Reign Terror And The Jacobins: The French Revolution
The eighteen century became a period of the social and political revolutions in Europe. Revolution itself is more than just a series of riots in the towns and countries. It turns up to be more than street-fighting and even more than ganging of the government. A revolution is a rapid destruction of the institutions which looks so immovable than even the most persistent reformers hardly dare to attack them. It a birth of a completely new idea that concerns a lot of the links which soon starts to spread among the neighboring nations and become the reality (Korotkin, 2009, p. 8-9). This paper consists of several sections and each of it examines a particular topic concerning the French Revolution. In a complex, these sections create a full picture
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of the events that happened between 1789-1782 and research its impact on the further development of the country. Finally, the main purpose of this study is to explore the peculiarities of the French Revolution and make a comparison to the English Civil War.
Causes of the Revolution.
As every event such as movements or wars, the French Revolution had its own backgrounds. There were two main currents of the French Revolution. The first one represents the ideas concerning the political reorganization. It came from the middle classes. The second one was formed by the workers that wanted to get the progress in their economic conditions. When these two currents met each other the result was the French Revolution (Korotkin, 2009, p. 7). Until the beginning of the revolution, France had already started the insurrectionary period. The actions of the Louis XVI on the throne in 1774 were the reason for the series of hunger rebellions. The lack of bread always remained the primary reason of risings. The French and the English revolutions happened at the moment when the middle classes realized their rights. They felt quite capable of capturing the government and tearing it out from the frivolity and debauchery of the aristocracy that was bringing the kingdom to the ruin. A good example is a huge debt of the country after the Seven Years War. While the France was wrecked in debt there was no fiscal restraint at court. Thus, when people did not have any money to buy a food, the Louis XVI’s wife Marie Antoinette had an unlimited annual clothing allowance. However, France could not finance its empire. Mostly all the money for the country needs came from the taxes. In the 18th, the nobility and church were exempt from taxations. Consequently, nearly all tax money came from the income of the poorest. Of course, it made the situation worse as the peasantry also suffered from the series of seasonal crop failures. They could hardly afford to pay taxes for armies, ground, and lifestyle of the royalty (Korotkin, 2009, p. 8-9). One more important inspiration for the French revolution became the Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s meditations. He considered the general will as a will of sovereign, or all the people together that aims at the common good. For example, the general will in the healthy state comes in a form of a law. However, the laws must exist to ensure the peoples’ freedom, “idea of general will is that I am only free when o obey the laws that I have myself helped to create” (Fehér , 1990, p. 229). Rousseau preached the ideas of democracy. The French people accepted these new ideas as they were very limited and never had any rights before. The historians differ two main interpretations of the French revolution. The first view points to the revolution as a class struggle. In contrast, the second is the Revisionist interpretation. They see the revolution as a negative event that did not have a global impact and was only relevant for that century (Hanson, 2007, p. 339-341). This question remains a controversy among the scholars.
Constitutional changes 1789-1792 and the Marsh on Versailles
The hard situation with crops and the growing famine lead to the protests. One of them became the Marsh on Versailles in October 1789. It was one of the earliest events of the French Revolution. In that day, thousands of Parisians women marched more than 12 miles to the residence of Louis XVI. Some of them were desperately hungry, some had more violence intentions. They wanted the king to leave Versailles and move back to Paris in order to be far away from corruption influence of aristocracy and closer to the citizens. The deputies of the Assembly were unprotected. Thus, in 24 hours of tension they had no choice than accept the requirements of the shouted crowd. The road from Paris to Versailles took around seven hours and throughout the whole way, the royal family was surrounded by the rebellion who cried, “we bring the baker, the baker’s wife, and the baker’s boy” (Edward, 1999, p. 116). Partially, they were right and the supplies became abundant.
