The extension and decline of Terror, December 1793 - July 1794 Flashcards
1
Q
Explanation for the improved military situation by December 1793
A
- The levee en masse successfully created a large, strong army; France had over a million men in arms by the beginning of 1794, and its 14 armies were well-trained and supplied
- A total of 17 generals were executed in 1793 and replaced with new, younger commanders who were totally committed to the revolution and also chosen based on genuine skill rather than noble status
2
Q
Evidence of the improved military situation by December 1793
A
- Under the organisation of Carnot (prominent member of the CPS), France’s armies were sent into the offensive again.
- In September, a siege of Dunkirk was lifted and in October the Battle of Wattignies (in present-day Belgium) was won by Jourdan and Carnot, destroying three Austrian regiments. These victories (especially the latter) gave France a huge psychological boost.
- The French armies also grove back the foreign invaders in the Pyrenees and on the Alpine frontier, meaning that by the end of 1793, there were no longer any enemies on French soil.
3
Q
The improved economic situation by December 1793
A
- The requisitioning of grain had successfully helped to ensure supply to cities
- The value of the assignat was nearing 50% of its face value, which is not great obviously, but a huge improvement from before (it was as low as 5% in January)
- There was a good harvest in 1793, which also helped to solve the food crisis.
4
Q
The Law of 14 Frimaire (4th December)
A
o Robespierre put forward the argument that France needed a more ordered system of government since too many conflicting bodies had emerged, but in reality, it was a means of him curbing the activities of the sans-culottes and centralising control even further.
o The Law of Frimaire gave the CPS direct power over ministers, generals, the representants-en-mission and local government.
o It was declared that ‘the National Convention is the only centre of impulse on government’
o The armes revolutionnaires were to be disbanded (and all except that in Paris were actually disbanded from March 1794) – there were 54 informal armes revolutionnaires
o Popular societies and local patriotic committees were closed down.
5
Q
Robespierre’s speech, February 1794
A
- ‘In order to arrive at the peaceful reign of constitutional laws, we must finish the war of liberty against tyranny and safely cross through the storms of the revolution’ – the terror as a violent means to a peaceful end
- ‘The government of revolution is the despotism of liberty against tyranny’ – Robespierre addresses accusations of dictatorship by essentially saying that whilst terror may look despotic at face value, what makes it righteous is that it is being done as a means to creating a society based on the constitutional values of liberty, egality, virtue etc.
6
Q
The Laws of Ventose
A
- Proposed in late February and early March by Saint-Just, and they decreed that all property of exiles and counter revolutionaries would be confiscates and given to patriots in need
- The laws could be seen either as an example of the Convention giving in to the wishes of the sans-culottes, or as a product of Montagnard idealism and desire to create a more egalitarian society
- Whilst the laws were supported by Robespierre and other key deputies, they soon realised that they lacked the funds for and authority to implement them, so within a few months they completely gave up trying to practically confiscate and assign property
7
Q
Purge of the Hebertists
A
- The Hebertists (led by the radical leader and pamphleteer Hebert), were increasingly starting to complaining that Robespierre was setting up a dictatorship – they called on the sans culottes to ‘rise up against those who oppress us’
- In their trial, they were accused of plotting to massacre members of the Convention – exaggerated and false accusations reveal how there wasn’t a sufficient genuine reason for their execution (other than Robespierre revealing his own political ambition and personal fear), so their actions had to be blown way out of proportion
- On 24th March, Hebert was executed along with 18 of his associates
- The impact of this was making Robespierre and the CPS look increasingly tyrannical, as well as heightening the sans culottes’ sense of political alienation and resentment of the increasingly centralised government
8
Q
Purge of the Indulgence
A
- The Indulgents were the other extreme of opposition to the terror and included more moderate deputies such as Camille Desmoulins and Georges Danton.
- Their purge can be linked to the political ambition of Robespierre because Desmoulins had started attacking his friend in public for his continuing of the terror; in his fourth number of Le Viex Cordelier, he wrote ‘O! my dear Robespierre! O my old school friend! […] Remember the lessons of history of philosophy: that love is stronger, more enduring than fear’
- The Indulgents were arrested on 30th March
- On 5th April 1794, a total of 15 moderate deputies/Indulgents/Dantonists were executed
9
Q
Decree creating the cult of the supreme being
A
- A decree on May 7th, 1794, introduced a new religious policy, trying to essentially align Christianity/Deism with a kind of revolutionary worship
- ‘The French people recognise the existence of the Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul’
- Worship to this Supreme Being includes primarily ‘to detest bad faith and tyranny, to punish tyrants and traitors’ – complete merge of religion and terror – they are being used to justify one another
- It introduced several festivals which would be to celebrate ‘the liberty of the world’
10
Q
Festival of the supreme being
A
- 8th June
- Robespierre was elected President of the Convention to mark the occasion
- At the Champ de Mars, an artificial mountain with a liberty tree was erected
- Someone in the crowd during the festival reportedly commented ‘Look at the bastard! It’s not enough to be master, he wants to be God as well!’
11
Q
How did the Festival of the Supreme Being catalyse Robespierre’s downfall?
