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Summary Robespierre's Fall + Collapse of the Terror
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Notes on Robespierre's Fall + collapse of the Terror during the French Revolution
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Robespierre’s fall + collapse of the TerrorThe weakening of Robespierre’s position:
The CGS had become increasingly hostile to the CPS
The many anti-clericals + atheists in the CGS were dismayed by the promotion of the cult of
Supreme Being + were infuriated not to have been consulted over the Law of 22 Prairial
Robespierre + Saint-Just had also set up a separate surveillance + police network to hunt for
counter-revolutionaries, infringing CGS powers
Dissension within the CPS also increased
- Saint-Just argued with Carnot over military tactics after the Battle of Fleurus
- Billaud-Varenne was angered, partly because he hadn’t been involved in the drafting of
the 22 Prairial law but more fundamentally because the aspirations of the two men had
grown further apart
In the NC deputies of the Plain feared that Robespierre was turning himself into a dictator;
particularly uneasy about the increasing nos. of persecutions + the knowledge that any one
of them could be next
The local government was breaking down because of the overload of work + atmosphere of
fear
Catholic priests + atheists alike were angered by the cult of the Supreme Being + feared for
the future of religion under Robespierre
Steps to the coup of Thermidor:
Things came to a head in Thermidor (July); Robespierre stopped attending the CPS at the
start of the month + didn’t reappear until 3 weeks later
- Claimed he needed time to ‘think’ but no one knows what he was actually doing + in the
tense atmosphere of mid-1794 his behaviour bred more suspicions
- It is said that no deputy dared go out w/o a pistol + prominent individuals hired
bodyguards + spies
8 Thermidor (26th July): Robespierre reappeared before the NC + gave his last speech there
- He accused different committees + groups including the CGS, those in charge of finance
+ the military administration for conspiring against ‘public liberty’
- He suggested more purges would be needed to cleanse France of its impurities + even
attacked other members of the CPS, accusing members of being part of a plot to ruin
patriots + the patrie
- This led to violent exchanges in which R refused to name those he was accusing
9 Thermidor (27th July): Saint-Just the ‘angel of the Terror’ arrived at the NC (chaired by
d’Herbois) ready to deliver a speech which hadn’t been seen by CPS
- He was swiftly interrupted + accusations were levied against Robespierre which led to
chants of ‘down with the tyrant’
- A decree to arrest Robespierre was passed unanimously
- Further decrees against his brother Augustin, Saint-Just, Couthon + Le Bas followed
- Following this ‘coup of Thermidor’ the accused were taken to different prisons for the
night
The reaction to the news in the Paris Commune was to try to raise a contingent of the
National Guard to defend Robespierre but the support of the sections was variable + only
1/3 responded
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