The Terror - NEEDED FOR EXAM Flashcards
Needed for A-Level Exam The spread of the Terror: executions, the influence of Robespierre and the sans culottes; the role of the CPS; Robespierre's fall and the collapse of the Terror Chapter 11 into Chapter 12 - Waller Have a mindmap
Who was Robespierre?
A middle class lawyer who was educated by Jesuits in Paris.
What are two characteristics of Robespierre’s personality?
- Determined
- Passionately sincere
What was Robespierres role in the Estates-General?
A deputy where he became devoted to revolution.
Who was Robespierre popular amongst?
The sans culottes in Paris.
Which radical group did Robespierre lead?
The Jacobins.
What three radical things did Robespierre support?
- Louis’ execution
- The overthrow of the Girondins
- The Terror
When was Robespierre elected to the committee of public safety?
July 1793.
When was Robespierre guillotined?
July 1794 due to his many enemies.
What was Robespierre accused of?
Betraying revolutionary principles by turning the CPS into a dictatorship.
What did Robespierre speak of frequently?
A ‘republic of virtue’ in which men would be free and equal.
How did Robespierre think that a republic of virtue would be achieved?
Through the terror.
What did Robespierre’s name become associated with?
The excesses, despite disliking crowds.
What group did Robespierre use for his own advantage, despite being identified with the bourgeoisie more?
The sans culottes.
What was Robespierre’s nickname amongst the people of Paris?
The ‘incorruptible’.
What happened during the federalist’s revolt in the Autumn of 1793?
Lyon saw uprising against the convention, lasting 2 months. leading to a man drowning in the Loire.
Marseilles and Toulon saw an uprising against the convention which resulted in them cutting off food supplies to Toulon and them appealing to the British for help. This was the first instance Napoleon made his name known.
What three social disruptions were happening between January and June 1793?
- Protests against the levee en mass.
- Economic difficulties - inflation, rising food prices, bread shortages
- Vendee uprising in Feb 1793
How did the federalist revolt, levee en mass protests, economic difficulties and vendee uprising create tension?
Because these issues were happening simultaneously throughout France during 1793 they created the perfect fractured social foundation for the Terror to occur and infiltrate all parts of France.
What three countries invaded which parts of France during summer 1793?
- The north of France was invaded by the Austrians
- The south of France was invaded by the Spaniards
- British troops were on the Netherlands border
What two things were established during the war?
The Levee en masse
Establishment of state factories for arms and ammunition
When was Neerwinden lost?
March 1793
How was the war extended?
France declared war on Spain and Britain
What did the external war threats create in terms of the military?
A weakened military front, which made France susceptible to uprisings and not having the resources to fight and deal with the confrontation.
When was Louis executed?
January 1793.
Who was victorious when Louis was executed?
The Jacobins.
When was Marat murdered?
July 1793.
When was the new constitution implemented?
Summer 1793.
Which months were the emergency measures used?
March-May 1793.
When the catholic church came under attack, what three campaigns were launched?
- To close all churches by the Spring of 1794
- Destroy all religious signs and symbols
- Force priests to marry or adopt orphans
What three things did the Paris commune do to dechristianise France?
- The Paris Commune destroyed religious and royal statues
- Changed street names with religious connections
- Banned the wearing of clerical dress
- Stopped paying clerical salaries in May 1793
- November 1793 ordered the closure of all Parisian churches
What two things did the convention do to encourage dechristianisation?
They sanctioned the deportation of any priests denounced by 6 citizens and supported the new revolutionary calendar.
What group was dechristianisation popular amongst?
The sans culottes
What group was dechristianisation unpopular amongst?
The more rural and conservative peasantry were angry and suspicious of it.
What was the cult of reason?
A cult of atheism which promoted the idea of reason in order to bring citizens to an end of being virtuous and moral.
Who were the enrages?
A group of orators and politicians who believed in absolute equality
What two things did the enrages believe?
- They believed in the revolution to make sufficient provision for economic equality
- Hoarders should be punished by death and if the convention failed to do this then they encouraged the people to massacre them themselves.
What was one extremism the enrages exercised in particular?
Extremism towards food regulation.
Who ruled France between Jan to July 1794?
The CPS and CGS.
Which four groups did the Terror provide power to?
- Sans culottes
- Paris sections
- Revolutionary armies
- Representative en mission.
What three things did the terror of September-December 1793 cause?
- It crushed the revolt
- Saw a turn in the war
- Got food supplies moving.
What did the convention realise about the sans-culottes?
That they needed to remove their power.
What was the law of frimaire?
A law that gave a dictatorship to the CPS- suspending the 1793 constitution, disbanding the revolutionary armies (except that of Paris), representatives-en-mission and all unofficial bodies.
When was the law of Frimaire introduced?
December 1793.
When were revolutionary tribunals in provinces abolished?
May 1794.
What did the banning of the revolutionary tribunals in the provinces do for the CPS and CGS?
Put the selection for all positions into the hands of the CPS and CGS.
What did the CPS do to the power of the sans culottes?
