Begin this assignment by writing short biographies for Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Danton, and Jean-Paul Marat. Be sure to include the contributions or impacts that each made to French society during the 18th century. Finally, mention which of the three do you think was most influential in furthering the aims of "the terror", namely death of all those that supposedly continued to support the king. Be sure to justify your choice. Your post must be accompanied by an MLA works cited and might have to be posted in two separate posts if it exceeds to the word allowance set by blogger. All posts must be made before our first class next week.
Maximilien Robespierre was a brilliant orator and a scholar. He had, as a student, spoken to and praised Louis XVI. He eventually became a name, face, and speaker for the cause. He played a central role in the Committee of Public Safety, crying out for blood. He, for the most part, was in charge of France. He was eventually executed by his own Committee.
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton was a lawyer and a brilliant radical orator, similarly to Robespierre. In his days as a lawyer, he was accused of taking bribes from royalists. He was elected to the National Convention, and served as a minister of justice. He became a member of the Committee of Public safety. He was once again accussed of corruption. His non-aggression toward the church scared Robespierre, and he was executed as such.
Jean-Paul Marat had a newspaper. This newspaper was a pro-revolutionary propaganda publication. Fed up with all the bloodletting, a woman named Charlotte Corday stabbed him in his tub mid-bath. This made him a martyr and an icon, best depicted in Jacques-Louis David's "Death of Marat."
I belive that Robespierre was the most influential in the furthering of 'the Terror'. This is quite simply due to the fact that he seems to have had the most control over the revolutionary government.
Works Cited
Roberts, William J. "Danton, Georges Jacques." France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=FRA0512&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 10, 2012).
Maximilian Robespierre
ReplyDeleteRobespierre was born in 1758 and was raised was left on his own at an early age. His mother died when he was 6 months old his father left him soon afterward. Despite not having parents, Robespierre earned a degree in law and became a voice of political change. Using his great abilities to make orations, Robespierre made many speeches about civil liberty and won many of the citizens of the third estate in France. Because his ideas were so extreme, Robespierre didn’t earn the support of his legislature. After the king was decapitated and the French government began to change, Robespierre was elected one of the leaders in the National Convention. He was also elected leader of the COPS in hope that he would protect the republic during the problems of foreign war. However, in contrary to his beliefs about civil rights Robespierre executed anyone who seemed to oppose his revolutionary ideas. This caused many to oppose Robespierre and when he said that COPS would continue there action it was voted by the National convention for Robespierre to be arrested and executed in order to resolve the terror he caused.
Georges Danton
Danton was born in 1759 and was one of the main orators and leaders in the overthrow of the Monarchy. Danton received a degree in law and was taught by the Oratorians. Danton was involved in the storming of the Bastille and the move of the King’s Court from Versailles. In 1790 Danton became the leader of the Cordeliers whom believed in the need of a radical change to change France. He became famous amongst the people in France because he was a great orator. After the people of Paris stormed the Tuileries he became Minister of Justice and later Deputy of Paris. (which he resigned to join the national convention) Danton was quickly opposed to Robespierre who he saw as a competitor in the group. He voted for the execution of Louis XVI and voted for the exclusion of the Girondist group who he saw as a problem to the development of the convention. Danton was considered ‘too soft’ on counter-revolutionaries and was replaced by Robespierre in the COPS. Danton was left alone from all his supporters and arrested and killed for being an enemy of the Republic.
At an early age, Robespierre was interested in defending the people’s rights, and therefore decided to represent the 3rd Estate in the Estates General in March 1789. At this point, Robespierre had two main ideas he wanted to instill- he wanted the right for everyone to vote, and he wanted the Enlightenment ideas to be a part of the French government. He was opposed to the death penalty as well. During the Revolution, Robespierre became one of the main people in the National Convention to get Louis XVI off the throne. However, once the king had been killed, the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, which once again, Robespierre was the main leader for. By this point, though, Robespierre’s views had changed, as he was now for the death penalty, and immediately began to send citizens to guillotine. Robespierre was directly responsible for over 40,000 French citizens’ deaths as a result of his actions on the Committee of Public Safety. Towards the end of the terror, Robespierre was put to the guillotine himself at the request of the National Convention in July 1794.
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton, like Robespierre, was a key leader during the Terrors. However, previous to the terror, Danton was very involved in the Revolution, participating in the storming of the Bastille, and being named as the commander of the National Guard’s local district. Danton, during 1793, became a part of the National Convention, becoming part of the group known as the “Mountain”, as they sat in the highest row of benches, in addition to the fact that they were extremely important. As part of the National Convention, he was able to be apart of the vote to execute Louis XVI, which for a fact impacted the French society. Although Danton slipped out of the public eye after this momentous event, a year later, in 1794 Danton was accused of stealing the National Convention’s funds. The same year, he was executed as a result of the accusations.
Although Marat was originally a brilliant scientist, he began to focus on journalism when he realized he could express his disapproval of the Old Regime through the press. In September 1789, he started his own newspaper, where he boldly claimed his ideas in favor of the revolution. Even during the Storming of the Bastille, Marat had already become an “extremist” wanting anyone related to the king should be executed via the guillotine. In 1792, Marat was elected to the National Convention, specifically the “Montagnards”, which included Marat, Danton, and Robespierre. After a political party struggle (between the Jacobins and the Girondins), the Jacobins won, which Marat was a part of. Therefore, he gained a lot of public support for winning the power struggle. However, Charlotte Corday, a Girondin who despised Marat and his bloodthirsty ways, soon murdered him that same year. Marat impacted French society through his decisions he made while a part of the National Convention and the Montagnards. He also split the country into half as a result of the battle between the two political parties.
Of these three men, all of them played a huge rule in the Terrors, ultimately horrifying not only the French society, but also the rest of Europe. Overall though, Robespierre was the most influential in furthering the ideas of the “Terrors”, meaning that he was the main reason that people who were against the king died. Without Robespierre and his pro-death penalty ways, the Terrors might have been extreme, but not to the point of the execution of 40,000 individuals. Robespierre is ultimately the one to blame, as he played a huge role at the beginning of the Revolution, the middle of the Revolution, and especially at the end. If he hadn’t been so involved, the Revolution might have had a different outcome.
"Historical Character Directory." History Curriculum Homeschool. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"Robespierre Biography." Maximilien De. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
Jean Paul Marat
ReplyDeleteJean Paul Marat born in 1743 and went to college at 16 to study Medicine. He worked hard in science but he was rejected to ‘Academy des Sciences’ many times. Eventually, Marat figured Journalism was his thing and the political uprisings in France gave him an opportunity to express his bitter feelings with the old regime. He became one of the first journalists with radical ideas, most other journalists published liberal ideas. Marat became very extreme at the storming of the Bastille when he declared that 500-600 heads should be cut in order for a new regime to be put in place. In 1792 Marat expressed his ideas that a dictatorship with revolutionary ideas should be put into place. He was then elected president of the Jack o Bens who opposed the Girondins. He wrote many names of people who he thought should be killed in his newspaper which led to his own death by Charlotte Cordeil who felt sympathetic for those who opposed the revolutionary ideas.
