Reign of Terror DBQ

Stacy

“Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity”
“The King’s blood flowed and cries of joy from eight thousand armed men struck my ears.” A man that witnessed the guillotining of King Louis XVI was left with this graphic image of a memorable event leading to the Reign of Terror. The Reign of Terror, otherwise known as the French Revolution, was an attempt to form a new government in France. The citizens of France fought against their government and made a new government led by Maximilen de Robespierre. This new government executed large numbers of individuals whom were “enemies” of the Revolution. This government went so far to preserve their vision of liberty and equality. France was violently demanding “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity”. Was it necessary to murder 30,000 by guillotining them in the middle of town square for everyone to witness? Did the 2,750 people sentenced to death without any evidence deserve their fate? The Reign of Terror was not justified because of the reaction towards external threats, the treatment of internal threats, and the malevolent methods used by this new government to carry-out their vision of a perfect government. The fashion that the government handled external threats was to a greater extent than it should have been. Austria and Prussia were both afraid that the Revolution might spread to their countries. In September of 1792, war with Prussia and Austria begins (Doc A). An 80,000 man army of Austrian and Prussian marched into France. Fearing an attack, France declared war on Austria and Prussia. They began fighting for their countries’ power. Nearly 10,000 of France’s own army officers moved to the Austrian-controlled Netherlands. The émigrés allied themselves with Austria and Prussia. France’s goal in mind was to punish the French émigrés (Doc B). No matter what your view was as a French citizen, you had to be for the French army. If you were a French supporter of the Austrian and Prussian monarchies, you would be executed (Doc B). Executing the French supporters of the Austrian and Prussian was not appropriate for their own government to do. To be executed by one’s own government would prove that you can’t trust the leaders you’re supposed to rely on. One of France’s major goals was “Liberty”. Liberty means freedom from external or foreign rule; independence. Is it not hypocritical for France to attempt to spread their own revolutionary ideals to somewhere other than their own country? By demanding liberty, France would have to participate in their own laws to accomplish a revolution. Not only did France handle external threats poorly, the internal threats were taken to a much greater extent. France’s government dealt with internal threats in unjustified ways. In April of 1793, counterrevolutionary revolts break out inside France (Doc A). The Vendee region was the focal point of the counterrevolutions. At this region, people against the Revolution fought for their rights. It is estimated that between 80,000 and 500,000 French citizens died in this battle. In October of 1793, Revolutionaries destroyed 1600 homes and beheaded 12 people in five minutes. This was done to affect the other counterrevolutionaries and out of fear, make them keep to themselves or completely change their own opinion. In 1793, revolutionaries abolished Sunday worship, Christmas, and Easter. It was then stated by a church official that a revolutionary took a copper crucifix which was on the altar and carried it mockingly, upside down on a cart, offering it to passers-by to spit on (Doc C). Another one of France’s main goals was “Fraternity”. Fraternity means an organization of laymen for religious or charitable purposes; sodality. If France was trying to establish Fraternity, why were they taking away one of its biggest factors of keeping everyone together? Once again, France is hypocritically not abiding by their own goals. The methods used by France’s government towards the Revolutionizing of their country were too extreme. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people were murdered in merciless ways. In March of 1793, a court of justice called the Tribunal was established. The Tribunal members were appointed by the National Convention and they had complete power. The purpose of the Tribunal was to “protect the public safety”, yet the accused were denied any lawyers. If there was to be any suspicion, the accused would be sentenced to death without any evidence (while many were innocent) (Doc E). If you were ever to be caught as a counterrevolutionary, the guillotine would become your incontestable fate. The guillotine was a “humane” way to execute the criminals of the Revolution. It had a sharp blade which would decapitate its inmate. This event would take place in the middle of town square for all to see (Doc F). France’s last major goal of the Revolution was “Equality”. Equality means justice. If it is justice that the National Convention wanted, why were they acting contradictory to what they were saying? To have justice is to have the right morals. Did France have the right morals when they were sentencing innocent people to death without any evidence? It is undeniable that France is not following their own reasons for a revolution, and cannot expect to have change if they do not act as they speak. Although the National Convention originally had good intentions, they used drastic measures to produce what was viewed as the “perfect government”. The treatment of external threats and internal threats was extreme, and the methods used were brutal. The concept of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” was positive, yet France failed to abide by their own goals. The murder of Robespierre announced the end of the Reign of Terror. Robespierre was a victim of his own creation; he suffered from the fate of the guillotine.