Extended Essay: History

Tittle:

French Revolution and the Terror: Revolutionaries do not make

best friends.

Research Questions:

To what extent did the inner-political turmoil of Paris during the

French Revolution led to the Reign of Terror between 1793-

1794?

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Table of Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………….3

1. The Montagnard’s and the Girondins…………………………………………………………4

2. The Divide between Paris and Rural France………………………………………………….

3. Vendeé Uprising………………………………………………………………………………….

4. The Order of the day is Terror…………………………………………………………………..

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Introduction

“Let’s make terror the order of the day!”1

This extended essay investigates the radicalization of the French Revolution (1789-1799).

The work undertakes an analysis of multiple factors underlying the political climate of Paris

which led to the Reign of Terror, the importance of the divided political landscape and in-

fighting, and the harsh blowback and resistance they have met in the areas outside of

Paris. More precisely, this essay aims at to analysis the possible factors that have led

to the Reign of Terror in Paris during the French Revolution.

The essay aims to assess the extent to the factors that have led the French Revolution to

fall into in-fighting and thus to the Reign of Terror, but also the reasons behind the in-

fighting between the political movements of the Montagnard’s and the Girondins. The

essay begins with analyzing the characteristics of rivalry between the factions, it’s origins

from the same party, and how it affected the revolution around their rivalry. After the

previous sections, it will continue by studying the reactions of the French departments

around Paris on their reaction to the Revolution, and the reaction to the exile of the

Girondins outside of Paris, to study as to whenever the sole factors laid in Paris.

From there, it will study the uprising in the rural parts of France who held animosity to

Revolution happening in Paris, the role of the Girondins in the uprising, and the reasoning

behind the uprising from the perspective of peasantry and clergy that dwelled in the

regions outside of Paris. Lastly, with it will study the role of Terror that had to the uprising

and the counter-revolutionaries in France.

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 1. The Montagnard’s and the Girondins

It must be understood, firstly, is that the Girondins and the Montagnard’s were at first both

members of the Jacobin Club, the largest republican movement during the French

Revolution. However, as seen by the introduction, they were not a homogenous group of

intellectuals. And it must be understood that they were not parties in the modern

understanding of the word, for they held no official title, as both names that both groups

are known for were either insults or nicknames, nor institution, for they were as much as a

political movement, so they were ideological.

Secondly, it must be understood that the Revolution was a moving moment of ideas. As

said by Timothy Tackett, “[…] the difficulty in understanding the Revolutionaries […] that

theirs was a moving reality in which values, perceptions and ideologies were[…]

developing and transforming[…]” (Tackett, 2015, p.3, passim), that it must be understood

that they were going through. The revolutionaries, and the revolution, was a cultural and

ideological movement.

The main schism for the Jacobins came during the debate for war, and whenever should

France carry towards waging war against Prussia and Austria, who has threatened the

French Revolution with the Declaration of Pilnitz 4, which stated that the Monarchs of

Europe would pay attention to the French Revolution and would promise severe

consequences if the French Royalty was harmed. This debate was in concern with the fate

of King Louis XVI, as the Jacobins desired to overthrow the King and bring him towards

people’s justice. However, the Jacobin faction whom Maximilien Robespierre was

identified with which would later be known as the Montagnard, held anti-war policies, and

wished to not engage in-conflict with the rest of the European powers in contrast with

Brissot of the Girondins, who firmly held pro-war policies. [Tackett 2015 p.155 passim.]

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This feud, originally described as a civil debate between the two [P.155 TT] devolved into a

personal feud when Brissot and the Girondins launched personal attacks on Robespierre,

claiming that he did not understand the people and the revolution and for Robespierre,

who himself advocated as a man of the people, grew bitter of.

However, it is not misunderstood as that they were opposites of each other in every matter.

In general, perhaps thanks to their shared past as members of the Jacobin club, they held

the same stance on the abolition of the monarchy and the principal of popular sovereign.