I think Marat did the most to further the aims of the terror because he actually put groups and names of people who should be killed in his paper. Yes, Robespierre, Marat and Danton were all in the COPS but Marat went the extra mile to make sure those who disagreed with the republic were guillotined. Also, the fact that a citizen, Cordeil ,went to kill Marat on her own really shows the terror Marat was causing to the common people.
Works Cited
"Danton Biography." Georges Jacques Danton Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"World Biography." Maximilien De Robespierre Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
Maximilian Robespierre: Robespierre was a key figure in the French Revolution. He was a member of the Estates General and the Commission of Public Safety. I believe he was known best by his death penalty (guillotine), which he later was killed from. He sent out secret police and anyone that was not supporting, complaining, or not even being enthusiastic about the new regime, would be rounded up and would be executed publicly. At the end, he gained power and with that, he did not take responsibility. When I say that, I mean he took everything to far and was later executed after attempting suicide.
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton: Danton was also a leading figure in the French Revolution. He was also the very first president of The Committee of Public Safety, and also a member of the National Convention. He later accused Maximilian Robespierre of taking everything to far such as the executions of many citizens. He got a group of followers that opposed to Robespierre, and was later sentenced to death by Robespierre himself. He was guillotined on April 5, 1794; Robespierre following his steps not much later.
Jean Paul Marat: Jean Paul Marat was a physician, political theorist, a scientist, radical journalist, and a politician during the French Revolution. He is most known for being a radical journalist because Marat is the man that had the newspaper that accused people of crimes, basically giving them the death sentence to the guillotine. He would literally write the persons name on the paper. The People that he wrote about were the people that weren't necessarily enthusiastic about the new regime, maybe they still liked the old regime, and also people that complained about the way things were being run. He was later murdered by Charlotte Corday in his bath tub. Corday stabbed him because she did not agree with the paper on July 13, 1793. Corday was later sentenced to the guillotine. If you were to know one thing about Marat, it would be that he had a newspaper that accused citizens of crimes, and later the citizens would be executed.
- Personally, I believe Maximilian Robespierre was the key figure in the Reign of Terror and the French Revolution. Even though I believe Danton and Marat were key figures, they were not as key as Robespierre himself. Danton and Marat helped Robespierre with all of the executions, but they were not the ones making it happen. Robespierre Executed many people, and once he got power, he took it to far, and was later sentenced to death the same way he killed many others. That being the guillotine. He definitely impacted the French Revolution the most, and was a key figure in the route France took.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Marat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilien_de_Robespierrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Marat
Emma Trees
ReplyDelete10.11.12
Reign of Terror Research Assignment
Maximilien Robespierre: Maximilien Robespierre was born in 1758 and was killed in 1794. In 1789, he was elected to be the Estates General to meet with the other two estates of France. Robespierre led the “Tennis Court Oath” meeting after Louis XVI would not let the 3rd estate meet with him. Soon, the Commission of Public Safety was set up to defend France from external or internal threats. This group was led by Robespierre and was given extensive powers. Since the Committee of Public Safety had such unlimited power, they were in control during the Reign of Terror. Robespierre was one of the leaders of this group, so he had a lot of control over the country. Robespierre became obsessed with killing off enemies of the republic. He was corrupt with power and people began to realize that he was taking things too far. The Deputies of the National Convention voted to kill Robespierre in order to end the revolutionary fervor and the Terror. Robespierre was arrested and held in the City Hall. Early in the morning, there were gunshots heard from the room holding Robespierre and two other men. One had jumped out the window, one shot himself in the head, and Robespierre attempted suicide, but shattered his jaw with a bullet instead. Robespierre was killed by the guillotine in 1794.
Georges Danton: Georges Danton was born in 1759 and died in 1794. In 1789, he was a leader of the French revolution. Danton was elected to the National Convention in 1792. He soon joined the Committee of Public Safety as Robespierre was gaining more power and followers. Dalton wanted to change the way that the government was run, but Robespierre disagreed. When Dalton accumulated followers in favor of changing the government, Robespierre accused them of treason and corruption. Dalton and his followers were killed because of Robespierre’s accusation.
Jean-Paul Marat: Jean-Paul Marat was born in 1743 and was killed in 1793. He was the writer of a popular newspaper started in 1789 called “L’Ami du peuple”. This paper openly criticized the king and became outlawed. Marat fled France twice and published the newspaper secretly. Marat was elected to the Convention in 1792. Once king Louis XVI was killed, Marat began to accuse numerous people for saying things about the new government and trying to get them killed. He would put names in his paper and originally wanted 200 people killed. This number grew to 200,000. Marat was the cause of a lot of violence during the Terror. Charlotte Corday stabbed Marat in his bath in 1793 because she wanted the violence of the Terror to stop.
The biggest influence for the Terror was probably Robespierre. He had a lot of power at the time of the Terror and was a leader. Robespierre was obessessed with finding threats to the government and took it too far. He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people during the Terror.
"Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794." Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
"Danton, Georges Jacques." Facts on File History Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
"Ma." Glossary of People. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
Robespierre
ReplyDeleteHe was an excellent student and after his studying he became a lawyer before the French revolution began. In his teenage time, he was influenced by the ideas of Rousseau. He was a leader of Jacobins which actually lead the revolution in 1792. He played a key role in the Committee of Public safety which sent thousands of people to the guillotine. He started the Great Terror, because he believed that the terror is essential for a good government. Eventually, this controversial person got killed ironically by his own committee because of his speech about clean up the conspirators in the committee, which made all of the members in the committee felt in danger.
Danton
He was the son of a lawyer, and he had the same job as his father did. In his young age, he was influenced by Rousseau and Montesquieu a lot. Just like Robespierre, he was also a leader of Jacobins as well as the French Revolution. He agreed to kill the king and set up the committee in order to protect France from the enemies. He used to be the Minister of Justice after the revolution. However, after the revolution, he had a great conflict with Robespierre. As a consequence he was removed from the leaders group. During the Great Terror, he claimed that this policy is wrong. Finally, he was killed because of this statement by Robespierre. His death feared the members of the committee, made them think about if the terror was right.
Marat
He used to be a doctor, but in 1783 he gave up the medical research and turn into the political work. He was also a leader of Revolution. He established a newspaper named “Friend of the People”, which advertised the idea of democracy. His idea of revolution is pretty radical. Before the revolution he shouted for the people’s rights, which incited the French people to start a revolution. After the success of the revolution, he proposed to kill the king. After killed the king, Marat, as well as Robespierre, started the idea of terror. He was too radical about killing the enemies of the people that he received detest of the Girondins. Thus some of the people considered him as a tyrant. Eventually, he was assassinated by a woman who was a Girondin. He shouted for freedom and democracy, which promoted the revolution enormously.
In my opinion, Robespierre is the key role in furthering the aim of the “terror”. Although Danton and Marat are also important roles in the revolution, their contribution in the “terror” are not that influential as Robespierre did. Danton, who was actually the objector of the “terror”, was killed by Robespierre. Marat, as a matter of fact, died before the highest tide of the “terror”. Thus in fact, Robespierre was the most important role in the Great terror.