Revolutionary clubs and the End of the Monarchy
One more significant part of the French revolution was the establishment of the political clubs and groups. The first political clubs were formed early in the revolution. However, with the revolution’s progress, they became more organized and formalized. Some clubs behaved close to the modern-day political parties. The most famous of all the clubs was Jacobins. Their members shaped the course of revolution between 1792 and 1794. After the beginning of the revolution, the Breton Club became the first constitutive political club. After the Marsh on Versailles, they changed the name to Society of the Friends of the Constitution. In another word, it constituted the Jacobins club itself. To the members of this club belonged mainly the bourgeoisies such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, writers, and artists. The Jacobins club divided into two branches the Girondists and the Jacobins after the Louis XVI overthrow. In general, both branches belonged to the same club. However, they preserved different opinions. The Girondists represented the commercial bourgeoisie. They protected the freedom, private property, and wanted to export the revolution. At the same time, the Jacobins formed the group with the name Montagnards. They supported equality over the freedom and wanted to consolidate the revolution in Paris (Kropotkin, 2009, p. 241-251).
The Jacobins, unlike the other clubs, received the supported of the sans-culottes.
It was a widespread force created by the working class. The main goal of the Jacobins was to destroy the monarchy and to set up the centralized government. In order to rich the goal, they used quite an aggressive methods. After the establishment the revolutionary dictatorship led by Maximilien Robespierre they started a period of Reign Terror (Farah, 2000, p. 339). Robespierre became the most prominent member of this phenomenon. In 1794, he eliminated all the enemies. Thus, from the left it was a radical political group the Hébertists and from the right, there were followers of George Danton. In general, close to 40 000 peoples were killed during the terror. Of those, 16 000 people including Marie Antoinette died under the blade of the guillotine. Also, peasants who opposed the sans-culottes were among victims as well. King Louis understood that everything was looking bad for the monarchy. Thus, he decided to sneak out of France. After his escape, he completely lost the peoples’ faith. In September 1791, France adopted a new constitution and established a new executive body the Legislative Assembly. It actually abolished the monarchy and the next day France was declared as a republic (Farah, 2000, p. 339 - …show more content…
343).
English Civil War and French Revolution’s Method
Comparing with France, the 17th century became a troubled time for the Great Britain.
The English Civil War took place in the British islands between 1642 and 1660. Unlike the French Revolution the English Civil War had three oppositional sides. King Charles I with his son represented the first side, the Parliamentarians were the second and the last was a combination of Covenanters from Scotland and the Confederates from Ireland. That is why this war has a name the Wars of Three Kingdoms. The same as with the French Revolution the civil war in England started earlier than the official date. The scientists consider the beginning of the civil war in 1642. However, the conflict actually began earlier in Scotland. It turns up to be the rebellion by parliament against the actions of the king. The parliament tried to protect its power from the impingement of the king. Charles I tried to rule without any help. In general, the members of parliament just attempted to protect their own interests. In contrast, the French revolution was more as an uprising against the monarchy. In this resistance the middle class united with peasants against the upper class. Similarly, both of the conflicts desired to overthrow the power of the king. However, the French revolution had a more radical method. On the one hand, the English Civil War’s method led to the creation of a new model army and made Britain a republic for a few years. On the other hand, it caused the dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell.
In spite, he was not a royal blood he ruled as a Lord Protector. The England was transformed from the monarchy to a theocracy. Cromwell disabled the parliament and created his own rules and laws. Oliver Cromwell and Robespierre both were extremists; they tried to abolish the monarchy but became the dictators. In general, the method of the English Civil War made the country step backward from democracy while the French revolution had an opposite result (Gaunt, 2014, p. 230-256).
Conclusion
The both events such as the French Revolution as and the English Civil War had their own consequences. From the political side, the French situation before the revolution was not as great. The king cared only about the royalty while the common people must have paid the enormous taxes. Also, the country suffered from the crisis and the people were dying of the famine. In general, the revolution overthrew the monarchy. The best results were achieved by destroying the old society. After the revolution, France got an opportunity to grow the modern-day society. The main political effect of the English Civil War was an establishment of the new type of army. Also, this war became an example for other countries that everything can be changed. The social effect of the revolution caused the huge changes. The destruction of aristocracy brought the power to the people and they got their chance to obtain the rights. The social impact of the English Civil War had more negative character. Thus, people lost an opportunity to any kind of democracy. However, all the revolutions have a similar point such as they represent people’s attempts and hopes to the changes and the opportunity to get a better life.
of the events that happened between 1789-1782 and research its impact on the further development of the country. Finally, the main purpose of this study is to explore the peculiarities of the French Revolution and make a comparison to the English Civil War.
