The Reign Of Terror Was Unjustified Dbq Essay

There are several reasons why the Reign of Terror was unjustified. During the period 1789 to 1794, somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 innocent people were killed, and the homes and property of many more citizens were destroyed. While this was happening, Robespierre, the leader of the Committee of Public Safety, failed to address the needs of the French people. The French people’s rights were violated, and they were no better off because they were just as poor as they had been before the Revolution.
During The Reign of Terror, French citizens lived in constant fear that they would be wrongfully accused of being enemies of the Revolution and then turned in to the Committee of Public Safety. Citizens who were charged of crimes against the state were brought forward to the Tribunal and denied lawyers. Many of these people were put to death, often within a day. According to the
The Revolutionaries thought silencing the people would stop rebellions and create order. Instead, the government was faced with an increased number of rebellions. The government had to focus more on internal threats than the war taking place with Prussia and Austria. The map on document C shows, “People here fiercely fought against the military draft called the levee en masse and against laws that tried to abolish Christianity in France.” This shows the government tried to use military force to stop citizens for standing up for their beliefs. Despite all the internal conflict, the common person was still poor and starving.
The French Revolution began with good intentions, including the abolishment of slavery and the creation of a Democracy. The Reign of Terror could be considered justified if these goals were achieved without the extreme bloodshed. The term “Reign of Terror” describes how awful the period actually was. The ends did not justify the means, and for this reason the Reign of Terror was