A
- More strict Catholics wouldn’t like Robespierre meddling with their religion – there isn’t any reference to the ‘God’ they worship – similar effect to the Civil Constitution in terms of alienating Catholics and making people conflicted in their support for the revolution
- The Pope would hate it – not just a departure from his dominance (as seen in the Civil Constitution), but a departure from Christianity itself
- It generally makes people more sceptical of Robespierre’s sanity and the competence of the Convention, because it’s quite a weird thing to make a politicised religion
- It also could be perceived as similar to ideas of the Divine Right in terms of the notion that a government is justified by God/a Supreme Being
12
Q
Law of 22 Prairial
A
- On 10th June (22nd Prairial), a new law was issued which extended the terror even further
- Key points
a) All accused of political crimes were to be seen by the Parisian Revolutionary Tribunal (centralised to an even greater extent as all judging takes place in Paris)
b) One could be accused of trying to ‘impair the energy and purity of revolutionary and republican principles’ – very ambiguous definition, potentially meaning that any sort of criticism even of the Cult of the Supreme Being (as it counts as a republican principle) could be punished by death
c) All those found guilty were to be punished by death (death or acquittal were the only two options)
d) Accusations can be made based on ‘every kind of evidence, whether material or moral, oral or written’, and the judgements were mased solely based on the accusation and the accused’s own defence (no witnesses allowed)
e) Deputies from the Convention were no longer immune from prosecution
13
Q
The ‘Great Terror’ - who were its victims and how many of them were there?
A
- Between the passing of the law (10th June) and the coup of Thermidor (26th July), the Revolutionary Tribunal produced 1284 death sentences and acquitted only 278. Whereas, over the previous 45 days, it had produced 577 condemnations and as many as 182 acquittals – proportion of those found guilty shows how the Law of 22 Prairial was designed allow people to be convicted with insubstantial evidence
- These victims of the terror comprised roughly 35% nobles, 25% clergy and 40% bourgeoisie (so more class-based than the earlier phases, which were more to do with practically removing obstacles to the revolution, including hoarders of grain etc.) – arguably shows that the Law of 22nd Prairial was genuinely aimed at ideological cleansing
14
Q
Immediate reasons for Robespierre’s downfall
A
- 23rd July: steps were taken to force back illegally rising wages, and a maximum wage was set on this date. This infuriated workers and increased their resentment of the Convention and of Jacobin control.
- Within the CGS, many anti-clericals and atheists were dismayed by the promotion of the deist Cult of the Supreme Being, which heightened speculation around Robespierre.
- Some members of the CPS who had not been included in the making of the Law of 22 Prairial (10th June), including Billaud-Varenne, resented the more dominant Robespierre and Saint-Just
- In early July (Thermidor), Robespierre stopped attending CPS meetings and did not appear until three weeks later, claiming that he needed time to ‘think’ – was possibly ill, possibly tired, or maybe just planning out a strategy to get him out of the political crisis he was stuck in, but his absence helped suspicions grow and gave the opportunity for other deputies such as Varenne to be more vocal and gain support.
15
Q
Events of 8th Thermidor and significance
A
- On 8th Thermidor (26th July), he gave his last speech to the Convention. He ambiguously claims that members of the CGS were conspiring against ‘public liberty’, but initially refuses to name them. This meant that everyone in the Convention was fearing arrest and execution, ranging from moderates like Carnot and supporters of the terror like Fouché; Robespierre’s ambiguity left everyone feeling threatened, meaning that the only way of them avoiding execution was to guillotine Robespierre himself
16
Q
Events of 9th Thermidor and significance
A
- On 9th Thermidor (27th July), Saint-Just tried to make a speech but he was swiftly interrupted and accusations against Robespierre followed, with deputies chanting ‘down with the tyrant’. Then the Convention unanimously votes for the arrest of Robespierre, and further decrees against his brother Augustin, Couthon, Saint-Just and Le Bas followed. They were taken to different prisons for the night.
17
Q
reaction of the sans-culottes
A
- The Paris Commune initially tried to raise a contingent of the National Guard to defend Robespierre (showing some level of support), but the sections didn’t fully give their support and only a third responded (showing that Robespierre’s downfall was partly caused by his restriction of the sans-culottes political power, meaning that they no longer saw him as their personal and loyal representative)
18
Q
Capture, trial and execution of Robespierre and associates
A
- Upon being collected the following day, Augustin threw himself out of a window and broke his leg, Couthon threw himself down the stairs but survived, Le Bas shot himself in the head and died, and Robespierre either attempted to kill himself or was shot by a gendarme, but survived.
- The same day (10th Thermidor), Robespierre and 22 associates were found guilty and guillotined (even Le Bas who had shot himself and was already dead)
19
Q
Events of 11th Thermidor
A
- On 11th Thermidor, 71 more death sentences were pronounced (virtually all the members of the Commune who had risen up in Robespierre’s defence)
20
Q
Progress of the war, April-July 1794
A
- April: French forces invade the Austrian Netherlands (resuming offensive attacks)
- May: French success at Tourcoing and Tournai
- 26th June: French victory at the Battle of Fleurus – the Allied defeat led to the permanent loss of the Austrian Netherlands and to the dissolution of the Dutch Republic – big turning point in the War of the First Coalition
- The Austrian Netherlands surrender, and the French follow up their victory with an advance into the Rhineland
