File

As promised….
The Reign of
Terror
• By 1792, the divisions between the Girondists,
the Jacobins, and the sans-culottes had not
been fixed
• But they could at least all agree that France
was in danger of being invaded by one or
several European powers
• In the spring of 1792, France declared war on
Austria, but it doesn’t go very well for France
at the beginning
Valmy, September 1792
• In August 1792, Louis was arrested for
conspiring against France
• In September 1792 France is declared a
republic
• The monarchy is abolished (Louis XVI is
stripped of all title)
• After a short trial in January 1793,
the former King Louis XVI, now called
“Citizen Louis Capet,” is executed
• Marie Antoinette is executed in October 1793
• But the
guillotine has
not taken the
life of its last
victim…
The Reign of
Terror
continues…
The King is dead! Now what?
• The power struggle between the Girondists,
the Jacobins, and the Sans-Culottes really
heats up
Marat’s proposal?
But not everyone approves...
• Charlotte Corday,
a Girondist who
despised Marat’s
calls for death and
more violence
13 July 1793
Jean-Paul Marat is murdered by Charlotte
Corday, a Girondist
A martyr?
• But the violence of the Jacobins silences the
Girondists’ calls for peace. Girondist leaders
are rounded up and executed.
• A group of 12 men, called the Committee of
Public Safety (COPS) ruled France and
ruthlessly sought out and executed “enemies
of the revolution”
• Criticism of the revolution was absolutely not
tolerated and punishable by death
• Tens of thousands of people are killed
throughout France
What happened to “rights?”
Robespierre rules as a dictator
• Danton becomes the new voice of
moderation. The terror has gone too far, he
argues.
• For his beliefs, Danton is deemed an enemy of
the revolution and is executed in April 1794.
"Don't forget to show my
head to the people. It's
well worth seeing."
Will the terror ever end?