Work cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror
http://baike.baidu.com/view/66562.htm#4
http://baike.baidu.com/view/4798.htm
http://baike.baidu.com/view/66660.htm
Maximilien Robespierre:
ReplyDeleteHe was a lawyer and masterful orator. Robespierre was well known for his satire of the monarchy and his support of democratic reforms. He was elected as a representative for Arras in the Estate General and later devoted himself to the National Assembly. He supported civil rights, suffrage, public offices, and equality for all. His impassioned battle for liberty won him many followers and haters. The workers supported his views on equal rights, but Louis XVI and members of the First and Second Estate were wary of his radical ideas.
Robespierre’s main power base was in the Jacobin club, which he led during throughout the Revolution. He was initially given the title of “incorruptible” and was opposed to the death penalty. When he saw that counter-revolutionaries were starting to take power within France, he established the National Convention as the new form of government and started to take control. He was desperate to see his ideas work and decided that the end justified the means.
Many of the National Convention started to fear him and finally sentenced him to death when he refused to name the men on his new list of suspects. He was taken to the Guillotine and killed in July 1974.
Georges Danton:
Danton, like his contemporary Robespierre, was a lawyer. He formed the Cordeliers Club and was a prominent member of the Jacobin Club. He was elected as a member of the Paris Commune, and was kicked out in September. He, Marat, and Camille Desmoulins supported popular sovereignty and radical change. His powerful oratory skills made him famous among the Parisians.
After Louis XVI’s failed escape, Danton supported the people that overthrew the monarchy. He liked to boast of his responsibility for the event, even though the scheme was executed by military groups. Danton voted for Louis’s execution and supported the exclusion of the Girondist group.
Danton fell because he was perceived as “soft” by counter revolutionaries. He became more moderate and even started to disapprove of the terror efforts. His anti-revolutionary sentiments led to his execution by guillotine. He told his executioner to show his head to the people, for it would be “worth the trouble” (Britannica Encylopedia).
Linton, Marisa. "Robespierre and the Terror." Historytoday.com. History Today, Aug. 2006. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
Kreis, Steven. "Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794." Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794. The History Guide, 10 Jan. 2002. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
"Georges Danton". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012
"Georges Danton". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
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Bastille-day.com. "Danton Biography." Georges Jacques Danton Biography. Bastille-day.com, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
Finn Chow
ReplyDeleteMaximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)
Maximilien Robespierre was born in Arras France and became well known for his academic ability. He studied law and became a lawyer at the age of 21. The purpose of this was to be able to defend the people’s rights and represent the Third Estate. In 1783 he left his home to do so in Paris. Trying to reform France’s political system he earned the nickname ‘the incorruptible”. He soon became a very popular speaker for the people, and played a key part in the creation of the tennis court oath and the revolution to come. After influencing the execution of King Louis XVI, Robespierre along with other revolutionaries gained power as part of the Commune De Paris. Together they created the Commission of Public Safety, who were tasked with rounding up and killing anyone who supported the old regime or simply wasn’t too enthusiastic about the new one. This became known as The Reign of Terror, of which Robespierre was a full supporter. He believed that fear was necessary in order to preserve the revolution. Because of this an estimated 14,000 people perished, including George Danton who opposed his ideas. Eventually, the people realized that Robespierre had become corrupt, a following a failed suicide attempt on his part, he was executed in July 1794.
Jean Paul Marat
Marat was born in Boudry, Switzerland and at the age of 16 left to study medicine in France and England. He became a renowned scientist, but later, due to political events and the opening of the General Estates , he became a journalist who could express his disapproval of the regime. In 1789 he created his own newspaper which openly insulted the first and second estate. After the storming of Bastille, Marat used his influential power to call for the beheading on hundreds. He believed that all people near to the king needed to be executed in order to install the new regime. It was because of this influence that so many met their death by the cruel blade of the guillotine. Because of the violence caused by him, he was stabbed by Charlotte Corday in his bathtub in 1793. Although he was responsible for so many deaths, he became a martyr to the people.
George Danton
George Danton became a lawyer in Paris and gained a reputation as a skilled orator, whose expertise almost rivaled Robespierre’s. This gained him much support during the political revolution of France. He was soon elected Deputy of Paris in 1792 and participated in the voting on King Louis XVI’s execution. After this he became part of the Commission Of Public Safety in 1973. Because of this he was responsible for many deaths, but unlike Robespierre lacked the same lust for blood. He was soon accused of being too soft on the counter revolutionaries, and taken out of his position in the Commission Of Public Safety. Robespierre took his position and had Danton executed on April 5th, 1994. His last words were "Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing".
Overall, it seems clear that the most influential in the deaths of counter revolutionaries is Robespierre himself. His natural leadership qualities and skills in orating placed him in the ideal position to create the most damage. Although Marat arguably had an even greater lust for blood that Robespierre, his death cut his role in the Terror short. Danton played an important role in the revolution, but overall lacked the same determination as Robespierre and Marat.
Works Cited
"Danton Biography." Georges Jacques Danton Biography. N.p., 1 July 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., 1 July 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
"Robespierre Biography." Maximilien De. N.p., 1 July 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
Jean-Paul Marat:
ReplyDeleteMarat was a renowned physician to the personal guards of Charles X. He eventually resigned his medical occupation, looking to further his scientific discoveries. He published multiple papers and pamphlets, revealing his communication with foreign philosophers and dignitaries. He published a pamphlet showing his belief in the monarchy’s ability to solve France’s problems. He published additional information a few months later, denouncing the monarchy and attacking those who supported Parliamentary rule.
Marat used his revolutionary newspaper to incite the people to action. He denounced emigres and counter-revolutionaries who could thwart their efforts to reform France. He supported executions as a way to end the strife and bring forth a better France. Parisians actively supported him in public demonstrations, making him a prominent public figure. He was assassinated by Charlotte Corday. She was admitted to him for her claim that she wanted his protection. Angered by his newspaper and desirous of peace, Charlotte stabbed him to death in his bathtub. Her efforts to restore France failed and Marat was remembered as a martyr.
Robespierre was one of the most successful in exciting the people to action. Robespierre instilled such a great sense of fear in his people that none dared oppose his opinions. Marat’s newspaper was very successful, but his time to influence was cut short when Charlotte Corday murdered him. He was a strong leader within the National Convention and was in the best position to do the most damage. Danton and Marat were supporters of Robespierre, but none gained the fame that Robespierre did. Robespierre did so much damage and caused so much “terror” that he had to be sentenced to the guillotine. The people couldn’t take his fiery energy any longer; the Revolution’s bloodthirsty desires had to be stopped.
"Jean-Paul Marat". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012
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"Jean-Paul Marat". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012
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Robespierre was born in the North of France in 1758. He was respected for being very smart and doing very well in school. He came from a family of lawyers, which may be a reason why he received his degree in law and studied enlightenment philosophy, his main goal being to work for citizens rights. He created a name for himself as a part of the Estates General through its transition to becoming the national assembly. He became a leader and was praised for his skill as an orator. He helped write the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Robespierre was very against the old regime and fought to have Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette killed. He was then elected as the head of the Committee of Public Safety, where under his control thousands of people were killed. When he was not afraid to execute his even his followers, they began to become afraid and stopped supporting him. Eventually, he became seen as an enemy and was killed himself.
