The Reign of Terror

Louis XVI tries to RUN• Louis XVI tries to ESCAPE to Austria

– June 1791, he is caught and put under house arrest

• Legislative Assembly seizes more power

Factions of the Legislative Assembly

Radicals Moderates Conservatives

Opposed King& Monarchy

Demanded a Republic

Favored someChanges

Favored limited monarchy

JacobinsWhat: The most radical group of reformers in France

Danton MaratRobespierre

“Louis XVI mustdie because the

nation must live!”Dec. 1792

Legislative Assembly Declares War on Austria

• Radicals wanted to expand French Revolution to all of Europe

• Austria & Prussia thought it could help Louis XVI– warned France NOT to hurt the KING

Anarchy in Paris

• 1792: As the Prussian troops approached Paris, people rioted—Paris fell into anarchy

• The Legislative Assembly responds:– Proposed idea of a REPUBLIC– The King was “deposed”– Dissolved itself & set aside Constitution– Called for “new” elections– Sans-culottes lead way to victory

National Convention

• What: a new assembly elected in France• mostly middle class (only 70 of 750 are nobles/clergy)

• Different political factions fight for POWER

• Foreign Powers threaten Paris (Prussia, Austria etc..)• Great Britain, Holland & Spain join fight against France

• National Convention orders a draft into the army

Louis XVI Executed• Jacobins put Louis XVI on

trial for treason

• He is sentenced to death– January 1793 he is executed

“Louis XVI mustdie because the

nation must live!”Dec. 1792

Maximilien Robespierre

• Assumes leadership of Jacobins

• Believed force & violence were needed to “wipe out” all evidence of France’s monarchy

• Sought to create a “Republic of Virtue”

A Republic of Virtue or Reign of Terror?

Primary Source Reading Analysis

Committee of Public Safety

• 12 person committee elected by National Convention

• Robespierre becomes a virtual dictator– July 1793-July 1794

• Execute people viewed as threat to Republic– People often related to monarchy or nobility

National Assembly (1789)

Legislative Assembly (1791)

War with Austria & Prussia (1792)

National Convention

Radicals declare Republic & execute King (1793)

The Reign of Terror (1793-94)

Road toTerror

Video Continued

Stages of RevolutionStage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Reign of Terror

• 1-Year in Length– July 1793 - July 1794

• Robespierre’s execution marks end– July 1794

• 3,000 executed in Paris– Up to 40,000 total deaths

The Directory

• After Reign of Terror => National Convention forms a new legislative body: The Directory

• Directory puts Napoleon in charge of Army

Revolution: 1789-1794 Was it worth it?

PhilosophesNational Assembly

LegislativeAssembly

NationalConvention

ReignOf Terror

Marie Antoinette’sLast Words?