Girondist

rred during the radical period of the French Revolution as a response to the conflict between the Girondins and The Mountains. During this time, the Committee of Public Safety executed thousands of internal “enemies of the revolution” (“Report in the Name,” 47). Although many argue otherwise, The Terror was not a perversion of the original ideals of the revolution because the ideals of the revolution were to gain more equality for the people of France, and the punishments that occurred were necessary and the cultural changes, in fact, benefited the citizens. As seen through the voices of the Third Estate and its supporters, one of the fundamental goals of the French Revolution was to gain equality and freedom for citizens. In the Town of Vire, even before the Estates General, the people of the Third Estate drew up a list of grievances that expressed the concerns similar to the ones shared by all the French people in that same order at the time. One of their new ideas was “that in the assembly of the Estates General, opinions be counted by head and not by order” (“List of Grievances,” 3). The desire of the Third Estate was to gain equality in representation. That same desire and tension culminated at the inception of the French Revolution when the representatives of the Third Estate decided to break off from the Estates General to create the National Assembly because their people were not being fairly represented. In the Estates General, voting was done by order meaning that…

Many historians have found it difficult to precisely define a reason as to what caused ‘The Terror,’ this is due to it being a culmination of terrible events leading to tyranny. ‘The Terror’ can be defined as the period within 1793 and 1794, when the Robespierre subjugated Jacobian group executed, without remorse, any opposing citizens to their regime. Through the critical analysis of Maximilien Robespierre’s speech ‘On the moral and political principles of domestic policy’ in conjunction with…

Part One The National Convention was the governing body of France from September 21, 1792 to October 26, 1795. Many events pushed the National Convention towards the Reign of Terror, a time of violence and executions during the French Revolution. A few of the reasons were; the execution of their king, Louis XVI, in 1792, the food shortage because of bad harvests, and the ongoing threat of invasion from the rest of the European countries. These events pushed the National Convention to give the…

Terrorism: Rooted in the French Revolution Terrorism is incredibly prevalent within today’s society in the forms of social media, news outlets, and word of mouth. It is a danger that has grown exponentially over the past few years. However, people are unaware of where the foundations of modern terrorism lie. The belief is that the French Revolution was the catalyst that began modern terrorism and it is reason France is incredibly susceptible to terror attacks in the present. The multitude of…

The Reign of Terror was a continuation of the revolution that began in 1789. Although the Terror was an extreme set of laws, they were the only permanent rules that existed among the chaos. Even though they were vague laws, people accepted the terror because it helped to combat their feelings of alienation and paranoia in regards to all aspects of the revolution. While other historians discuss the significance of the foreign and civil wars in relation to the Terror, as a whole, the food…

government which included the Girondist group, a branch off of the Jacobin Party. Charlotte Corday was a member of that group and was his assassin. After multiple threats were pinned against her group she decided to put her plan of revenge into actions to ensure the safety of her group. She ventured over to Paris, France to find Marat at the Bastille Day Parade on July 14th, 1793, but the festivities had been cancelled. At that point, she had to move her plan to July 13th, 1793. That day, she…

The People of the Revolution Danton’s Death is a play written by Georg Buchner that takes place in Paris during the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror, the era in which the Jacobins lead France, was by far the bloodiest part of the revolution. The main character of the play, Georges Danton, represented the Girondists who were the previous moderate leaders of France. The play shows the clear shift that French culture takes to backing the radical Jacobins and their violent regime. This cultural…

Corday was a fan of the Girondists, who in turn despised Marat. Accounts claim that “many observers admired her self-possession and the certitude that she preserved to the very end.” This is contrary to the popular stereotype of the French Revolution era that women are weak and sensitive. She is showing women everywhere that they deserve a say in their government and that they are equal to men, as any man could have killed Marat, but a woman, who was perceived at the time by men as weak, killed…

The Jacobins promoted the Revolution and fed the fire. The Girondists, from Gironde, opposed the Jacobins, saying the Revolution was going to far. It was the Jacobins that took ultimate control through the trial and beheading of King Louis XVI. In the following years, after Louis XVI’s death, France finds itself in a radical, republican phase. Between 1792-94, France falls under an authoritarian terror led by Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre sentenced to…

In the heart of France’s food crisis and economic troubles Jacques Necker insisted that Louis XIII call in the Estates General. The Estates General was made up of three hundred clergy, three hundred noblemen and six hundred commoners. The commoners found that vote was based on power and wealth and felt unrepresented in The Estates General. This caused the creation of the Tennis Court Oath that swore the members to assemble until the constitution of the kingdom was enacted whilst Louie XIII…