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton was a lawyer in Paris who played a small role in the revolution before he was well known. He was noted when he helped found and became a leader of the Cordeliers Club. Once the new republic was created, he was elected as the minister of justice. He was also elected the first president of the Committee of Public Safety. He was fired for being both not extreme enough and for being too power hungry. Robespierre took his place. His high power in other revolutionary groups was lost also by newcomers who gained lots of support. Eventually, he was charged with his followers for trying to overthrow the revolutionary government, and was guillotined. He told the executioner before his death “Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing”.
Jean-Paul Marat studied medicine and physics when he was young and was also very interested in the ideas of enlightenment. He was a full supporter of the revolution when it broke out and began to write different pieces, including a journal called “L’ami du peuple” which focused on criticizing the anti-revolutionists, and ended up getting most of them killed. At the storming of the Bastille, he declared that all people close to the king must be executed in order to truly end the monarchy. He was also elected to the national assembly and as the leader of the Jacobins club. He was a strong revolutionist who gained lots of support and was responsible for many deaths until eventually he was stabbed by Charlotte Corday who wanted the killing to stop. He then became a martyr for the people.
I believe that all three men were a large driving force for the reign of terror and many executions, however, I believe that Robespierre was the most responsible because he had the most power and was truly seen as the leader of the revolution for the people. He could have stopped it if he wanted, but he felt that it was not only okay, but necessary to kill many people. Before the revolution went too far, it seemed that his ideas were not too extreme, but as it progressed, he began to go too far in his attempts to preserve the revolution.
"Robespierre Biography"Biography of Robespierre N.p, n.d Web. 10 Oct. 2012..
Axelrod, Alan, and Charles Phillips. "Robespierre, Maximilien." Dictators & Tyrants: Absolute Rulers and Would-Be Rulers in World History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1995. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc.
"Georges Jaques Danton Biography" Biography of Danton N.p, n.d Web. 10 Oct. 2012
"Jean Paul Marat Biography" Biography of Marat N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. .
Maximilien Robespierre was born on May 6, 1758. When he got older he went to the University of Louis-le-Grand. He was studying to become a lawyer. He first met Louis the 16th to read him a speech when he was only 17. While he was giving his speech both the king and queen did not pay any attention to him and did not care what he was saying. Although this was not going to be the last time they were going to see each other again. Later on he did not agree with what the king and the queen were doing. He became the voice of the common people, which was the majority of the population. He and a few other men made a new group called the National Convention. They were making new ideas and wanted to change France, and in order for that to happen the king had to die. They finally killed the king and started making up new rules, which was weird for the people. In order for there to be peace in France they had to make sure that everyone in the country supported their ideas. They created terror, and he kept telling the people to kill off some more people and more and more. Later it became too much violence and Robespierre had to die to finally gain peace. He died on July 28, 1794.
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton was born on October 26, 1759. He went to school Oratorians at Troyes. Then he went to Paris to practice his law degree. He was into the politics during the French Revolution. He also did not like what Louis the 16th was doing. He joined the National Convention and became the Deputy. He was not a part of Louis the 16ths trial. When the idea of terror came up, he did not agree with it. He was so passionate of not letting there be any terror that he left the political life. He did not support a lot of things that the National Convention was doing such as; the anti-Christian movement. He defended his friends from being sentenced to death. He was looked at the moderate opposition leader. He was the arrested by a few deputies. He tried to defend himself, “demanding that the arrested deputies should be judged before the people” (Georges Danton French revolution). He was sentenced to death. He died on April 5, 1794. Before he died he told his killer, “Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing” (Georges Danton French revolution). Even though he died to the National Convention as a traitor, and the people saw him die as a good and influential person.
Jean-Paul Marat was born on May 24, 1743. He became a famous doctor in the 1770’s. He became the physician to Louis the 16th’s younger brother’s guards. Then at the same time he was trying to become a great scientist experimenting with multiple things. In 1781 he retired from his doctor years. When the French Revolution started he wrote articles, first about supporting the idea. Then he would write how the king didn’t care about the people’s problem and how he only cared about his own problems. He also, “attacked those who proposed the British system of government as a model for France” (Jean-Paul Marat French Revolution). After publishing the article of the king firing his accountant Neckler, he was kicked out of France but returned three months later. He became important to the National Convention. He was on both sides of the people. Though after the storming of Bastille he wrote in papers to tell the people to kill one another. He would write to the commoners to kill off the people who supported the king. People believed what he wrote, and many people started to turn one another in and letting the person die by the guillotine. A common woman named Charlotte Corday did not agree with what he was doing and stabbed him in his bathtub. He died instantly on July 13,1793. After his death he became a martyr to people.
All three of these people had some part in “the terror”, but one person influenced them all. I believe that the most influential person in furthering the aims of “the terror” was Maximilien Robespierre. He was the one who started the National Convention and was a well-known person during “the terror” period. He had more power over the other two and was a true leader of both the French Revolution and “the terror”. Georges Danton was important, because he was not like the others and people respected him for that but did not do as much like the other two. Jean-Paul Marat was even more important than Danton but less than Robespierre, because he inspired people but did not do as much as Robespierre did. Unfortunately he died too early to see what he could have done in the future. Robespierre was more determinated, powerful, and had great leadership skills.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
"Georges Danton (French Revolutionary Leader) : Danton's Committee of Public Safety." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean-Paul Marat (French Politician, Physician, and Journalist)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. .
"Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794." Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794. Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794, 30 Mar. 2005. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
Robespierre:
ReplyDeleteMaximilien Robespierre was a French politician and lawyer best known for his role during the French Revolution. He was educated as a lawyer in Arras and raised by his extended family. During his time of political development, he looked up to the writings and works of Rosseau, admiring his morality and strong sense of conscience. Ironically, Robespierre was chosen to deliver a speech to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette shortly after they were named the new king and queen. Just a few years later, he developed an anti-monarchy stance, wanting universal male voting rights and more distribution of power. He was actively involved in the National Convention, delivering many speeches, which won over the third estate. He supported the execution of King Louis XVI, taking on extreme stances against monarchy. Robespierre was elected to the Committee of Public Safety to protect France from the monarchy’s supporters after it fell. He soon emerged as the leader of the committee with a mindset that killing would result in a better nation. Robespierre believed that if more traitors were killed, France would progress to be on its way to an ideal nation. Robespierre created the Cult of the Supreme Being, taking the ceremony too far when he came down a fake mountain in the middle of Paris resembling Moses. He was essentially raising himself to be divine. Finally, the Committee of Public Safety ordered Robespierre arrested, and to avoid arrest, Robespierre, along with his followers, attempted suicide. Although he was not successful, he did shatter his lower jaw, so he remained unable to talk. While awaiting execution, he was held in the same cell that Marie-Antoinette was kept in before she died. He was then executed without trial and buried among commoners.
