Reign Of Terror Essay

The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.

Summary- Harry Sandwith is a 16 year old English boy. He is sent to live in France with the Marquis de St. Caux who is the brother of a man his father knew. The marquis believes with Harry’s schooling history he can influence and become friends with his two sons. Harry thinks he will get bigger opportunities when he moves to France and joins the British army.

The Reign of Terror in France was not justified. This claim can be supported by looking at three areas: external threat, the internal threat, and the methods. The external threat was not enough to justify the Reign of Terror. One example of this is that “churches are soon closed by revolutionary government” which is wrong, because people should be able to choose what they believe in (Document A). Another example is that the “Government denies legal counsel to accused enemies of the revolution” (Document A).

January 21,1793 began a year long of pandemonium now known as the Reign of Terror caused by King Louis XVI’s poor ruling that landed the country in debt and starvation. Fueled by the need for change, Maximilien de Robespierre started a grand revolution that would demolish absolute monarchy in 1789. The execution of the aforementioned king marked the beginning of a period where public execution was standard and tranquility vanished, or the Reign of Terror. Threats against the country were insinuated which brought about malicious methods in an effort to exterminate the threats, which, like the country itself, revolutionized the French’s ideals. The Reign of Terror was not justified.

After already obtaining an uneven distribution of wealth in the nation among the three estates, the debt from the American Revolution took a toll on France’s financial stability, practically bankrupting them. Struggling from the large gap between the wealthy and the poor, it was suggested by Sieyes that the third estate, commoners (97%), were the people who made up the nation of France and that they needed to take a stand, which they did. The third estate followed Rosseau, who’s ideas were developed from Locke, on his ideas of “general will” of the nation, and that they should form a national assembly of their own since they were the nation (SMW 76). The French Revolution unfolded into three phases of constitutional monarchy, radical republicanism, and military consolidation, resulting in the issue of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, among other accomplishments. Also following the American Revolution, and the Declaration of Independence, the French used Locke’s ideas in his Second Treatise of Government as a guideline to their new constitution.

The ‘Reign of Terror’ was not justified because the it took away the rights that the French government had achieved during French Revolution. One piece of evidence for this was that during the reign of terror the French people had no freedom of religion. A detail that supports this was the fact that during the Reign of Terror, people were not allowed to practise any religion, especially Christianity. The revolutionary government damaged churches, abolished Sunday worship, and the holidays of Christmas and Easter.

The Reign of Terror did not support the ideals of the revolution. Unfortunately for French citizens, they were not able to elect tribunal members. The tribunal members, who have absolute power were “appointed by the National Convention” (Document E). French people were rejected in their own country, which is proven by the statement that “conspirators are, in its eyes, only strangers”(Document G). The original ideals were made to protect the people of France but instead they were killing

Sunday worship, Christmas, and Easter were abolished…in Auxerre.” (Map created from various sources, Document C). The Reign of Terror was not justified because they enforced laws that made people do things that they didn’t want to do, which means that they don’t value liberty. Robespierre ultimately ruined the chances of peace, killing anyone who got in his way to stay in

The militaristic inclination of France during the late 18th and early 19th century was the culmination of the idealism of the newly adopted French political system, and the abrupt character of French people's motivation to implement these ideals. As discontent with the despotic system of government in France increased in magnitude and scale, the will to fight in order to achieve equality became gained momentum. Factors such as the rapid spread of enlightenment ideals, the socio-economic inequity of the three estate system, and leaders’ utilization of French citizens’ new sense of justice to incite warfare, all come together to create an militaristic, imperial French nation. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, enacted July of 1789, provided the foundation

The main difference between the American and French Revoultion was that one successfully converted to a democratic government and one did not. The French Revolution was not successful in forming a democratic government due to France’s history of a monarchy, economic issues and divison among its’ people. Unlike America, France had a long history of sole rulers and dictatorship which made the change to a democratic government much more difficult and ultimately impossible. America’s motto of “all men are created equal” (Doc A) was the complete opposite of France’s dividing estate class system. The third estate consisted of peasents, common people and the bourgeoisie, the second estate belonged to the Nobles, and the first was the home to the Clergy.

The French people’s knowledge of their rights led them to believe that it is possible to achieve fairness and be respected in their own province. And lastly, the idea of questioning France’s government had peasants discover that their king barely even cared about their well-being and restricted them of representation.

”(Doc 3) This demonstrates that the removal of the Edict of Nantes drove people insane because it granted the people France substantial rights, however when the rights were removed by Louis XIV people became infuriated, which is another reason to why the French Revolution occurred. Fundamentally, the actions that Louis XIV took had a great impact towards his people. His actions ultimately led the people of France initiate the French Revolution, which left France and its people in a vulnerable

Do the ends justify the mean? If you were an American soldier ready to be deployed for a massive land invasion of Japan, the atomic bombs saved your life. World War II ended when the United States dropped the atomic bombs and saved thousands of American lives. The French Revolution faced a similar dilemma. The rallying cry for the revolution was equality, liberty, and fraternity, bringing the first democracy to France.

Nobles lost their advantaged position in French society causing, among other things, loss of life, a perceived forced emigration to other lands, loss of property, and the end of seigneurial rights and income. Some of these advantages were subsequently recovered during Emperor Napoleon’s reign but many pre-Revolutionary rights were forever

French society was defined by the the “Ancien Regime” the system of three estates (Clergy, Nobility, and Peasantry). The clergy and nobility were respected and had a higher position in society and the peasants were left to carry the country, by working farms, generating the wealth, and paying a large majority of taxes. This largely contributed to the tensions arising in 1780’s France. Meanwhile, France was engaged in the Age of Enlightenment people were demanding that church and state be separate, the King resigns and a new logic based system of government is to be established.