Causes of the Revolution.
As every event such as movements or wars, the French Revolution had its own backgrounds. There were two main currents of the French Revolution. The first one represents the ideas concerning the political reorganization. It came from the middle classes. The second one was formed by the workers that wanted to get the progress in their economic conditions. When these two currents met each other the result was the French Revolution (Korotkin, 2009, p. 7). Until the beginning of the revolution, France had already started the insurrectionary period. The actions of the Louis XVI on the throne in 1774 were the reason for the series of hunger rebellions. The lack of bread always remained the primary reason of risings. The French and the English revolutions happened at the moment when the middle classes realized their rights. They felt quite capable of capturing the government and tearing it out from the frivolity and debauchery of the aristocracy that was bringing the kingdom to the ruin. A good example is a huge debt of the country after the Seven Years War. While the France was wrecked in debt there was no fiscal restraint at court. Thus, when people did not have any money to buy a food, the Louis XVI’s wife Marie Antoinette had an unlimited annual clothing allowance. However, France could not finance its empire. Mostly all the money for the country needs came from the taxes. In the 18th, the nobility and church were exempt from taxations. Consequently, nearly all tax money came from the income of the poorest. Of course, it made the situation worse as the peasantry also suffered from the series of seasonal crop failures. They could hardly afford to pay taxes for armies, ground, and lifestyle of the royalty (Korotkin, 2009, p. 8-9). One more important inspiration for the French revolution became the Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s meditations. He considered the general will as a will of sovereign, or all the people together that aims at the common good. For example, the general will in the healthy state comes in a form of a law. However, the laws must exist to ensure the peoples’ freedom, “idea of general will is that I am only free when o obey the laws that I have myself helped to create” (Fehér , 1990, p. 229). Rousseau preached the ideas of democracy. The French people accepted these new ideas as they were very limited and never had any rights before. The historians differ two main interpretations of the French revolution. The first view points to the revolution as a class struggle. In contrast, the second is the Revisionist interpretation. They see the revolution as a negative event that did not have a global impact and was only relevant for that century (Hanson, 2007, p. 339-341). This question remains a controversy among the scholars.
Constitutional changes 1789-1792 and the Marsh on Versailles
The hard situation with crops and the growing famine lead to the protests. One of them became the Marsh on Versailles in October 1789. It was one of the earliest events of the French Revolution. In that day, thousands of Parisians women marched more than 12 miles to the residence of Louis XVI. Some of them were desperately hungry, some had more violence intentions. They wanted the king to leave Versailles and move back to Paris in order to be far away from corruption influence of aristocracy and closer to the citizens. The deputies of the Assembly were unprotected. Thus, in 24 hours of tension they had no choice than accept the requirements of the shouted crowd. The road from Paris to Versailles took around seven hours and throughout the whole way, the royal family was surrounded by the rebellion who cried, “we bring the baker, the baker’s wife, and the baker’s boy” (Edward, 1999, p. 116). Partially, they were right and the supplies became abundant.
