InNo+caroline.norgreen+09.06.10


 * War & Reign of Terror**

Beheading of Louis XVI


 * Notes - War & Reign of Terror **


 * War **


 * April 20th, 1792
 * France declares war on Austria
 * Attacks bases across the frontier – hoped for a quick win
 * Austria is better organized, equipped, and led – easily beat France.
 * Blame it on French Traitors
 * Believed to be an “Austrian Committee” in the Tuileries Palace
 * Prussia joins the Austrians – France becomes more afraid
 * Ordered every solider in Paris to the frontier
 * Put watch on foreigners
 * Priests who refused oath of loyalty would be expelled
 * July 11th, 1792
 * Assembly declares, “The Fatherland is in Danger”
 * Appeals to all citizens to volunteer for the army
 * Louis disagrees with Assembly – especially issues about the priests
 * Anger opposition – 20,000 storm Tuileries July 20th, shout abuse at him
 * Burnswick Manifesto
 * Duke of Burnswick enemy commander issue statement
 * Stated anyone who harmed Louis would be punished
 * Did not help Louis, put royal family in great danger
 * News reached Paris, Assembly ordered weapons to be given to all citizen – to defend themselves.


 * The Storming of the Tuileries **


 * August 10th, 1792
 * 20,000 armed men and woman storm Tuileries – help from National Guard
 * Swiss Guard were outnumbered – counld not defend the palace
 * Slaughtered 600 of the Swiss Guard


 * The Overthrow of the Monarchy **


 * Louis was suspended from office – royal family imprisoned
 * New assembly – Convention – was the new law-making body
 * September 21st, 1792
 * De-throne Louis
 * Declare France a republic
 * Put on trail two months later – guilty of high treason
 * Beheaded in public – January 21st, 1793


 * The // sans culottes // **


 * Working people of France – craftsmen, laundry women, clerks, etc.
 * Had similar believes:
 * Sans culottes hated nobles
 * Men wore trousers instead on knee breeches (culottes) like the nobles.
 * Would use no words with noble connection. (no “monsieur” – my lord, or “madame” – my lady)
 * Would address each other as “comrade” or “citizen”
 * Were republicans – hated monarchy – thought power should belong to people like themselves
 * Renames themselves, or called children names of great republicans of the past
 * Believed everyone should have equal rights (ex. Right to vote)
 * Address people outside the family as “tu” – way of saying you – familiar
 * Thought they had to right to carry weapons – using it against opponents
 * September 1792 – broke into a prison murdering 1400 prisoners
 * Suspecting them of supporting Austrians
 * Foreigners were horrified
 * French looked up to them


 * The War Spreads **


 * Execution of Louis XVI shocked many across Europe
 * Joined forces with Austria and Prussia – aim of the alliance was to destroy the new French Republic
 * Did not scare French revolutionaries – made them more warlike
 * Wanted to whip out all “tyrants” – kings across Europe and spread the revolution
 * Did not wait for coalition to attack – declared war against Britain, Holland, & Spain as well
 * France was at war with most of Europe
 * French look like they are almost defeated – lost battles and a commander to the Austrian side


 * Inflation and Shortages **


 * Government faced problems:
 * High priced food to pay for war
 * Currency was suffering from inflation
 * February 1793 – money was a half worth the amount printed
 * Bread was scare – farmers did not want to sell grain
 * Did not want assignats (currency) when they were losing value
 * Sans culottes raided shops and food stores to get food they couldn’t buy


 * Rebellion **


 * Another major problem hit government when ordering 300,000 more men to join the army
 * Deeply unpopular vote – peasants in Vendée joined armed rebellion against government
 * Convention divided up into two groups of politicians:
 * Girondins – held important posts in government
 * Jacobins – supported by the sans culottes
 * Jacobins blamed Girondins for failure on the battlefield and rising food prices
 * July 2nd, 1793 – angry crowd of sans culottes broke into Convention – expelled leading Girodins
 * Summer, 1793 – 60 out of 83 departments joined a revolution against the government


 * The Reign of Terror **


 * Convention set up a Committee of Public Safety
 * 12 members had power to do anything they thought would save France
 * Rule was so harsh it was known as the “Reign of Terror”


 * The Law of Suspects **


 * September 1793 - Committee started with the “law of suspects”
 * Groups of citizens could draw up a list of people they thought opposed the government
 * Suspects were people who “by their behavior, their contacts, their words or their writing showed themselves to be enemies of Liberty
 * In the following year ¼ million people were arrested and put in prison
 * Sent to Paris – trail by Revolutionary Tribunal (special court to deal with political offenses)
 * Impose sentences of imprisonment, deportation, or death
 * Roughly half of sentences were death sentences


 * The Guillotine **


 * Death Sentences were carried out with the guillotine
 * Doctor Guillotine suggested it was less painful than other methods
 * Around 17,000 suspects were executed with the guillotine during the Terror
 * Marie Antoinette being one of the first – October 1793 – for treason


 * Terror in Provinces. **


 * Took strong measures to crush revolts
 * In Vendée (biggest revolts) guillotine was too slow – would drown people or blast them with canons in from of open graves


 * Terror in the Armies **


 * August 1793 – ordered “Mass Levy”
 * Unmarried men had to serve
 * Married had to make weapons
 * Women had to make tents & help hospitals
 * Children had to make bandages & gunpowder
 * Increased French army to 800,000 men
 * Three time the size of coalition
 * Strict discipline – if Generals did not win, they were replaced with younger officers.


 * Economic Terror **


 * September 1793 – Law of the Maximum
 * Price of goods must stay at fixed prices until further notice
 * Death penalty to anyone who broke it


 * Terror and the Church **


 * Terror led to a disappearance of Christianity
 * Sans culottes closed churches, robbed them, sacked priests
 * “Cult Of Reason” – revolutionary ideas of Liberty replaced Christianity
 * New calendar – started when the Republic was formed (September 1792)
 * 12, 30-day months, each week being 10 days, with no Sundays


 * Results of the Terror **


 * Committee of Public Safety - Saved France from collapse
 * Mid 1794 – driven foreign military out & occupied Austrian Netherlands
 * Managed to avoid famine
 * 35-40,000 people executed or died in overcrowded prisons
 * Rights and freedom limited
 * Committee = 12 man dictatorship


 * The Coup of Thermidor **


 * Summer 1794 – Committee is extremely unpopular
 * Many thought they were too powerful
 * Feared ending up under the guillotine
 * See no need for Terror – France was winning war – there were no revolts
 * Sans culottes (biggest supporter) were unhappy – prices rising – wages held down
 * July 27th, 1794 – Convention got rid of the Committee
 * Robespierre (leading member) and his supporters – all arrested and executed
 * Convention reduced power, freed hundreds of suspects, abolished Maximum, got rid of Revolutionary Tribunal
 * Thus the Terror came to an end


 * Summary - **

This chapter of the French Revolution was extremely violent. Not only was King Louis removed from office, then beheaded, but the Committee of Public Safety also came into play. This was an extremely cruel part of the French History, where they would drown/shoot/behead anyone who were "enemies of Liberty". It was also a time where there was a great war being fought, France against the most of Europe, where the French rule stated EVERYONE had to help, even the children. Even after the Reign of Terror and the war was over the Terror continued even though there was no need for it. It continued until the Convention of France finally got rid of Roberpierre who was the leading member of the committee.


 * Questions - **

Why were the Committee so free to do whatever they pleased, could no one step in at all??? Why didn't the French put some sort of limit of the Committee's power?

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