Was the Reign of Terror Justified
The Reign of Terror was a time after the death of King Louis XVI where over 16,000 people died due to the Guillotine. After going into multiple wars, France couldn't repay the money they took after King Louis put the country in extreme debt. King Louis XVI made the decision to try and get France out of debt by taxing the people. The first estate didn’t pay at all, the second estate barely paid because it was mostly made up of nobles and 2% of the population; the people that paid for most taxes were the third estate. Mostly made up of the Bourgeoisie, City workers and finally the peasants. With this unfair tax system many of the people went against the king. They also got their idea to go against the king
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Our first piece of evidence is people in the revolution were being murdered without any reason. My support for this is in document E and F. Document E talks about the people and the National Convention. Document F is talking about what the Guillotine and how big of a part it played in the reign of terror. The second piece of evidence I will use to show that it wasn’t justified was the fact that it became very hypocritical. My support for this is in document A and G. These are the main two reasons the reign of terror wasn’t …show more content…
Not only people apart of the revolution but innocent people who didn’t even want to take part of it. The main person behind this is Maximilien Robespierre. He was a leader of the revolution and is responsible for many deaths. In document E France established the Revolutionary Tribunal. The Tribunal was established for crimes against the state, also to expel anyone who is expected of counter revolutionary activites. This basically means if you are not for the revolution you have the possibility of being jailed or murdered. No one could speak their views or opinions without being prosecuted. In doc E the final sentence “A careless word of criticism spoken against the government could put one in prison or worse”. This is basically telling that if you speak out against the revolutionist you have the chance of having your life taken away. The item that would take people’s life away was the Guillotine. The Guillotine is a very large blade responsible for may decapitations. During the french revolution it was used to kill people in a humane way. What made this very inhumane was the fact that it was a public display. Over 16,000 people were killed by this executioner. Not every single one of these people deserved to die, most of them didn’t follow the revolution but were not even counter revolutionary. This is just the first explanation for why the Reign of Terror wasn’t
To begin, was The Reign of Terror justified? Does a bear poop in the woods? Yes. The Reign of Terror lasted less than two years, from the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 to late July 1794. During those eighteen months, more than 20,000 French people were put to death by guillotine.
There was no justice to these acts of terror in France. During this time period the 3rd estate was 98% of the population, 1.5% was the 2nd and .5% was the 1st estate. The 3rd estate was the peasants who had to pay 100% of the taxes in this time period and by the poor being taxed and France spending a lot of their money on random stuff and junk. They were in debt because of this. The Reign of Terror was unjustified because of the discrimination and violence to the non-republics and peasants. (Doc G.) The government also played a big factor in the unfair justice to the peasants and non-republics by making the peasants pay all the taxes and not giving them any say in government. (Doc A.)
During the French revolution, French citizens went against absolute monarchy and the feudal system that was antiquated. They were influenced by Enlightenment ideas such as inalienable rights and popular sovereignty. Louis XVI was the ruler at the time; he believed that his power was given to him by God, thus making him think his ruling was right despite people’s opinion. The citizens of France especially the 3rd estate disliked the king for treating them poorly. Eventually the Jacobins convicted Louis XVI to death by a guillotine for treason after finding a large iron box holding Louis XVI’s secret correspondence with foreign monarchs. The beheading of King Louis XVI was justified because he took people’s rights away and made people follow his inadequate rules and biased judgments based on status. Furthermore, if he were to be left alive it would have posed a threat to the security and stability of France.
It is estimated 16,000 people were guillotined during the revolution according to document F because they didn’t agree with the new government . The Reign of terror was not justified because according to Document E, “Watch committees were set up in every neighborhood to ferret out and expel
The Reign of Terror began by the public beheading by guillotine of Louis XVI, This event took place on the 21st of January. As evidenced by Document F, An attendee says “The king’s blood flowed and cries of joy from eighty thousand armed men struck my ears. I saw people pass by arm in arm laughing and chatting familiarly as if they were at a festival.” (Document F.) This depicts the graphical display put on by the executioners. which is an example of the French government implementing fear tactics to rule over their people. Shortly after his wife Marie Antoinette was guillotined to death publicly. The Reign of Terror lasted 18 months. During this period a man named Maximilian Robespierre led the government. He executed a large number of people who he thought could be enemies or somewhat threats to his new fragile form of government. It was rumored that he had spies everywhere who would turn others in, just for not being enthusiastic about the revolutionaries form of government. also if an individual complained or made a comment pertaining negatively to life in France after the revolution they would be executed. His Reign of Terror not only focused upon the citizens of his country but it also focused upon specific groups. For example his Reign of Terror also focused upon the catholic church. The catholic church had been in power for a very long time, and had a very large influence on modern society and culture.