Revolutionary clubs and the End of the Monarchy
One more significant part of the French revolution was the establishment of the political clubs and groups. The first political clubs were formed early in the revolution. However, with the revolution’s progress, they became more organized and formalized. Some clubs behaved close to the modern-day political parties. The most famous of all the clubs was Jacobins. Their members shaped the course of revolution between 1792 and 1794. After the beginning of the revolution, the Breton Club became the first constitutive political club. After the Marsh on Versailles, they changed the name to Society of the Friends of the Constitution. In another word, it constituted the Jacobins club itself. To the members of this club belonged mainly the bourgeoisies such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, writers, and artists. The Jacobins club divided into two branches the Girondists and the Jacobins after the Louis XVI overthrow. In general, both branches belonged to the same club. However, they preserved different opinions. The Girondists represented the commercial bourgeoisie. They protected the freedom, private property, and wanted to export the revolution. At the same time, the Jacobins formed the group with the name Montagnards. They supported equality over the freedom and wanted to consolidate the revolution in Paris (Kropotkin, 2009, p. 241-251).
The Jacobins, unlike the other clubs, received the supported of the sans-culottes.
It was a widespread force created by the working class. The main goal of the Jacobins was to destroy the monarchy and to set up the centralized government. In order to rich the goal, they used quite an aggressive methods. After the establishment the revolutionary dictatorship led by Maximilien Robespierre they started a period of Reign Terror (Farah, 2000, p. 339). Robespierre became the most prominent member of this phenomenon. In 1794, he eliminated all the enemies. Thus, from the left it was a radical political group the Hébertists and from the right, there were followers of George Danton. In general, close to 40 000 peoples were killed during the terror. Of those, 16 000 people including Marie Antoinette died under the blade of the guillotine. Also, peasants who opposed the sans-culottes were among victims as well. King Louis understood that everything was looking bad for the monarchy. Thus, he decided to sneak out of France. After his escape, he completely lost the peoples’ faith. In September 1791, France adopted a new constitution and established a new executive body the Legislative Assembly. It actually abolished the monarchy and the next day France was declared as a republic (Farah, 2000, p. 339 - …show more content…
343).
English Civil War and French Revolution’s Method
Comparing with France, the 17th century became a troubled time for the Great Britain.
The English Civil War took place in the British islands between 1642 and 1660. Unlike the French Revolution the English Civil War had three oppositional sides. King Charles I with his son represented the first side, the Parliamentarians were the second and the last was a combination of Covenanters from Scotland and the Confederates from Ireland. That is why this war has a name the Wars of Three Kingdoms. The same as with the French Revolution the civil war in England started earlier than the official date. The scientists consider the beginning of the civil war in 1642. However, the conflict actually began earlier in Scotland. It turns up to be the rebellion by parliament against the actions of the king. The parliament tried to protect its power from the impingement of the king. Charles I tried to rule without any help. In general, the members of parliament just attempted to protect their own interests. In contrast, the French revolution was more as an uprising against the monarchy. In this resistance the middle class united with peasants against the upper class. Similarly, both of the conflicts desired to overthrow the power of the king. However, the French revolution had a more radical method. On the one hand, the English Civil War’s method led to the creation of a new model army and made Britain a republic for a few years. On the other hand, it caused the dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell.
In spite, he was not a royal blood he ruled as a Lord Protector. The England was transformed from the monarchy to a theocracy. Cromwell disabled the parliament and created his own rules and laws. Oliver Cromwell and Robespierre both were extremists; they tried to abolish the monarchy but became the dictators. In general, the method of the English Civil War made the country step backward from democracy while the French revolution had an opposite result (Gaunt, 2014, p. 230-256).
Conclusion
The both events such as the French Revolution as and the English Civil War had their own consequences. From the political side, the French situation before the revolution was not as great. The king cared only about the royalty while the common people must have paid the enormous taxes. Also, the country suffered from the crisis and the people were dying of the famine. In general, the revolution overthrew the monarchy. The best results were achieved by destroying the old society. After the revolution, France got an opportunity to grow the modern-day society. The main political effect of the English Civil War was an establishment of the new type of army. Also, this war became an example for other countries that everything can be changed. The social effect of the revolution caused the huge changes. The destruction of aristocracy brought the power to the people and they got their chance to obtain the rights. The social impact of the English Civil War had more negative character. Thus, people lost an opportunity to any kind of democracy. However, all the revolutions have a similar point such as they represent people’s attempts and hopes to the changes and the opportunity to get a better life.