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Flashcards on the Terror (French Revolution)
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- The French Revolution
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AQA A-level flashcards on the Terror (French Revolution)
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a) Decree of 7 May 1794 – Convention accepted the Cult of Supreme Being.
8 Jun 1794 – organised a large ‘Festival of the Supreme Being’ in Paris.
b)
France Hypocritical - Robespierre had criticised the power of the Catholic Church, yet
he was now trying to create a state-endorsed religion, w him as the High
The Revolution Priest.
o By spring 1795 of the Terror, most churches had been closed.
The Terror o Made Robespierre seem like a despot, another thing he criticised.
Alienated ppl on both sides (most of France was Catholic of anti-clerical).
Did the Cult of Supreme Being cause the o Catholics – God was the only ‘Supreme being’, so following the new
fall of Robespierre? o
religion could lead to damnation in Hell.
Anti-clerics (incl most members of the CGS) – saw this as a step
a) Details [2] o
towards the re-into of Catholicism.
Contributed to the disputes between the CPS & CGS, weakening the
b) Yes [7] b)
CPS & causing Rob to lose support from the CGS.
c) No [2] Dechristianisation wasn’t actually an official gov policy (it was mostly driven
by the sans-culottes) & Robespierre actually had disputes w Fouche, a
supporter of dechristianisation.
The festival was quite pop b/c it gave ppl a day off work & a chance to have
fun.
Sans-culottes held quite a lot of power.
o The fall of Louis XVI & the Girondins were both largely caused by sans-
culotte action via journees.
o Most of the national guard consisted of sans-culottes – they had the
quasi-military power to support or overthrow Robespierre.
Evidence of loss of support
2. Revolution o Intro of the General Max on 23 Jul 1794 caused wages to drop by ½.
o Sans-culottes had heavily supported the Herbertists, who they saw as
Terror their voice in politics.
o As a result, sans-culottes no longer saw Rob as sympathetic to them.
Reasons for Rob’s fall Lack of support meant the Thermidorians were more confident.
Loss of support from sans-culottes o Less worry of sans-culottes supporting Robespierre against any
attempted coup - when Robespierre called on an insurrection, the sans-
[=11, =1] o
culottes ignored.
Sans-culottes didn’t rescue Robespierre when he was being arrested.
o Sans-culottes were more likely to accept the new gov as they had
become disillusioned w Robespierre’s gov.
The coup of Thermidor was largely an inside Job – most of the
Thermidorians were also members of the Convention, incl Barras & Fauche.
The lack of support from sans-culottes didn’t become imp until near the end.
The execution of Hebert & Danton, who were previously strong supporters
of the rev, showed he was ruthless.
o Billoud & Callot had been close to Hebert & felt threatened by
Robespierre.
o This also alienated many sans-culottes.
W/drew from the CPS & Convention for months – led to incr speculation &
gave ppl a chance to conspire against him.
France – Terror o Acceleration of executions in Jun & Jul 1794 (political purges)
Reasons for the Fall of Robespierre
showed that this was not an empty threat.
Made a speech on 26 Jul 1794 threatening to denounce ppl (which meant
Robespierre’s own actions
certain death).
Long standing quarrels w supporters of dechristianisation & terrorists (esp
[=9, =1] Fouche).
o Religious policies (e.g. Cult of Supreme Being) alienated both
Catholics & supporters of dechristianisation.
His actions made him look like a despot & therefore against the principles
of the rev.
Were it not for the decline in external threats from war, ppl would’ve still
seen Robespierre as necessary & would not have wanted to de-radicalise the
rev.
, Ended the terror & led to the Thermidorian reaction.
Liberalised the political landscape – Jacobins who were alive
returned to the convention & closeted royalists were able to express
their views openly again.
Control over religion was relinquished – the state was declared
France – Terror neutral on matters of religion & freedom of worship was restored on
21 Feb 1795.
Significance of the fall of Robespierre / Trials became fairer b/c the rev tribunal was abolished & the Law
of Prairial (denied the accused any effective right to self-defence &
Coup of Thermidor eliminated all sentences other than acquittal or death) repealed.
Not a massive change in who was in charge – the Thermidorians
[=5, =2] were made up of ppl who were in the committees & the convention.
BUT the white terror emerged.
But this was short lived (1 yr), not institutional, & much less
widespread – The Great Terror was an organised political
programme, but the White Terror was a series of uncoordinated
attacks by local activists w no central organization.
Summer of 1793, caused by resentment of the Jacobin
takeover in many deps across France, rebels rejected the central
authority in Paris.
Widespread – caused disturbances in 60/83 deps.
The federal revolt incr concerns abt internal & external threats,
which gave an excuse for terror – a rev gov was created & price
controls introd.
France – Terror o Revolt@ Toulon led to GB involvement.
Significance of the Federalist Revolt o Diverted resources needed for the war.
Resistance was relatively weak
[=5, =5] o small forces – 3500 in Marseille, 400 in Bordeaux.
o There was only significant resistance in 8 deps.
o The forces didn’t co-op or move from home, making
them easy to defeat (guerrilla warfare).
The war already gave the gov an excuse for terror.
Many federalists were actually supporters of the rev who just
felt the benefits they gained were being threatened.
Girondins (aka Brissotins) began resisting the momentum of the
rev, which caused conflict w the Montagnard. They fell in the journée
of 31 May 1793, leading to the mass execution of Girondins.
Reinforced the power of the sans-culottes.
o But their power had already been shown in the storming of
Bastille & the overthrow of the monarchy.
Led to the federal revolt (caused by resentment of the Jacobin
France – Terror takeover in many deps across France) – rebels rejected the central
authority in Paris & caused disturbances in 60/83 deps.
Significance of the Fall of the Girondins o Resistance was relatively weak: small forces – 400 in
[=6, =3] Bordeaux -, guerrilla warfare, & only significant resistance in
8 deps.
Allowed for the Terror to develop.
o The federal revolt incr concern abt internal threats, which
gave an excuse for terror – a rev gov was created & price
controls introd.
The war already gave the gov an excuse for terror.
o Allowed the Montagnard & Robespierre to rise to power.
By Feb 93, the value of the assignat had fallen to 50% of its orig. by Aug, it
was 1/3. Starvation & poverty was rife.
Weakened support for the Convention & made the gov seem incompetent.
o Sep 1793 – March of Enrages –demanded the Convention deal w
the starvation & poverty in France.
o Farmers resorted to subsistence farming b/c the general max fixed
prices below the cost of production. The gov responded by raising
France – Terror o
the max in Feb 1794, so sans-culottes felt betrayed.
Grain price controls imposed by the convention in May 1793
Significance of the economic crisis
backfired & led to a black market for grain so food prices rose.
Informed gov policies – In response to the journée of Sep 1793, the gov
[=8, =1] introd the general maximum (fixed the price of essential goods @ 1/3 rd above
the price of Jun 1790) & created the armée révolutionnaire (AR) to enforce it.
More control, terror, & violence was required to impose the policies the
gov introd (e.g. the maximum) – made the rev even more radical
Incr the power of the sans-culottes – the AR mainly consisted of sans-
culottes, so now they were hangry & armed.
A large a part of the economic crisis & incr in terror was b/c of the ongoing
war.
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