The period of the French Revolution was from September 5, 1793, to July 27, 1794. Louis XVI was sentence to death due to crime like unfair tax system and having France be bankrupt. In a 10 month period which suspect enemies in the revolution were guillotined even innocents. Was the Reign of Terror justified? The Reign of Terror was not justified because they were threatened, methods that aren't that necessary, and no evidence of how they
The Reign of Terror was not justified because it abused human rights.‘’Revolutionary Government denied legal counsel to accused enemies which went against human right.‘’In 1793, a revolutionary campaign was launched against the Catholic Church. Sunday worship, christmas, and easter were abolished.’’(Document _A_and C_)This facts proves that they took way people freedom they are not allowed to have any religious holiday. The Revolutionary they have been ended up all religions practice. The Reign of Terror were not justified because they abused the human rights and they did not protect the human rights.
The French Revolution is arguably the bloodiest period in French history, with men such as Maximilien Robespierre leading the country into a situation of state sponsored terror. Originally being quite a liberal thinker inspired by the works of Rousseau, Robespierre quickly gained a reputation for being a radical throughout the course of the Revolution, especially during the Terror. Early on terror was justified as a means to root out foreign and domestic enemies of the Revolution, however; once the foreign threat had been taken care of it became increasingly difficult for Robespierre to rationalize his use of terror to bring about a supposed Republic of Virtue. In his speech, the “Justification of the use of Terror” which he presented to
(Doc F) As all hell broke loose within France it was the cause of the Reign of Terror which overall, was not justified.
King Louis XVI and Marie Antionette were two people that should not have been ruling a country. King Louis was always gone on hunting trips and Marie Antionette spent every dime of French money. Once the Monarchy ran out money, they started to tax the Third, and poorest, estate. The third estate took up 97% of the population. 97% of the population was starving and the royal family kept spending large amounts of money until the people revolted. The people of France tried to reason with King Louis, but he refused to change his ways and kept taxing the third estate. When the people revolted, they stormed the Bastille and took all of the weapons they could. The people then went to the King’s palace and demanded he fix the way he was ruling before they killed him. The King didn’t listen and was executed along with his wife. Of the three kids that Marie Antionette had, the two boys died of Tuberculosis in jail and the daughter was sent to live the remainder of her life in exile in Austria. It may seem as though the people of France had successfully overgrown their monarchy and could begin a life of freedom, however this is not the case. The French had rushed into combat too fast and did not have a plan for what to do after they had killed their rulers. The right of Terror begins where Maximilian Robespierre beheads 40,000 people in the span of ten months for speaking against the revolution. In the end, Robespierre ends up getting
Twenty thousand to forty thousand died; it is still unknown exactly how many people were lost through the blood drenching event of the Reign of Terror.[Footnote] Throughout the French revolution, specifically the eleven month, 1793-1794 Reign of Terror, revolutionary leaders, such as Maximilien Robespierre believed in enforcing fear to resolve the instability of France. “Terror is nothing else than swift, severe, indomitable justice; it flows, then, from virtue”-Maximilien Robespierre.[Footnote] This period in history signified great atrocities of massacres, and a time where fear was evoked within every French civilian. The National Convention of France was a great factor in encouraging the start of the Reign of Terror; they continued on
The French Revolution began in 1789 as an attempt, by the revolutionaries, to form a new government that would give the people more liberty, equality and value people’s rights. Between 1793 and 1794 the government used extreme ways to achieve their goals. This period of time, led by Robespierre, was called the reign of Terror because between 20,000-40,000 french people were killed by the government forces. The Reign of Terror was not justified for three reasons:The external and internal threat did not deserve it, they denied natural rights against people who opposed them and the methods of the Terror were too extreme.
In June of 1793, the Committee of Public safety began the Reign of Terror, which would not end until July of 1794. As a result of the Terror, over 14,000 people were killed by the use guillotines, firing squads, and drowning. A large majority of these deaths occured in the French Departments of Lore, Lyon, and Vendee (Document 1). In Paris, most of those executed were nobles and upper middle class citizens, while throughout the rest of France, the majority of those executed were peasants and working class citizens. (Document 2). Over 10,000 of the people executed committed hostile acts against the French State (Document 3). The Reign of Terror was a chaotic time period in which France was warring against Austria and Prussia and in deep financial troubles. The revolutionaries used the terror to their advantage, eliminating all of those who were in opposition. The terror, however, was disadvantageous to the revolutionaries because it caused more chaos and civil unrest throughout all of France.
France was experience a great amount of change in the summer of 1793, when the Jacobins succeeded the moderates in the National Convention. With the radical Jacobins in power, the country was in tumult, and a Reign of Terror ensued due to a law of suspects that legalized local revolutionary committees. Because of this, thousands of people were killed by guillotine or other methods. Throughout the summer of 1793, the radical Jacobins’ control of the Committee of Public Safety instituted the Terror which was advantageous in it’s intended purpose, yet it was disadvantageous because of the enemies it created.
The Reign of Terror began September 5, 1793 and ended on July 28, 1794. The Reign of Terror was an aim to purge those who posed a threat to France, and especially the ones that were against the French Revolution. This period of violence lasted around 10 months then came to an end when it’s leader, Maximilien Robespierre got