Robespierre: A Man for the People?

Who was Maximilien Robespierre? Most people do not understand the role that Robespierre had within the French Revolution. He led France into a new government without a king, and eventually was consumed by that same government that he helped install.

Maximilien Robespierre was born in Arras, France on May 6, 1758. He studied law in Paris and was soon in the public's eye when he was elected to the Estates-General. Robespierre rose through the ranks within the Esates-General mainly because of his speaking ability and his uncorruptability.

When the first Committee of Public Safety was put into place in 1793, Robespierre was elected as one of the twelve to rule France. Robespierre's main idea was to create a new society for France. A society based on reason, good citizenship and patriotism. There wounldn't be kings or nobles, and all men would be free, equal and educated. There would not be any extreme poverty nor extreme wealth.

He believed that laws were put into place to preserve the rights for the people and not to violate those rights. The people would punish tyrants, defend the oppressed and help the unfortunate. Overall these ideas where welcomed with open arms by the people of France. For too long they had lived in a oppressive society ruled by kings and nobles, their rights and lands taken from them, and the future always looked bleak.

In order to follow through with his ideas a new regime had to be put into place. A regime that ruled by fear and terror. The Reign of Terror, September 1793 to July 1794, went down in history as one of the most ruthless periods for "democracy". Robespierre and his followers went after those who would stop the revolution. The first thing that had to be done was end all wars with foreign countries. The monarchs of Europe had decided that the revolutionary ideas of France must be contained.

The revolution must be stopped and a monarch must again take control of France. They feared that these revolutionary ideas would spread and cause problem for the rest of Europe. This new patriotism helped increase the size of the army, as many young men joined up. With it's larger army France was able to defeat the Austrians, Prussians, Spainish and English.

With the outside influences halted the next step was to go after those who were trying to hold France back and end the revolution. Robespierre's government went after the those who spoke against the new government, the counter-revolutionaries (who included clergy), and those who supported athiestic beliefs. The main instrument of destruction for these purges was the guillotine. They used the guillotine to establish a temporary dictatorship to save the new republic. In the countryside many went before the firing squads, often without a trial. No one knows for sure the number of people condemed to death due to the Reign of Terror, but it could be as many as forty thousand.

The Reign of Terror eventually killed the leader that started it. Robespierre was power hungry and as his opponents were killed off more opponents from within were created. He was seen as a dictator who ruled France by tyranny. This was the main issue that his Committee was originally fighting against. When the government of France split up, the pro-Robespierre supporters was on the outside. He was arrested and beheaded without a trial on July 28, 1794.

Robespierre, the man who helped overthrow the monarchy for the good of the people, showed us what happens when someone gains too mcuh power. His ideas of the ideal French society were crushed by his dictatorship, his belief that to gain rights and democracy we must destroy those who are against it. Eventually what was left of the government was replaced by the wealthy land owning bourgeois who favored the ideas of the early parts of the Revolution. They went on to get rid of any believer in Robespierre's ideas.

Resource:
Perry, Chase, Jacob, Jacob, Von Laue, Western Civilization, Ideas, Politics & Society Vol. II: From the 1600s (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992) 453-456