Danton:
Georges-Jaques Danton was raised as part of a respectable, but not wealthy family. He grew up to be a lawyer in Paris and one of the leaders of the French Revolution, although some of his roles are not quite clear. As the revolution began to happen, Danton founded the Cordeliers club, which preached the idea that France should be a sovereign nation under its people. In September 1792, Danton was elected to the National Convention where he was actively involved in the proceedings and deliberations. As part of the Convention, he voted for the death of the king. Soon thereafter, Danton was elected as an original member of the Committee of Public Safety. He was a crucial part of the killings, but soon shifted sides. He wanted to make peace with the neighboring European nations and control the bread prices as famine was beginning to ensue. These ideas went against those of the Committee of Public Safety. Towards the end of the Reign of Terror, allegations were made against Danton, saying that he used his position in the committee for personal gain. More specifically, it was rumored that Danton had taken a portion of the money used in the peace agreement with Sweden. The final accusation against Danton regarded the liquidation of the French East India Company, which Danton was rumored to have blackmailed associates to give Danton and others a significant amount of Money. On March 30, 1794 Danton was arrested along with other Desmoulins. He was put on trial, but it was rigged due to threats that the prosecutor made towards members of the jury. He was executed along with other revolutionaries such as Robespierre.
Marat:
ReplyDeleteJean-Paul Marat was born in what is now a part of Switzerland to highly educated parents. He was in search of fame and fortune, which lead him to leave home at sixteen. Marat was originally a doctor who practiced on the royals of France. After 1788, he decided to leave his career as a doctor behind and devote himself to the 3rd estate; he began to write about the corruption of the royalty. In September 1789, Marat decided to open up his own newspaper criticizing the royalty and members of the elite class. This resulted in attacks from France’s most powerful citizens, which eventually made Marat flee to England. However, Marat returned to Paris only to publish another controversial and illegal piece, which lead Marat to hide in the sewers of Paris. Marat was elected to the National Convention, event though he was a representative of none of the parties. He voted to kill the king, but still had pity on the King’s Counsel. Marat developed a rivalry and hatred towards the Girondons, and at their request, he was tried in front of the Revolutionary Tribunal for statements in his paper calling for mass murder and the suspension of the National Convention. Marat was acquitted on all charges. Marat would publish names of the traitors of the new nation in his newspaper article, calling for their mass killings. He believed that the only way to become a better nation was to rid of the enemies. He was forced to retire from the convention due to a worsening skin disease. Charlotte Corday claimed that she had the names of Girondins that escaped Normandy. He invited her into his home and their conversation about the matter lasted for about fifteen minutes. He then said that the Girondins would be killed by the next day, prompting her to pull out a kitchen knife and stab him. He died in his bathtub. She was put on trial and executed.
My Thoughts:
I believe that Robespierre was the person that was the most influential in killing the “ traitors.” He gained control and was the deciding word in the deaths, and he wanted to go through with his deeds. He stated time and time again that killing was the answer to all of the problems. Marat published the lists to who he thought should be killed, but Robespierre carried out the deed. Robespierre’s beliefs were so strong and he never though twice about death. He was the ultimate leader and genuinely believed in killing. The others simply followed his lead.
Works Cited
ReplyDelete"Georges Danton (French Revolutionary Leader) : Danton's Committee of Public Safety."
Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Danton Biography." Georges Jacques Danton Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Georges Danton." - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Georges-Jacques Danton Biography." Georges-Jacques Danton Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean-Paul Marat (French Politician, Physician, and Journalist)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean-Paul Marat." Jean-Paul Marat. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean-Paul Marat." Jean-Paul Marat. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794." Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Maximilien Robespierre." Maximilien Robespierre. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Maximilien Robespierre." N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
"Sp!ked Review of Books | Remembering the Reign of Terror." Spiked. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRobespierre- Through his work as a lawyer and master orator, Robespierre was able to work his way into the thick of France’s history. Robespierre first came into France’s prominent view when he was elected to be a 3rd Estate General. When Louis XVI kicked the third estate out of their meeting place in 1789, Robespierre moved his estate to a nearby tennis court and led “The Tennis Court Oath” which met to draft a new constitution that would later be adopted by the country. The Estate also proclaimed themselves the National Assembly of which Robespierre headed. During the Revolution, he aided in creating the British and American Bill of Rights inspired “Declaration of the Rights of Man.”
ReplyDeleteElections for the new National Convention coincided with the time where the execution of Louis XVI was being debated. Robespierre became part of the new National Convention and was therefore part of the decision to execute Louis. As the revolution was pushed to a new radical stage, so was Robespierre’s willingness to maintain power.
He established the Commission of Public Safety which was responsible for protecting France but also responsible for the mass executions of anyone who defied the revolution. As he began to sentence more and more people to death, members of the National Convention started to fear that they would be next. Robespierre was sentenced to death by the National Convention and was guillotined in July 1794.
Danton- A french statesmen, with oratory skills rivaling those of Robespierre, Georges Danton was one of the leading figures in the French Revolution. He was part of the Cordeliers Club and also played a large role in the Commune of Paris. As a part of the Commune, Danton was part of the decision to execute Louis XVI.
After the execution, Danton became a head of the Provisional Execution Council and became the Minister of Justice. When he was removed from the first Committee of Public Safety, Danton retired to England only to reappear when his friends was charged with a financial scandal. In response, Danton attacked the dictatorship of the committee. Thus, Danton was charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government and was sentenced to death.
Marat- Jean Paul Marat began as a physician in England and France. He became a successful scientist but left that job in order to become a journalist. As a journalist, Marat would be able to voice his opinions of the regime. He wrote about radical ideas when newspapers were still writing about liberal points. He began his own paper called “The Voice of the People” where he could attack enemies of the revolution.
At the storming of the Bastille, Marat declared that up to 500 heads be cut off in order to install a new regime. His goal was to get rid of anyone and everyone that was close to the king or spoke out against the revolution. His wished to see his new dictatorship installed in France where the values of the Revolution would finally be implemented. The heads he called to be cut off would only be the first to the guillotine of many more to come.
Marat’s extremism escalated to such heights that Charlotte Corday murdered Marat in his bathtub hoping that his death would decrease the rolling of heads.
I think that the most influential character in the furthering of the “terror” was Robespierre. His oratory skills managed to gain him many followers in what he did. Robespierre was very power hungry and therefore he did would do anything that would keep him in the place of power. Robespierre, among other large leadership positions, lead the Commission of Public Safety which was responsible for the mass beheadings and he never thought once about the people whose lives he was ending. Robespierre was the most responsible for the “terror” throughout France and without him the damage and lives cost would have been substantially less.
ReplyDelete"Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
"Danton Biography." Georges Jacques Danton Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
Maximilien de Robespierre:
ReplyDeleteRobespierre was born Arras, France. He was a very smart boy, and eventually became a lawyer. “One of his main goals was to defend people's rights, especially the more modest people's ones.” He eventually went to Paris and volunteered to represent the poor, the "Third Estate" He took control at the Tennis Court Oath and joined the National Convention with Danton and Marat. He was very successful with his goal, but he went a little too far. After the king got executed and the “third estate” took over, the period of Terror took over. This was a cruel period for France. Killing off most of its people for stupid acts, like being sad or too happy or if one person said “Mr.” or “Ms.”, instead of citizen. About 40,000 people died during this 15 months period (mainly by the guillotine). Robespierre became known as the “supporter of the death penalty”. Robespierre was very popular during King Louis 16th term, but after he died and Robespierre “took over” many people were starting to dislike him. He was accused of “dictatorship and tyranny”. Soon after, he was sent to the guillotine. That was known as the “End of Terror.”
