Maximilien Robespierre's Rise To Power

Maximilien Robespierre was a man with humble beginnings. Growing up in Arras, a small town in Northern France, Robespierre developed into the strong and prominent figure he grew up to be. Robespierre’s parents were not in the picture for the large majority of his rise to power. His father was a lawyer and his occupation influenced Robespierre to head down the same career path; Robespierre moved to Paris and received a degree in law from Lycée Louis-le-Grand. His rise to political success began with his consistent bashing of the standing French Monarchy in addition to his ability to fight for the common man in France which made up the Third Estate. Robespierre, once a man of the people became a man against the people toward the end of his life.
Robespierre is alluding to the law of suspects which clearly stated “those who, by their conduct, associations, comments, or writings have shown themselves partisans of tyranny or federalism and enemies of liberty;” (Duvergier - The Law of Suspects). The law of suspects was a decree put into order by the Committee of Public Safety which Robespierre headed at the time. They created this decree because Robespierre felt vulnerable to outside pressure by not only other nations but also citizens of France. Robespierre’s newly implemented decree allowed authorities to incarcerate anyone who was heard speaking against the revolution or anyone even thought of going against the revolutionaries. The law of suspects took away natural rights which the revolution sought to restore after the failed monarchy headed by King Louis XVI. Robespierre’s men took in these suspects some were thrown in prison (estimate on wikipedia is that allowed), others were locked down on house arrest, and many unfortunately had to pay the ultimate price of death; This is terrorism. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines terrorism as the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal. Robespierre’s actions by aiding the installation of the law of suspects and
“In the early stages, the revolution spurred men and women to great flights of enthusiastic idealism, but it also generated enormous anxiety and mistrust.” (Bell - Terror at the Dawn of Modern Europe ). This quote proved to be very true during the French revolution. People across the nation were swept by a fear that they would be incarcerated or get killed for unlawful actions. The implemented fear upon the people is a form of terrorism. Terrorism in itself does not have to be an act taken upon a person but it is inflicting fear upon a group for your own gain. With the people of France scared and afraid of anything Robespierre could have done they began to obey him and respect him out of fear. Robespierre most likely took after Machiavelli’s style of leadership. Machiavelli emphasized the importance of being respected not through love but rather through fear and Robespierre was able to put that style of leadership to use and did it very well. Leaders all throughout the world have been influenced by Robespierre’s inherited style of leadership, one leader in particular is Bashar al-Assad. Bashar al-Assad has been the president of Syria since 2000 and his reign of power has been anything but kind to the people of Syria. Bashar’s leadership style which reflects the one of which Robespierre had, kept the people he ruled over in constant fear. The people of Syria have been