their weather and each month divided into three ten-day weeks. the metric system was introduced in August 1, 1793. dechristianization took place and was embraced by some vocal speakers but not by the convention. there was also an attempt at rooting out dialects and regional cultures. theatre, art and other media was used to propagate new symbolism and values.
the radical revolution and the social order
Montagnards enacted a number of measures which favoured the lower classes. women were being treated more and more as a source for disorder. in November 1793 they banned all public political activity, closed down most important women’s clubs. this exclusion made many of them turn against the revolution. first European government to abolish slavery and grant full citizen rights to the blacks.
the great terror and Thermidor
as the Montagnards were hell-bent with maintaining national unity, they became increasingly intense in hunting hidden conspirators. increasingly the ‘victims’ were politicians themselves. there were two spectacular show trials in March and April 1794 which were meant to eliminate factions within the committee of public safety. (Hebert, and indulgents). these actions accelerated the terror’s pace.
the great terror of the summer of 1794 was unleashed when Robespierre made sure that accused could get no protection.
the revolution victorious
the peak of the terror emerged when the biggest threats to the republican government’s security were fading. armies became more revolution-minded and ‘professional’. they had learned to use the newly developed artillery. foreign envasion could not be used to justify the terror as the French army and to a minimum extent navy had pushed them back.
Thermidor
after the crisis period conventions deputies and members of the committee of public safety begun to turn against Robespierre. he was accused for wanting o become a dictator and he was voted to be arrested and executed. this marked a period in which the victors begun to dismantle the machinery of the revolution.