Georges Danton:
Danton studied law and eventually became a lawyer in Paris. He was part of the Storm of Bastille. “In 1790, he became president of the "Cordeliers" club, along with Marat.” Because Danton was a great orator, he became very famous. During the Terror, Danton wanted Louis 16th executed. After, during the period of “terror”, “Danton was accused of being too soft by counter revolutionaries.” He was soon fired from the "Comite de Salut public.”
After, he had nothing. No ideas, no supporters, nothing! Shortly after he was killed. "Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing".
Jean-Paul Marat:
Marat became a journalist with “radical” ideas. He created his own newspaper called, "L'ami du peuple", which meant “friend of the people.” Marat was also part of the Strom of Bastille and ordered “five to six hundred heads to be cut in order to start the new regime.” He was known as an “extremist” for his crazy ideas. Eventually he was elected to be the president of the Jacobins club. He changed the name of his newspaper to “le journal de la republique francaise", which meant the Journal of the French Republic. At the time, there were two parties, the Montagnards and the Girondins. Marat was part of the Montagnards, and so were Danton and Robespierre. “The battle between the two parties ended June 2nd, 1793.” Because of this Marat became even more popular. A Girodin sympathizer, Charlotte Corday, murdered Marat on July 13th, 1793.
I feel like Marat was the most influential person in furthering the aims of "the terror.” Most people in the town read the newspaper and I feel like that had a strong effect on the people’s views. Marat could of easily said something in his paper that could start a riot. Marat made sure those who disagreed with the republic were sentenced to death, mainly by the guillotine.
Sites:
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Marat-Biography
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Robespierre-Biography
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Danton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilien_de_Robespierre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Marat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Danton
Georges Danton
ReplyDeleteDanton started as a lawyer in Paris with a skill for orating. During the starting phases of the French Revolution he was a part of the storming of the Bastille. He later became president of a club, that of which including Jean Paul Marat. Danton believed that the new government needed to do something shocking and radical in order to “change the face of French society.” The people really liked Danton, and as he became popular, he was elected as the Minister of Justice, and later the Deputy of Paris. However, when the National Convention started to become more prominent, he wanted to join. Danton resigned and became a member of the National Convention with Robespierre and Marat. He never really liked Robespierre because he was seen “as a competitor within the group.” During the Terror, Danton was the president of the the revolutionary’s court, and was one of the people who wanted Louis XVI executed. Danton’s success finally started coming to an end. His fellow members of the Jacobin’s Club and the National Convention thought he was being too selfish in his actions, and was only in it for the money and power. Also, Danton was not completely supportive of the Terror. Danton was fired, arrested and accused of being an “enemy of the Republic,” which resulted in his execution.
Jean Paul Marat
In his earlier years, Marat was interested in science and medicine. He even left his home to study them. However, after the General Estates opened, he decided he wanted to share his point of view, which consisted of many extreme ideas, with the public. Marat started a newspaper called Friend of the People. Its fundamental ideas were very against the enemies of the Revolution and the ideas from the Old Regime. Marat was the one who initially said, “Five to six hundreds heads should be cut in order to install a new regime. His goal was to eliminate all the people near or far related to the King.” As you can see, these ideas were very shocking at the time, but people listened to them. Marat became a member of the National Convention, and they, especially Robespierre, took his ideas to heart. They began dragging people off the streets and bringing them to the guillotine, just like what Marat wanted. Also, there was a feud between two groups of people: the Jacobin’s Club (which Marat was president of) and the Girondins. In the end, Marat was able to rid of the Girondins, and that success brought him popularity. After this incident, a woman named Charlotte Corday murdered Marat. She was a “Girondin sympathizer,” and also believed that Marat was responsible for the many deaths that occurred during the Terror because of what he published. She did not think the nation should be punished in such a cruel way, and wanted Marat out of the equation, similar to the National Convention wanting Louis XVI dead.
Maximilien Robespierre
ReplyDeleteHis whole life, Robespierre wanted to defend the rights of people. He became a representative of the Third Estate and similar to Danton, he was a good orator. Robespierre helped to write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and, interestingly, he was opposed to the death penalty. However, this opposition didn’t last very long. After joining the National Convention and the removal of the Girondins, Robespierre began to see the new enemies within France, and also enemies outside of France waiting to invade. Thus, the Terror started, and Robespierre no longer opposed the death penalty. The people of France began to look to Robespierre as the main ruler during this time of fear, terror, and torture. He was accused of “dictatorship and tyranny” and was fired from his position in the National Convention. His was be-headed just like hundreds of French people at the time, and his death signaled the end of the Reign of Terror.
I believe that Jean Paul Marat was the most influential in furthering the aims of the Terror. Initially, the National Convention, mainly Robespierre, wanted something to ensure the people of France would support the new ideas and not rebel. However, they didn’t know what that would really consist of, or how extreme it would be. It was Marat who planted the radical idea in everyone’s minds, and without him the Terror would not have been the same. Yes, Robespierre was considered the face behind the Terror, but in truth, he was inspired by Marat’s words and ideas. Even though the Terror continued after the death of Marat, it was him who initially furthered the aims of the Reign of Terror.
Works Cited
"Danton Biography." Georges Jacques Danton Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
"Robespierre Biography." Maximilien De Robespierre Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
Sites:
ReplyDelete(because they didn't show up above)
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Danton
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Marat-Biography
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Robespierre-Biography
Maximilien Robespierre:
ReplyDeleteAt a young age, Maximilien Robespierre was a fine orator and a believer in liberty. He went to college in order to become a lawyer so he could defend the third estate from the unruly second estate’s laws. In his teenage years, Robespierre was elected to recite a poem before King Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette. The king and queen of France took little notice to Robespierre’s oration and waved him off. This could possibly be what ignited the flame inside Robespierre to act out against the king. Robespierre led the tennis court oath and was known during the revolution as the “incorruptible”. In 1791, Robespierre helped write what would be one of France’s most important documents, the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Soon after the king was overthrown and the revolutionaries gained power of the government, Robespierre was elected onto the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre believed in order to have the citizens of France obey revolutionary ideas, terror was needed to keep them in place. The committee of public safety started ordering traitors to be killed by the guillotine. This started going to far where if someone even mentioned the old regime, they would be killed. Robespierre strongly supported this, but Georges Danton, another member of the committee of public safety, did not. Robespierre ordered Georges Danton to be hung for opposing revolutionary ideas. Maximillien Robespierre started to gain more power, and with that power tried to instill more terror into France. He believed France needed a new deity to worship that would unite the people, and he saw himself suited for that position. Robespierre created a national holiday in spite of himself where everyone was to worship him. The committee of public safety and the national assembly finally realized that Robespierre had gone crazy with power. In July 1794, the National Assembly and Committee of Public Safety voted for him to be executed for tyranny and dictatorship. Robespierre died that same day and so did his ways of terror.
