Robespierre's Terror

Maximilien Robespierre once said "Lead the people by reason and the people's enemies by terror.(Halsall)" There is no one more well-known in the French Revolution than Maximilien Robespierre. His name symbolizes a period of time during the Revolution known as the Terror. As the Enlightenment ideas, like equal rights for all man, flows in the European countries, Maximilien Robespierre was influenced by theses new ideas and carry out these ideas during the French Revolution. He supports equal rights to all man and put an end to aristocratic privileges. One of the most controversial things that he did was the Terror. The idea of using Terror is to prevent counter-revolution. During the time of Terror, because the false believe he had, many innocent lives were taken. At the same time as Maximilien Robespierre grew in power and threads the National Convention(Halsall); as a result people begin to fear the absolute rule by Maximilien Robespierre. Maximilien Robespierre set off the Terror and the execution of many guiltless people, his ideals was cold-blooded, ruthless, and meaningless; and made him a more of a supreme leader.

The French Revolution, like any other revolutions, it did not happen over night; it starts with generations of bad policies and decisions made by the kings of France. Under the Old Regime in France, the king, Louis XIV, was an absolute monarchy. He had all the power in the government. The French society is divided in to three Estates, the clergy, the noble, and the peasantry. A group called the bourgeoisie is also considering in the peasantry, but they are more independent financially and well educated too. Maximilien Robespierre is also a bourgeoisie, worked as a lawyer, most of the bourgeoisie work as shopkeeper and professional job instead of farming. Eighty percent of the French population is consider of peasantry, they are the fundamental people that support the French society. The French King spent money collected from tax, which is mostly from the peasantry, carelessly on new palaces and luxuries goods; while the noble and clergy pay little or no tax at all.

As this trend continues, French's debt builds up, and is digging itself deeper and deeper in to an irreversible financial crisis. As a result Louis XVI tried to raise tax form the noble to cover his expense, but it was voted down. As food prices skyrocketed, Louis XVI had no choice but to call the Estates-General to meet in Vercelli on May 5th, 1789(Duiker). This is the first time in more than one hundred and seventy-five years the Estates-General had meet. During the meeting, conflicts between the Third Estate and the other two Estates rise. The Third Estate wants a more fair voting system, voting by head, which means that each person in the Estates-General has one vote, rather than each Estate have one vote and a veto power over the other Estate. The Third Estate tries to push this idea so that their voice could be heard, but the other two Estates strongly opposes, fearing that their aristocratic privileges will be taking away by the rise of Third Estate.

As the disagreements between the Third Estate and the rest of the Estate-General worsen; On June 10th, 1789(Duiker) the Third Estate, voted and declaring themselves as the National Assembly, and separate themselves from the Estate-General. On August 4th, 1789(Duiker) the National Assembly abolished feudalism, a big step away from the Old Regime, the nobles and clergy soon lost their special privileges. On August 26th, 1789(Duiker), the National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It was very similar to the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. Maximilien Robespierre now as a well know revolutionary during the French Revolution, he acted strongly to promote these new ideas; "He gained a reputation as the most honest man of the Revolution" (Gale). In order to put a complete end to the Old Regime, Louis XIV was arrested on August 13th, 1792, and sent to the prison. On 21st of September, the National Convention declared France a republic and eliminates the monarchy.

After the arrest of Louis XIV, Maximilien Robespierre took argues that the king must be executed, while before he had opposed the harsh executions of any person. Maximilien Robespierre thinks that the King must be taking out in order to have a successful Revolution.

On his speech, Robespierre said:" This is no trial; Louis is not a prisoner at the bar; you are not judges; you are - you cannot but be - statesmen, and the representatives of the nation...... It is with regret that I pronounce, the fatal truth: Louis ought to perish rather than a hundred thousand virtuous citizens; Louis must die, so that the country may live." His reason for execute the king is that the king creates a threat to the newly formed Republic. Not long after the execution of Louis VXI, the National Convention set up the Committee of Public Safety. The job of the Committee of Public Safety is to provide protection for the nation against its enemies, both foreign and domestic(Duiker), and to supervise the already existing parts of the government. There are only twelve members in the Committee, and Maximilien Robespierre is the leader of this Committee.

Maximilien Robespierre leading the Committee of Public Safety gives him even greater power. Under the lead of Maximilien Robespierre the Committee stabilized food price, and creates a huge defensive army. The job of the Committee of Public Safety is to protect the country. He began to see enemies that threat the Republic everywhere. To protect the French population from these "terrorists" and "enemies", Maximilien Robespierre launched The Reign of Terror. The Committee of Public Safety began to send out spies around the country. Any hint of opposition was considerate as against the Republic and the person was quickly put to execution.

Although he did not support the death penalty, but was putting over 17,000 people under the guillotine; Maximilien Robespierre saw no mercy in his Terror. The Terror continued for about a year. As the needs of the Terror decreases, so did his power. People in the National Assembly begin to fear for their own life, and is this fear turns in to action (Bender).
The Terror Maximilien Robespierre created was not needed for French people, this directly let to his downfall. On July 24th 1974 Maximilien Robespierre was arrested during his speech and lives the last hours of his life in jail. The next day, he and some close member of his followers were executed. The idea of Terror Maximilien Robespierre created was very different than his other ideas, the Enlightenment ideas was no longer to be found. During the Terror he shows us a different side of him. It is this change in his own way of thinking lets to his own death, becoming the last "victim" of the Terror he created.

All the innocent lives Maximilien Robespierre took and the idea of Terror parallels to what a king of an absolute monarchy will do. Although he put out and supports many new ideas that is better for the people, but he was on a track back to the Old Regime, and to an absolute leader. The idea of Terror is not what the French people want. What he did to the French society is more far harm than good, and the fear he unleash turned against him at the end.

Citation

Halsall, Paul. Maximilien Robespierre: Justification of the Use of Terror. 1997. Fordham < http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robespierre-terror.html>
Duiker, William, and Spielvogel, Jackson. World History 3rd Edition Beginnings of French Revolution Wadsworth, 2001 566-568
Gale, Mich. Maximilien Robespierre 2008. Biography Resource Center http://galenet.galegroup.comezproxy.bpl.org/servet/BioRC>
Bender, David. The French Revolution the threat of defeat and the reign of terror 1999. San Diego, CA Greenhaven Press, Inc. 97-10
Kreis, Steven. The French Revolution: The Radical Stage, 1792-1794 May 13, 2004 http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/robespierre.html>
Halsall, Paul. Maximilien Robespierre: the Cult of the Supreme Being. 1997. Fordham
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robespierre-supreme.html>