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Reign Of Terror Dbq

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The French Revolution took place during 1789 and 1799 in France. King Louis XIV needed money and passed an unfair tax. There were three Estates; the first; the clergy, the second; the nobles and the third; everyone else. The king did not seek any advice when putting the tax in place which caused a lot of unrest in the third estate. This was one incident that lead up to the French Revolution. The French Revolution was unsuccessful because it did not achieve freedom for the French people and it was bloody. One goal of the French Revolution was to do away with the monarchy. The French needed to decide the best solution for giving power to an authority that would represent the people, their rights and equality among all. However, the Declaration …show more content…

In his speech to the National Convention on the Moral and Political Principles of Domestic Policy, Robespierre uses some strong language to justify his use of violence “We must smother the internal enemies of the Republic or we will fail” and “Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt and severe; it is therefore part of virtue.” He also states, “Terror is the only way to preserve democracy and therefore our most urgent need.” This led to conflict among the French because Robespierre continued to persecute anyone who threatened the republic and exercised violence, censorship, terror, and treated people unequally. So, although Robespierre claimed his rule was based on the ideals of freedom, liberty, reason, and sovereignty; he did this in a selective manner where the nobility and royalty were unequal to the rest of the French and the peasants and laborers were inferior to the middle class. Robespierre used terror to “rescue” the republic and the revolution from complete destruction but felt it was necessary to save France by exterminating anyone who threatened the

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