Georges Danton:
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton, like Robespierre, studied to become a lawyer and was a masterful orator. Georges Danton was not publicly known before the revolution, but after the storming of Bastille, Danton made his climb for power. Before the storming of Bastille, Georges Danton became president of the “Cordeliers club” along with Jean Paul Marat and Camille Desmoullins. This group believed in radical action in order to change the French society. Georges Danton also supported the Jacobins group which was another radical party of revolutionaries. After the people of Paris stormed Versailles, Georges Danton started his climb for power. Georges Danton became the Minister of Justice after the people of Paris stormed Tuileries. On September 2, 1792, the Austrians started to push at the French borders, and Georges Danton was elected to stop that and became the Deputy of Paris. Three days later, he resigned from his role as deputy and joined Robespierre and Desmoullins on the National Convention. As soon as he joined, there was tension between him and Robespierre. He also joined the Committee of public safety along Robespierre which created even more tension between the two. Georges Danton believed in radical movement in order to change France, but he did not support it to the level that Robespierre did. This led to his downfall when he was accused of being too soft and unsupportive of the revolution. Even his Jacobins friends accused him of being to kind. In 1793, Danton was expelled from the Committee of Public and lost all of his power in all of the revolutionary groups he was a part of. On March 30, 1794, Georges Danton was arrested and accused of being an enemy of the Republic and was sentenced to the guillotine. Before he died, Georges Danton said, “Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing.” Soon after he uttered these words, Georges Danton was executed and would never speak again.
Jean Paul Marat:
ReplyDeleteAt the age of 16, Jean Paul Marat left his parents in order to study medicine in France, and later England. Jean Paul Marat’s studies in the sciences led him to be a pretty renowned scientist in the area; however, some of his findings went against the “Academy des Sciences” and he was rejected from the well know academy. Jean Paul Marat then started to pick up journaling as the political events allowed him an opportunity to express his feelings of distaste for the old regime. In September of 1789, Jean Paul Marat started his own newspaper called “Friend of the People”. In this newspaper, Jean Paul Marat expressed his feelings of hatred towards the political status of France. After the storming of Bastille, Jean Paul Marat called for 600 executions in order to install a new regime in France, all of which were close with the king. This was the beginning of the extremist ideas that Jean Paul Marat would publish in his newspaper throughout the revolution. In 1792 talked about his idea of a new dictatorship in France which would implant revolution values into the French government. With every newspaper published, Jean Paul Marat would list names of people he believed were traitors of the revolution. Citizens started to become weary of Jean Paul Marat as more and more heads were chopped off because of his newspaper. One woman in particular thought that by killing Jean Paul Marat, she would end the violence and terror in France. Her name was Charlotte Cordeil. Jean Paul Marat kept an open house policy so he could talk to the people of France at any time. Charlotte Cordel took advantage of this and walked into his home and murdered him. Charlotte did not try to run away and took full blame for his death. What Charlotte did not foresee was that instead of ending the violence, Charlotte Cordeil had created Jean Paul Marat into a martyr. The people of France thought of him as an idol and this driving his extremist ideas even further than before.
Out of Maximillien Robespierre, Georges Danton, and Jean Paul Marat, I believe Jean Paul Marat influenced the revolution the most. Jean Paul Marat’s newspaper was accessible by every citizen in France and he was able to spread his extremist idea with it. Jean Paul Marat could persuade people of who was an enemy of the republic and who was not. Jean Paul Marat demanded the most executions out of all the revolutionaries. Even after his death, Jean Paul Marat’s ideas were still spread and practiced whereas Robespierre’s ideas died with him. Jean Paul Marat controlled the reign of terror as he had the power to name off people who should be executed. There is no doubt in my mind that Jean Paul Marat was the most influential person during the reign of terror.
Citations
ReplyDelete"Jean Paul Marat." Bastille Day and the French Revolution. N.p., 1 July 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
Kreis, Steven. "Maximilien Robespierre, 1758-1794." The History Guide. N.p., 30 Mar. 2005. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
"Danton Biography." Bastille Day and the French Revolution. N.p., 1 July 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
PART 1 (Maximilien Robespierre and Georges Danton): Part 2 Follows Below
ReplyDeleteMaximilien Robespierre:
Maximilien Robespierre hailed from the city of Arras, France, where he was a member of mostly a family of lawyers. His father was Maximilien Barthélémy François de Robespierre, a notable lawyer, and his mother was Jacqueline Marguerite Carraut. He had two siblings, one brother, Augustin Robespierre, and one sister, Marguerite Charlotte, both of whom were at least somewhat active in the French Revolution. He soon went on to school, praising himself as a student, with a specific focus on rhetoric, and he studied under many enlightenment writers and professors. He received his degree in law in 1781. When the National Convention opened, he became the leading member of the Jacobin Party and was for the abolishment of the French Monarchy. He voted in favor of the execution of the King. When anarchy became commonplace in Paris, the Commission of Public Safety was set up, with Robespierre as the leader. He is commonly known as the person that brought about the Reign of Terror. However, when the National Convention was done with the bloodshed, he was imprisoned on July 27, 1794 and executed by guillotine promptly the next day. However, Robespierre truly did want the greater good for the people to prevail and envisioned a day of true democracy in France. However, he took his power too far and this was ultimately his downfall.
Georges Danton:
Georges Danton was born in the Arcis-sur-Aube region of France. Like Robespierre, he started his career as a Lawyer, in Paris. When the French Revolution broke out, he became the leader of the club known as the Cordeliers Club. He was able to move himself through the ranks of the revolutionary positions with the downfall of the French Monarchy. He eventually was elected to the National Convention and served as the Minister of Justice. He had a major role during the many executions that happened during the Reign of Terror. He, like Robespierre, was attacked for being too radical, however reconciliation came with the downfall of his attackers, the Girondins. When Robespierre caught wind that Danton was taking a position to end the Terror and heard of his positions on de-christianization , Danton was executed in April of 1794, before Robespierre.
PART 2 (Jean-Paul Marat and Discussion, as well as Works cited): Part 1 Is Above
ReplyDeleteJean-Paul Marat:
Jean-Paul Marat was born in the Boudry Region of the Swiss Canton of Neuchatel, the son of a spanish Medicinal Practitioner who had moved to switzerland when he converted from Roman Catholicism to Calvinism. Marat received his degree in Medicine, after studying in many prestigious French universities and traveling over Europe, and soon received his Medical Appointment in Paris. It was immediate that Marat would become a large supporter of the Revolution, as when it broke out, he was quick to publish two pamphlets advertising major democratic reform for France as a nation. Marat was popular with the common French people, calling for reforms such as graduated income tax and vocational training. However, he believed that the abolishment of the monarchy was necessary before any true change could come in the government. When the monarchy fell, he ran for a seat in the National Convention and won a position as a representative from Paris. It was on July 13, 1793, that Charlotte Courday assassinated Marat as he was bathing, posing as a friend of the Republic with information on people against the Revolutionary Government. When Marat heard of this, who had been asking for many people to be executed, his interest was piqued and was interested in the people, who he promised would be executed within two days. However, his assassination made him a Martyr in the eyes of the common people of France, and painting of his death was made that portrayed him similar to that of Jesus.