What they disagreed on, besides the stance on war, was their view of the masses. The

Montagnard saw themselves fundamentally as the friends of the people, and the warriors

of their rights. The Girondins, whoever, despised the masses to near physical extent,

comparing them to anarchists and “men of September” (TT p.229-230). Most likely

referring to the September massacre, where a hysteric mob of Parisians carried out

massacres of Swiss mercenaries in fear that they would break free and aid foreign or

royalist soldiers when they would attack Paris.

The feud would eventually create the factions known as the Montagnard’s and the

Girondins, as the allies of Robespierre and Brissot gathered around them and created

rivalries between the two groups. The rivalry was a bitter constant between the two, with

both groups usually defining themselves as something the other is not.

This war between the two groups dominated the political scene between 1792-1793, as

both groups came to a head when King Louis XIV was captured by the Revolutionary

forces captured the Royal Family in its attempt to escape to Montmédy on 21 st June, 1791.

With the capture of the King after his attempted escape, the resentment of the Royal

Family has become much more pronounced and led to the National Convection to hold a

trial in the name of the King’s treason against the people of France.

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However, there was a debate before the trial on how to handle Louis XIV, where the

Montagnard and the Girondins once again came to argue against each other specifically.

The National Assembly, while initially arguing about what to do with the King, have

gravitated generally towards executing the king. The Montagnard’s argued for the King’s

death, especially Robespierre and the newcomer Louis de Saint-Just, arguing that the only

way to satisfy the vengeance of the People was to immediately execute the King.

Meanwhile, the Girondins, argued towards holding a trial to judge Louis’s crimes towards

France in for seemingly no other reason then to oppose the Jacobins. (Faith and Desire. P.

145). This spirit of spiteful arguing could be called quintessential to the types of debates

the two groups had to each other, especially on the part of the Girondins. Despite

possessing legitimate criticism against the Jacobins, the Girondins decided to strangely

not use their leader who is Brissot, or their greatest public speaker who is Vergniaud, but

Jean-Baptiste Louvet. This interesting decision to employ Louvet, who was only a one-time

novelist, for the task of debating against Robespierre and the rest of the Jacobins who

were known for their oral debate skills, was done to create a scapegoat for the Girondins.

This decision led to the Girondins losing debates that were winnable by all accounts, as

Louvet had the tendency to attack Robespierre beyond what was necessary, often making

unfound attacks that could easily be proven false, by November 5. This, possibly, proved

to the Jacobins that the Girondins would prove a weak opponent to them.

By November 20th, Roland had informed the estates about the discovery of a secret safe

hidden in Tuileries which became known as the iron armoire. Despite this being a vital

component against the King, the iron armoire became an argument between the

Montagnard’s and the Girondins again in their continues feud against each other

[Shusterman 2013 p. 148 passim.]

Roland had claimed, alongside finding incriminating evidence against the king, that he also

found material that would incriminate the Montagnard’s and prove that they were in
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leagues with the French monarchists. The Montagnard’s were skeptical of Roland’s claim

and speculated that Roland had removed any incriminating evidence of the Girondins

themselves. The Montagnard’s, or Marat in particular, begun accusing Roland of stealing

jewelry in the armoire and such. Again, proving that both groups paid more attention to

their rivalries than the Revolution.

The in-fighting did not aid the Girondins, which in fact mostly strengthened pro-

Montagnard’s. All these factors combined has led to the minister of war, Jean-Nicholas

Pache, demanding that all 22 deputies of the Girondins need to be expelled from France

[Shusterman 2013 p.165 passim.]. This sentiment was backed by the mostly pro-

Montagnard’s faction in the National Assembly, who came to see the Girondins as traitors

and counter-revolutionaries.

'Part 2: The French Postures

In the meanwhile, in the French expanse outside of Paris, the outlook on the Revolution

wasn’t warmly welcomed. Much of the peasantry outside of Paris were not part of the

Parisian masses, nor were they part of the enlightened elite that strong-headed the

Revolution. The French peasantry outside of Paris still held strong religious sentiments

and a positive outlook on the clergy, which aided the clergy in prevailing in the countryside

even during the Revolution.