They broke their power which took away their positions and armies.
Who led the opposition of the CPS?
Hebert, some in the convention and the Cordeliers.
Whose policies did the sans culottes support?
Hebert’s policies, including executing hoarders and property redistribution.
What did Robespierre do to counter Herbert’s attacks?
Claim he was planning a military dictatorship.
Why was Hebert executed?
For attempting to bring about a military dictatorship, which the people accepted.
How did the CPS use Hebert’s execution to their advantage?
They used it as an excuse to disband the last armee revolutionnaire (Paris) and close the Cordeliers club.
Who were the indulgent’s who wished to see the relaxation of the terror?
Danton and Desmoulins
What did Danton and Desmoulins want?
To see the end of the war as this would allow an end to the terror.
Who did Danton’s following threaten?
Danton had a large following in the convention, which threatened the CPS
What did the CPS think the end of the terror would bring?
The return of the monarchy and so they arrested Danton for financial scandal.
When were Danton, Demoulins and their followers executed?
April 1794.
What did Danton’s and Desmoulins’ execution do?
Suppress all criticism of the CPS and its policies.
Who was Danton?
A prominent republican who supported revolution and was in the convention. Sided with the Montagnards
Who was Desmoulins?
A journalist who roused the crowds in the storming of the bastilles. Member of the Cordeliers club.
Instead of ending the Terror, what did Robespierre do?
Led it forward to an even more intensive phase centred on Paris known as the great terror.
What was done to speed up the work of the revolutionary tribunal?
The law of 22 Prairial was passed.
Because of the law of 22 Prairial, who was defined as the ‘enemies of the people’?
Those who sought to mislead opinion and corrupt the public conscience.
What were the trials of people who broke the law of 22 prairial for?
To determine liberty or death and the defendants had no rights.
What was the result of the law of 22 Prairial and the trials that came from the law?
There was a sudden increase in the number of executions- summer 1794 saw over 1,000 a month meaning virtually everyone who was brought to the tribunal was condemned to death.
What did Robespierre do to annoy the CPS?
He attempted to set up a police bureau under his own authority to prosecute dishonest officials, encroaching on their power.
When Robespierre returned, what did he do?
He gave the convention a rambling speech, which ended with an accusation that members of the CGS and CPS were turning against the revolution. Those with whom he argued feared for their lives.
When was Robespierre shouted down and arrested?
27th July 1794 Robespierre was shouted down and arrested in the convention with his brother Augustin and allies, Couthon and saint-just
When was Robespierre executed?
28th July 1794.
How many other people were executed with Robespierre?
21 others.
What was Robespierre’s execution known as?
The coup of thermidor and those responsible were known as thermidorians
What did the coup of thermidor mark?
The end of revolutionary extremism.
Who emerged out of the coup of thermidor?
The plain emerged as the most dominant group and was joined by many Montagnards.
What happened to the Jacobins after the coup of thermidor?
There were few remaining and those who were left were a silent minority.
What was the CPS responsible for?
Supervising and facilitating the execution of the measures taken by the provisional Executive Council
What two things contributed to rioting in Paris?
- Grain shortages
- Unemployment
After Marat was murdered in July 1793 by Corday, what did the sans-culottes demand?
That all suspects are arrested and their ever-increasing demands for action posed a threat to the authority of the CPS and Convention
When and why did the sans-culottes march on the Convention?
5 Sept 1793 and to demand lower bread prices, higher wages and an attack on those oppressing the people
As a result of the sans-culottes march on the convention on Sept 5 ‘93, what 3 pieces of legislation was created and when?
- 9 Sept - Convention established sans-culotte amrees revolutionnaires to force farmers to surrender grain and attack hoarders
- 17 Sept - The Law of Suspects
- 29 Sept - The New Law of the General Maximum replaced the earlier law of May which hadn’t worked effectively
What was the Law of Suspects?
A law which created the Revolutionary Tribunal and provided a new definition of ‘suspects’; a suspect could be arrested because of their conduct/relationships/writings
What was the New Law of the General Maximum?
A law that laid down the maximum price for grain, flour, meat, oil, onions, soap, firewood, leather and paper
The same price as 1790 + 1/3
Wage regulations
Between 1792-94 what is the estimated total number of deaths, of those, how many were guillotined?
40,000 - 17,000 guillotined
When was the Law of Suspects introduced and what impact did it have?
17 Sept 1793 and between Sept-Dec there were 50,0000 cases brought before Revolutionary Tribunal (increase from 260 between March-Sept)
Who was killed during the show trials between Sept-Dec 1793?
Marie Antionette
21 Girondin leaders - Valaze (who killed himself but was guillotined anyway); duc d’Orleans; Madame Roland
When Saint-Just delivered a speech on 10 Oct 1793, what campaign began?
- Local watch committees to monitor residents in municipality
- Armees revolutionnaires (40,000 men) to roam the countryside and clamp down on counter-revolutionary activity
- Spies from the CGS
- 100+ representants-en-mission from Convention to pursue cause of revolutionary justice
