Chapter+8


 * //Chapter Eight//**

The Reign of Terror The reign of terror was an era of the French Revolution during which thousands were executed. This was a period of both brutal repression and dreadful leadership. Anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 people were killed, including anyone from peasants to the highest ranked nobles. Trial of Louis XVI (Melanie Ma) ** On July 1789, mobs in Paris stormed the Bastille, the hated prison. The mob forced the imprisonment upon Louis and his family. His attempt to escape in 1791 failed. He was captured and returned to France. The Constitution of 1791 prevented the monarch from any penalty worse than dethronement. Despite this, the people insisted on having a trial, because Louis XVI could not be condemned without one. The king’s defense was based on the fact that trying him was illegal. Under the Constitution, his trial was illegal, but the Convention had absolute powers. The King could not be allowed to commit treason without being punished. The death penalty was passed with the vote at 387 to 334. Those in favor of executing the King accused their opponents of royalism, an extreme insult to men who were just mainly opposed to capital punishment. The process took a total of five days. The National Convention condemned Louis XVI to death on January 20, 1793. He was set to be executed the following day. He was accompanied by an English priest living in France named Henry Essex Edgeworth, who recorded the event. “The streets were lined with citizens, all armed, some with pikes and some with guns, and the carriage was surrounded by a body of troops, formed of the most desperate people of Paris. As another precaution, they had placed before the horses a number of drums, intended to drown any noise or murmur in favour of the King… and in the street nothing was to be seen, but armed citizens…” After their previous king was decapitated, cries of “Vive la Republique!” could be heard throughout the streets.
 * Introduction: (Michelle Raymond ) **
 * //This looks good for transition.//**
 * //Melanie

It was a new government after August 10, 1792. He was condemned by the National Convention that had been elected by universal manhood sufferage. Under the Constition of 1791 it may have been illegal but that government was no longer in power. What were the charges against him. Ask me I can show you where to get them //** In April of 1793, the committee of Public Safety was created in order to protect the nation from both domestic and foreign enemies and answered to the demands of the Republic. Under their leader, Georges Danton, the committee didn’t plan on any radical reforms; however, with the current state of the country, more radical leaders took control of the Committee. This included Maximilien Robespierre, the new leader who wanted to defend the Revolution. With the support of the Jacobins, they took harsh measures against the “enemies of the Revolution.” Robespierre was quoted saying “ //The goal of the constitutional government is to conserve the Republic; the aim of the The revolutionary government owes to the good citizen all the protection of the nation; it owes nothing to the enemies of the people// //but death.”// Somewhat leader? Danton? Why somewhat? Who did they answer to?//**
 * Committee of Public Safety: (Michelle Raymond) **
 * //Michelle

The Committee of Public Safety was created during the Reign of Terror and their most urgent business was the war that was going on in France. On August 17, 1793, the convention voted for the //levée en masse // which required all citizens to serve as soldiers or suppliers in the war effort. The //levée en masse // was used to bring everyone in France together to fight for a main cause, which is basically to promote nationalism, which promotes the love for one’s country. During the years of 1791 and 1792, around 300,000 men were recruited to the army which then strengthens the army to around one million men. It was successful in getting more men into the army but many men tried to avoid the draft which would lead to their deaths.
 * Levée en Masse (Taylor Bassett) ** 


 * //Taylor

Nationalism is the love of one's country. Now France was a nation with a republican government where all men could vote. This scared conservatives who thought the masses were too ignorant and inexperienced to vote. The levee was justified on the argument that since the Republic represented all French men than the government could require French men to defend the Republic. How many men did it raise? How did it change the size of the army? Was it successful? //** The Convention and the Committee both believed that they were going to create a new, equal republic to replace the old, monarchy and aristocracy. Because the old system was founded on heavy principles such as Christianity, they believed that ridding the country of Christianity would be the first step to create this new society. The first thing they did was change the Christian calendar, dating from the death of Christ, to a new calendar that began with the first day of the Revolution. It was the official calendar of France from November 24, 1793 to December 31, 1804. Its introduction was decreed by the National Convention on October 5, 1793, but the first date was September 22, 1792 because of the autumnal equinox and the day after the proclamation of the republic. It was divided into 12 months of 30 days, each with a new name. The calendar was assembled by a committee of men [which included: Jean Baptiste, Joseph Delambre, Joseph Louis Lagrange, Joseph Jerome de Lalande, Pierre Simon de Laplace, Antoine Lautrent Lavoisier, Gaspard Monge, Alexandre Gui Pingré & Gilbert Romme]. To push even further they changed the Sabbath system. Instead of resting on the seventh of every couple of days, people now rested on the tenth. ** (Melanie Ma and Taylor Bassett) ** One of the major changes occurred on November of 1793, Notre Dame, a cathedral in Paris, was renamed the Temple of Reason, enforcing the new religion of reason. A group of officials called the “mission deputies” was created to enforce the de-Christianization of the country. The closing down of churches occurred frequently and some priests were even forced to marry. This de-Christianization caused much of the support for the radical revolution to fade away. Eventually, Robespierre changed the French religion again to the “Cult of the Supreme Being.” In fear of his plotting to gain more power, he was arrested on July 27. His arrest and execution marked the end of the Reign of Terror. This is sloppy. Clean it up. "Heavy principles"? Weird phrase Sabbath on the "seventh of every couple days"? What? "In" November of 1793, not "on"?//**
 * De-Christianization (Melanie Ma ) **
 * //Melanie

On September 29th, the Convention extended price-fixing from grain and bread to other essential goods, and also fixed wages. This was demanded by the lower class and was issued by the Jacobins, who knew they needed to do it if they wanted to stay in power. They aimed to avoid the threat of more riots, including the horrid bread riots. The Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was set up in Paris by the National Convention during the Reign of Terror for the trial of people who were against the revolution and the change of government. On June 10, 1794 the Law of 22 Prairial, which forbade prisoners to use advice for their defense, censored the hearing of witnesses and made death the only penalty. Before 22 Prairial the Revolutionary Tribunal had announced the death sentences of 1,220 in thirteen months. During the forty-nine days between the passing of the law and the fall of Robespierre 1,376 persons were condemned, including many innocent victims. The amount of deaths show how bad the Law of 22 Prairial was. The law of suspects was created by the revolutionary tribunal to try people who were suspected for treason against the Republic and to punish the people who committed the crime.
 * Price Controls: (Michelle Raymond) **
 * Revolutionary Tribunal (Taylor Bassett) **

What was the Law of Suspects? How was it used by the tribunal to deal with counter-revolutionaries?//**
 * //"for the trial of __political offenders__ and for the trials of __people who were against the revolution and the change of government__". Same thing.

Conclusion: (Michelle Raymond )
 * In total, the Reign of Terror was marked by a series of mass executions of “enemies of the revolution.” Due to the normal occurrence of death by guillotine, the guillotine became a symbol of this era. The National Convention eventually turns on Robespierre due to his involvement in the era which led to his beheading, and in 1795 a new government is formed.

Can you wrap this up with interview clips? It is the most controversial phase of the French Revolution. **