Week 20- The September massacres and elections to the National Convention Flashcards
Why was panic rising in August and September 1792?
News reached Paris on 25th August that Longwy had fallen to enemy troops.
On 1st September news that Verdun, the last fortress before Paris was under siege.
It was believed that Brunswick would reach Paris in two weeks.
There was a royalist rising in the vendée in which 200 were killed.
How did Danton try to reduce the panic?
30th August- He authorised house-searches for weapons. All houses were searched and 3000 were taken to prison.
2nd September- He launched a levée, enforcing conscription, on pain of death.
What did the rising pressure in Paris result in?
Five days of frenzied killing.
Between 1000 and 1500 prisoners in the Parisian gaols were massacred.
When did the September massacres begin?
The first attacks were lead by férérés on 2nd September.
They attacked refractory priests being taken or held in prison.
As the massacres spread, who was attacked?
Political prisoners and ordinary criminals, nuns, monks and priests.
Who carried out most of the attacks?
The sans-culottes, encouraged by members of the National guard and influential individuals such as Marat
How may have Marat encouraged the massacres?
On 19th August, he published an article in L’ami du Peuple suggesting that traitors should be ‘put to the sword’.
Did the Assembly do anything to stop the Massacres?
No.
Neither did anyone in the provinces.
What were the outcomes of the Massacres?
Foreign fears of the dangers of popular revolution were confirmed.
The Girondins blamed the Jacobins for inciting this violent behaviour, and increased the split between them.
The power of the Assembly was seen as being weak .
The popularity of Danton and Robespierre, who allowed the attacks to take place, increased.
What big event did the massacres on 2nd September coincide with?
The second stage of the elections for a new National Convention.
All adult males were given the vote for the first time.
How did the Girondins try to get elected?
They tried to exploit the need for a return to stability after the massacres.
However, no Girondin candidates were elected due to the hostility towards them from the sans-culottes.
Who were popular among the sans culottes?
Robespierre was most popular and Marat, Danton and Desmoulins were also voted in.
What was the voter turnout for the elections?
It was low.
This meant the widening of the electorate didn’t have much of an impact.
What were the Montagnards?
Deputies who sat on the highest benches in the National Assembly and backed the Jacobins.
They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins.
What was ‘the Plain’?
Deputies who were unaffiliated to either the Jacobins or Montagnards.
They were mainly representatives of those who had prospered in the ‘new’ France (officials, judges, administrators, National Guard officers, large farmers and landowners.)
