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September Massacres September 1792 In late summer 1792, news reached Paris that the Prussian army had invaded France and was moving quickly toward the.

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Presentation on theme: "September Massacres September 1792 In late summer 1792, news reached Paris that the Prussian army had invaded France and was moving quickly toward the."— Presentation transcript:

1 September Massacres September 1792 In late summer 1792, news reached Paris that the Prussian army had invaded France and was moving quickly toward the capital. Rumors spread that the Prussians would find eager support from Parisians who secretly opposed the Revolution, especially disobedient priests. On September 3 and 4, inflamed by radical propaganda, ongoing food shortages, and fear of the invasion, crowds broke into the prisons where they attacked the prisoners, including disobedient clergy, who were feared to be counterrevolutionaries who would aid the invading Prussians. This outbreak of violence in the name of defending an endangered Revolution from its enemies within France has been cited by some historians as evidence of an natural tendency toward bloodshed on the part of the Jacobins. To others, the event suggests the unfortunate extremes to which well–meaning and sincerely frightened revolutionaries were willing to go to move forward with the cause of social and political change, in the face of difficult wartime circumstances.

2 The First Meeting of the National Convention September 1792 In September 1792 the newly elected national convention began meeting. The convention had been called to draft a new constitution, but it also served as the ruling body of France. It was dominated by lawyers, professionals, and property owners. Two-thirds of its deputies were under the age of 45, but most had some political experience as a result of the revolution. Almost all distrusted the king. It was no surprise that the National Convention’s first major step on September 21 was to abolish the monarchy and establish a republic, the French Republic.

3 Execution of Louis XVI Jan 21, 1793 By December of 1792, the Assembly had been replaced by the Convention as the official government of France. The Convention was divided into two factions: Jacobins and Girondins. The biggest ideological difference between the two was that the Jacobins were in favor of executing Louis XVI, and the Girondins were opposed. The Girondins also thought that the King had the right to a trial, and the Jacobins did not. Robespierre, who was a radical Jacobin, had this to say on the subject: "Louis cannot be judged, he has already been judged. He has been condemned, or else the republic is not blameless. To suggest putting Louis XVI on trial, in whatever way, is a step back towards royal and constitutional despotism; it is a counter-revolutionary idea; because it puts the Revolution itself in the dock. After all, if Louis can still be put on trial, Louis can be acquitted; he might be innocent. Or rather, he is presumed to be until found guilty. But if Louis is acquitted, if Louis can be presumed innocent, what becomes of the Revolution?" (Doyle, p.195) Despite Robespierre's speech, Louis was brought to trial on December 26, 1792. On January 15, 1793, 361 of the 700 deputies of the Convention voted to execute Louis. On January 21, Louis XVI was executed in what is today the Place de la Concorde.

4 The Reign of Terror September 1793 – July 1794 This image shows the guillotine surrounded by the heads it has been responsible for removing. Although the print is sinister, its caption states that the Terror is dreadful, but necessary. This was a commonly held belief in 1793-1794 when the guillotine was a means of purging France of those who were deemed a threat to national security. Reign of Terror lasted from September 1793 until the fall of Robespierre in 1794. Its purpose was to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders. From January 1793-July 1794, France was governed by the Committee of Public Safety, in which Danton and Robespierre were influential members. In the course of nine months, 16, 000 people were guillotined, but executions of those labeled "internal enemies" of France took place throughout the country. During this time there was a shift in power within the committee from Danton to Robespierre. Danton had a strong physical presence and was an incredible public speaker, while Robespierre was less passionate. However, Robespierre was a hard worker who was very ambitious. He blindly believed in the work of Rousseau, who argued that men are all born good at heart and are corrupted by society. It was these beliefs that caused him to continue the Terror even when it was no longer necessary. In 1794, the armies of France were very successful against their enemies, which meant that the Terror was no longer necessary. But Robespierre continued the Terror because he wanted to purge France of everyone who was corrupt. The killing ended when Robespierre was executed on July 28, 1794.

5 The Rise of the Revolutionary Army September 1792 European armies began gathering their forces to invade France in order to restore order and Louis XVI to the throne. The French Revolutionaries reacted by declaring war on Austria and putting together a huge army. By September 1794, the French army had over a million soldiers (Created by a draft of able bodied men). It was the largest army ever seen in Europe, and it pushed invaders back across the Rhine river in Germany and was even able to conquer the Austrian Netherlands. This army was created from the people’s government, so its wars were the people’s wars.

6 The Rise (and fall) of The Directory 1795-1799 The Directory was the committee of 5 Directors that was elected to the position to rule over France. It was originally intended to create equality and fairness, but became known for its corruption and abuse of power. By the late 1790s the Directory relied almost entirely on the military to maintain its power. This reliance led to the coup d'état that occurred in 1799. After the coup d'état, a new form of the Republic was declared in France, and executive power was given to three consuls. Napoleon Bonaparte was declared First Consul, and possessed most of the power in government. Napoleon quickly took advantage of his situation and named himself First Counsul for Life in 1802. In 1804, France again became a monarchy when Napoleon crowned himself the Emperor of France. The French Revolution, which had begun as a reaction against authoritarianism, ended under a regime far more tyrannical than that of Louis XVI.


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