However, it could also be debated that like Paris before the Revolution, there was only

isolated revolts that could be regarded as isolated incidents rather than a sign of a

massive movement [Schama 2004 p.695]. Those revolts, rather then being born from

attacks against revolutionaries for attacking the clergy, could also be understood as being

born from dissatisfaction of the poorer families not being able to sell the ecclesiastical

property for profit. [Schama 2004 p.695-696]

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Another issue came from the execution of the King. The King’s status and relationship as a

father figure to the people, as explained by Timothy Tackett, was that the peasantry still

was the King as their father figure, or the father figure of the nation. Compared to the

Counter-Revolutionaries who see the government as a fraternity, a band of brother who

celebrated the death of the former King, the peasantry instead saw this as killing their own

father. [Tackett 2015 p…]

To the peasantry, the revolution in Paris created a Paris that they didn’t wish to rule them,

where they heard of strange rituals of Robespierre and others worshiped.

(NOTES)

- The Kings execution wasn’t accepted. They still saw Louis as the King, stil as the Father of the

Nation, unlike the Parisans who saw the rulling body of France as a fraternity now.

- Vendeé people were still pietious compared to Paris and the Jacobins. They still believed in the

clergy and saw Paris as a shitshow.

- The French Revolution really didn’t do shit for them, and made it actively worse for them in

retrospect.

- General Turreau’s words of calling it a true crusade might hold some value as they were fueled by

religious feelings in the Vendeé region (and whatever Girindon forces were slumming it up there.)

- The French Revolution could also be described as a Parisian revolution, as much of the country side

and other deputies disliked the French Revolution happening in Paris where they heard slander and

propaganda about the Jacobins and the political parties in the French Revolution.

- Expelling the Girondines was a phyrric victory as much of the Jacobins enemies started to turn

against Paris and the Revolution when the Girondines got expelled from Paris.

Part 3: The Verdeé Uprising

Part 4: The Order of the Day is Terror.

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 Part 5: Conclusion

In conclusion, the significance of the in-fighting in Paris, while important, were not the sole

factor that led to the Reign of Terror and the mass executions of anyone seen as a traitor.

The complex factors that made up the membership of both Montagnard’s and the

Girondin’s have led to the rising paranoia in the National Assembly and the Montagnard’s,

which led to the rising paranoia of the counter-revolutionaries, but there were already

elements of opposition to the French Revolution in the geo-social divide between the

French Countryside and Paris, who remained loyal to the French Clergy and French

Church.

Nevertheless, the rallying factors behind the banishment of the Girondin’s gave spark to

the uprising that boiling in the Vendeé region, giving the French peasantry and clergy a

figurehead behind to what rally to strike back against Paris that much of France saw as

pandemonium. The King’s execution, the strong piety of the peasantry, and the

propaganda against the Jacobins of idolatry worshipping strengthened the counter-

revolutionary spirit in the French Regions, without the need for the Montagnard’s and

Girondins feud. Nonetheless, the Girondins banishment and roles in leading the “counter-

revolutionaries” has led to the Vendeé uprising gaining traction and becoming a threat to

the Republic, thus showing that nonetheless it played a crucial role in the Reign of Terror.

Bibliography
Books and Printed Articles

Shusterman, N. 2013 The French Revolution: faith, desire, and politics, Routledge, London

Tackett, T. 2003 When the King Took Flight, Harvard University Press, Cambridge

Tackett, T. 2015 The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution, Belknap Press,

Massachusetts

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Andress, D. 2006 The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France¸

Palmer, R.R & Woloch Isaac, 2017 Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of Terror in the French

Revolution, Princeton University Press, New Jersey

Higonnet, P. 1986 The meaning of the Terror in the French Revolution, Commantaire,

France

Schama, S. 2004 Citizens: A Chronicle of The French Revolution, Penguin Books, England

Biard, M. & Linton, M. & Tackett, T. 2021 Terror: The French Revolution and Its Demons,

Polity, England