The French Revolution

Part 3: The Sans Culottes, The War Spreads, and The Reign of
Terror

Previously...

Sept. 1792 / Jan. 1793

France has declared war on Austria

Louis is put on trial for high treason
Louis is found guilty and was beheaded in public by the newly
invented guillotine

Louis must die so that the nation may live.

-Robespierre

The Sans Culottes

The Sans Culottes was the name given to the group of
working class people who helped overthrow Louis XVIs
monarchy

The Sans Culottes saw the monarchy and nobility as their

enemies

The Sans Culottes wore trousers instead of knee breeches

The Sans Culottes

Sans culottes means

"without breeches". French
revolutionaries were given
this nickname because they
wore pantalons instead of
the short breeches which
were previously the norm
and which became
associated with the nobility.

The French word pantalons

was anglicized as pantaloons
and later shortened to pants.

The Sans Culottes

The Sans Culottes felt that political and government power
should belong to the people

Believed strongly that every man should have equal rights,

including the right to vote

Claimed the right to carry weapons and to use them against

their enemies

The War Spreads

1793

Outraged by the execution of Louis XVI, other Monarchs

around Europe join the fight against French revolutionaries

France declares war on Spain, Britain, and Holland

France rushes into many battles that they end up losing and
seem like they are on the verge of defeat

The War Spreads

The price of food remains very high and is rising

France orders 300,000 men to join the army

At this point during the revolution, the French government is

divided into two sides...

The War Spreads

Jacobins

Girondins

Supported by the Sans Culottes

Much more moderate than Jacobins

Blamed Girondins for France being

defeated on the battlefield

Opposed to the idea of an absolute

monarchy

Blamed Girondins for the continuing

rise of food prices

Opposed the extreme violence of the

Revolutionaries

More radicalized than Girondins

The Reign of Terror

1792-1793

The divide between the Jacobins and the Girondins leads to

revolts around France

September Massacres: Approximately 1200-1600 prisoners

were killed

Revolt Continues: guillotine, mass drownings, mass graves

The Reign of Terror

The French Government establishes the Committee of Public
Safety, lead by Robespierre

The Committee had 12 members and had the power to do

anything they thought necessary to save France

The Committees rule was so harsh that it became known as

the Reign of Terror

The Reign of Terror

Law of Suspects:
Anyone who by their behaviour, their contacts, their words, or
their writings, showed themselves to be enemies of liberty

Over 250,000 suspects were put in prison across France

17,000 suspects were executed by guillotine during the Reign

of Terror, including Marie Antoinette in October 1973

The Reign of Terror

In an attempt to restore peace in France, the government
orders a Mass Levy

French armies grow to 800,000 people in size

Army begins winning battles vs Austrians, helps halt revolts

in France

Results of the Reign of Terror

French armies defeated Austrian forces in a series of battles
Revolts and rebellion around France were halted
France avoids a famine, but cost of food remains high
Cost of success: 35,000-45,000 people were executed
Many peoples rights and freedoms had been severely limited

Results of the Reign of Terror

Committee of Public Safety has become a 12 man dictatorship
Committee of Public Safety becomes very unpopular with the
French government and the French people
Government gets rid of Committee, kills Robespierre
Prisoners jailed because of Law of Suspects were freed
Thus, the Reign of Terror comes to an end

Discussion Activity

Terror is only justice: prompt, severe, and

inflexible; it is less a distinct principle than a
natural consequence of the general principle of
democracy, applied to the most pressing wants
of the county.
- Robespierre
What does this quote mean?
Discuss.