Radical Revolution & ReactionCHAPTER 18 SECTION 2

The Move to Radicalism

The First republic meet on Sept 1792. Made up of mostly lawyers, professionals & property owners, many of these individuals were under the age of 45. One of the first things they did on this day was to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic.

The abolishment of the Monarchy was not originally the intent of the Revolution, they wanted to keep the monarch, but draft a constitution that would limit his power. Under this new plan, there would be no monarchy at all, and all political aspects of the republic would be governed by elected officials.

The Fate of the King

The population was now divided into factions, on one side you had The Girondins (wanted to keep king alive) and Jacobins (wanted King dead to avoid threats to the revolution.)

In early January 1793 King Louis XVI was sentenced to death and that sentence was carried out on January 21st. The king was beheaded by a guillotine.

The execution of the king brought an even more violent fervor to France. The execution of the king had a negative impact on the Girondins as well as other monarchs around Europe.

The Fate of the King

After King Louis XVI execution a coalition made up of Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Britain and The Dutch republic all declare war on France.

France responded by organizing within the newly created Committee of Public Safety. Under the leadership of Georges Danton & Maximillian Robespierre, the French prepared for invasion.

The Reign of Terror

In order to bring calm to a divided France, the Committee of public safety was now running the government. Courts were set up to deal with domestic threats to the revolution. These policies became known as the reign of terror.

Over 40,000 French people were executed during the reign of terror many of them accused of being sympathetic to the king. Among those executed by the guillotine were Marie Antoinette and Olyme de Geouges who advocated for more female participation.

In Lyon France the Committee of Public safety ordered their troops to put down a protest That included 1,880 casualties.

A Nation In Arms

With troops from numerous European kingdoms quickly approaching the French border, the Committee of Public Safety sent a decree to raise an army.

So successful was the Committee of Public safety decree that they were able to raise an army of over 1 million people, easily the largest in Europe and far larger that the armies of the other invading kingdoms.

With this new revolutionary Army France was able to push back the invaders and in some cases force some kingdoms to cede land to them. France now included territory that at one point belonged to Austria, Germany & the Netherlands.

End of Terror

As the fear of foreign invasion subsided, so too did the Reign of terror. Still, important figures such as Robespierre were still obsessed with ridding France of all corrupt elements.

With the Revolution now in a better position than at any other point since it began, steps were taken to ensure that the enlightenment ideals that inspired them could now be implemented. This included limiting the authority of the Commission for public safety, the drafting of a new constitution, and the reopening of churches.

To keep one group from gaining too much influence the constitution set up 2 legislative houses, whose members were chosen by electors, or qualified voters (must be male, must own property)

The Directory

The new constitution also created a committee of 5 members known as the Directory. This committee which chose its members from 1 of the 2 legislative houses became known for its corruption and was closed in 1799.

Many within France were still not on board with the new style of government. Some wanted to reinstate a King, others wanted a more radical system of government.

The Directory dealt wit these dissidents by controlling the military. In 1799 the military turned on the committee, overthrowing the government in a coup d'état. This coup was led my General Napoleon Bonaparte.