Who Is Georges Jacques Danton A Villain

Georges Jacques Danton (1759-1794) a man whose firm belief in his ideals and oratory abilities brought about a Revolution. This same man with France in his hands brought about the bloodiest period of the revolution betrayed the ideals of the Revolution he fought for and suffered demise by his own doing. This was a man who couldn’t be trusted, a hypocritical villain of the late 18th century.
Georges Jacques Danton first gained prominence in revolutionary circles when he became the president of the Cordeliers Club, one of the first groups to incite radical action of disposing the monarchy, King Louis XVI (1754-1793) A month after the Flight Varennes, the Champ de Mars Massacre occurred Danton and he fled to London fearing counter-revolutionary
uprising. After returning from London several months later he was elected into the insubordinate office after returning from London. He organised 10th August Insurrection 1792 which meant the absolute end of monarchy (including constitutional monarchy) in which he rose to the position of the minister of Justice Danton voted for the execution of King Louis XVI in January 1793 which resulted in Louis being executed on the 21st. He then became one of the nine original members of the Committee of Public Safety until he was excluded from the restructured Committee in July 1793. He proposed the use of revolutionary terror and centralised power that would be the main form of control the Committee had and instigated the Reign of Terror. In the later stages of the Reign of Terror, he opposed the extreme use of revolutionary terror but was executed on the 5th of April 1794 for leniency towards the enemy.
Georges Danton played a major part in the direction the de facto government, the Committee of Public Safety would take in cementing its power. Originally conceived as a 9 member committee by the National Convention to protect the newly reformed France from foreign invasion and internal uprisings, it ultimately overtook the National Convention as the ruling body of France. Danton was excluded from the Committee after it was restructured in July the same year it was formed but he still supported them nonetheless. Danton had already proposed two new initiatives that the Committee should take. He suggested the Committee should possess dictatorial powers to assert its authority. Danton in a speech in the evening of March 10, 1793 (when he was still in the committee) spoke “...We must learn from previous mistakes: We must be horrible, so that the people do not have to be.” This act of being horrible results in the death of 40,000 people. Danton despite being a major figure of the French Revolution fighting against an all-too powerful ruling class hypocritically created a government whose power was essentially unlimited. The Committee of Public Safety became the First Estate of post-Revolutionary times but without the royal connotations.
The other initiative Danton suggested was the use of revolutionary terror to cement the Committee’s power and deter any uprisings.
This proposal culminated into the bloodiest period in the history of the French Revolution, known as the Reign of Terror, were those with suspected of counter-revolutionary activities or sympathies were executed often without a proper hearing and trial. Danton warned the counter revolutionaries during his time in the Committee, “... so that every day one aristocrat, one criminal will pay with his head for his crimes” and “...know that the swords of the law is hanging above the heads of all its enemies,” This period was marked by an over excessive amount of deaths were almost every day tens maybe even hundreds were guillotined losing the ideals which brought about the French republic, freedom and liberty. Danton’s suggestion resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 and many of which could have been innocent. Despite Danton’s later conjecture to the Reign of terror, it was still too late as the damage was already
done.
Georges Danton was a man marked with inconsistencies and unknown motivations and side swapping which meant he couldn’t really be trusted.
A month after the event of the Flight to Varennes, when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to flee from France but failed, a petition was issued for the abdication of King Louis XVI but wasn’t signed by Danton. This is particularly strange for one of the major figures of the French revolution to not sign a petition that was firmly rooted as one of his goals. Danton would flee to London, England for several months, fearing counter-revolutionary uprising. This is in contrast to the later years of Danton’s life. Despite of the over looming prospect of death under Maximilien Robespierre’s rule of the Committee (Robespierre was adamant to get rid of Danton), he stayed in France rather than flee to London again) to oppose the extreme revolutionary terror. Georges Danton was originally a strong advocate of for revolutionary terror believing it to be essential to cementing the Committee of Public Safety’s power but later on his stance moderated. The change in stance meant Danton succumbed to his own creation, the Reign of Terror and was guillotined on the 5th of April 1794. This meant he was literally a villain to both sides. The changing of his stance was unusual and the motivation unknown. Danton was also marked with inconsistent behaviour throughout his career. Danton was a man who took up opposite sides with unknown motivations and was
marked with inconsistent behaviour making him unpredictable and someone who can’t be trusted, a villain to both sides.
Georges Danton was also a man who would use his position power to forward his religious beliefs and also for personal financial gain, not the interests and benefit of the general public. Aside from the revolutionary terror, Danton was still involved in several sectors of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton would strongly oppose or support laws concerning religion. Georges Danton was a recovered Catholic as remarking a Catholic reference in his dying remarks, “Ah, better be a poor fisherman then meddle with the government of men.” He would support the abolishment of anti-Christian sentiments but opposed the abolishment of the wages of constitutional priests which if passed meant severing ties between church and state. His bias towards taking up the Catholic side of a political argument showed Danton as biased in some respects and only as a way to further the cause of his Catholicism. Georges Danton was also marked with many unexplained accumulations of wealth during the Reign of Terror period. Danton notes the constant accusations of accumulation of wealth in a speech spoken on the 13th of June 1793, “...accusing me of having my pockets filled with gold...” One scandal was the French East India Scandal. The French East India Company was going under liquidation. Through blackmail and bribes associates of Danton and possibly Danton himself received a total altogether of half a million livre. Danton used his position of power to accumulate his wealth and those of his associate. This scandal would form a large proportion of the trial that would result in Danton’s execution. Georges Danton was a man who used his position of power to only further forward his own personal religious beliefs and for financial gain not the interests or benefit of the public, a major flaw that should not shape the world of politics he was embroiled in.
Georges Danton was truly a villainous man during the French Revolution marked by creation of the hypocritical Committee of Public Safety and the Reign of Terror, being unpredictable in what sides he took, having inconsistent behaviour and personal views and wealth getting in the way of politics. Even though his courageous acts during earlier stages of the Revolution, it doesn’t pardon the later events that he shaped and directed that lead to the bloodiest period of the French Revolution. His character in general had nothing particularly good. Georges Jacques Danton truly was villainous.