Who is the Most Important:
I happen to think that the most influential of these three figures was Maximilien Robespierre. Without Robespierre, it is likely that the Commission of Public Safety would not have been established and the desire for the bloodthirst would not have happened at all. He was the driving force behind the Terror, often abusing his power and becoming paranoid about the Revolutionary ideas being compromised. Without him, Georges Danton would not have been appointed to the Ministry of Justice, and Jean-Paul Marat would not have had the support that he had because of Maximilien Robespierre.
Works Cited:
Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. "Robespierre, Maximilien." Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=EEN653&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 10, 2012).
Roberts, William J. "Danton, Georges Jacques." France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=FRA0512&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 10, 2012).
Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. "Marat, Jean-Paul." Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=EEN485&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 10, 2012).
Maximilian Robespierre:
ReplyDeleteMaximilian Robespierre was born in 1758. He was involved in the French Revolution by being an active leading member of the Committee of Public Safety. He was also a member of the popular Jacobins club and participated in the time period in France known as the Reign of Terror in 1793. In addition to everything else that Robespierre was involved in, he was also a lawyer and believed in the ideas of enlightenment. Later in 1790, he was elected the secretary of the National Assembly. By this time he was also the leader of the Jacobins club and a prominent figure in the revolution and the beginning to the Reign of Terror. It was because of his overpowering voice in the revolution that lead to his arrest in 1794. The next day, he was guillotined along with 107 other followers.
Georges Danton:
Georges Danton was a prominent political figure during the Revolution. He was a lawyer and became famous for being a “radical orator”. He was given the role as leader of the Cordeliers club which he helped found during the beginning of the revolution. In 1791 however, suspicions that he was taking bribes from royalists aroused. The fall of the monarchy in 1792 made him an even more powerful figure in the progression of the Revolution. Soon after this event, he was elected to the National Convention and held a great amount of responsibility for the masacares that happened in September of 1792. It was because of this that he, along with other members of the national convention, were attacked by a group called the Girondins. He was then accused of treason and corruption in 1794. Later that year, he was executed by the “national razor” along with most of his supporters.
Jean-Paul Marat:
Jean-Paul Marat was a doctor that became a revolutionary figure soon after the rise of the Reign of Terror. He ran a newspaper called The Friend Of The People. In his paper, he wrote and published the brutal truth about what was going on in France. His goal was to abolish the monarchy completely. He demanded that the king be put on trial and executed for all of his wrong doings. He wrote out death lists and wrote the proposal for the Committee of Surveillance. However Marat himself was in crisis and very weak. His body had undergone a great fight of age and disease and was in a critical condition. He had to soak in a medicated bath daily and would often sit here to write his articles and lists of the dead. He was murdered by Charlotte Corday in 1793.
I believe that Jean-Paul Marat was the most influential person in the revolution because he was the voice of the people. He had the power to mass-produce what he had to say and give it to people all over France at that time. He could publish whatever he wanted because he owned the newspaper and could tell the people about what was really going on in France. Unfortunately for Marat, he was murdered at the height of the revolution in 1793. However, he was still the most influential in my eyes because of all he did to get the revolution on track. He wrote a newspaper that published the honest truth, wrote a proposal for the Committee of Surveillance and made lists of people that should be put on trial and guillotined.
Works Cited:
Axelrod, Alan, and Charles Phillips. "Robespierre, Maximilien." Dictators & Tyrants: Absolute Rulers and Would-Be Rulers in World History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1995. Modern World History Online. Facts On File,
Roberts, William J. "Danton, Georges Jacques." France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
Maximilien Robespierre:
ReplyDeleteBorn, Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre in Arras, France on May 6, 1758. Coming from a family of lawyers local notables from the city of Arras. His father was Maximilien Barthélémy François de Robespierre who worked as a lawyer. and his mother was Jacqueline Marguerite Carraut. Robespierre went to college and received his law degree in 1781. Then entered the bar in arras the next year to serve as a lawyer. He then became a member of the Academy of Arras the year right after that and then won a seat representing the third estate in the delegation of Arras. In doing this he had to move to Paris to be closer to the delegation of the estates. In Paris Robespierre joined Club Breton which later became the Jacobin club.From the years of 1789 of 1791 he also served as a representative to the Constituent Assembly. He didn’t serve as a major role in voting, but he was a large voice for advocation of the abolition of capital punishment and the idea for equal voting rights for all men. When the First and second estate decided to meet separately Robespierre was a major voice of revolution in the tennis court where the third estate now had to meet instead of versailles where they did so before. After the seizure of the fortress of Bastille he voted for the condemnation and execution of King Louis and the demolition of the monarchy that once stood. After the monarchy was not left standing Robespierre took charge of France and brought upon the reign of terror to wipe of what was left of non-revolutionary thought in France. This went against what he stood for because he used a guillotine which was capital punishment, to kill off these people. Once the people of France were fed up with all the fear of they had of being killed for simply not being enthusiastic about the revolution, they just wanted to end.
George Danton:
Born George Jacques Danton in Arcis-sur-Aube, France. He became a very radical leader as a part of the Cordeliers Club, which he helped found and in turn became a great public speaker out of the process. He was also suspected of taking bribes by loyalists. When elected to the national convention, he served as the minister of justice and was greatly responsible for the september massacres. He was accused of corruption and treason in 1794. AS he was seeking to end or tweak the Terror. Danton was found guilty by the Revolutionary Tribunal and executed along with most of his supporters in April 1794.
Jean-Paul Marat:
Marat was from Boudry in the Swiss canton Neuchatel. His father, Jean marat was a spanish physician who practiced in Sardinia before moving to Boundry. In Geneva he married Louise Cabral. Marat moved to Paris in 1776 where he started work as a medical practitioner. before the french revolution, he published several papers on anti-Newtonian Physics. Right when the revolution started he became a supporter and wanted radical democratic reform. He published two pamphlets in 1789, which were both about the revolution. more than one thousand copies of these spread around paris for the next few years.He became a reason for the cause when he started to make his newspaper L'ami du peuple which was all for progressive reform of France. In some of his articles he demanded the head of the king and many other supporters of the king, he became the major fuel to the fire of the terror until he became a martyr when he was assassinated by a young girl named Charlotte Corday in 1793.
Out of these three influential men, I feel that by far Robespierre was the most influential to the reign of terror, because without him, the revolution probably wouldn't have started it the first place. If it wasn’t for he paranoia, the idea wouldn't have arisen that they needed to kill the people that were not loyal to complete the revolution. Even though Marat called for the heads of so many people, it was Robespierre that made the decision to start the Terror in the first place.
MLA citation:
ReplyDelete"Robespierre, Maximilian." Infobase Learning - Login. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
"Infobase Learning - Login." Danton, Georges-Jacques. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
"Infobase Learning - Login." Marat, Jean-Paul. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
~Maximilien Robespierre (May 6, 1758 – July 28, 1794) was a French lawyer, politician. He was a member of the Estates-General, the Constituent Assembly, and the Jacobin Club who advocated against the death penalty and for the abolition of slavery, while supporting equality of rights and the establishment of a republic. As a member of the Committee of Public Safety, he was famous during the time of the French Revolution known as the Reign of Terror. Initially, Robespierre became increasingly popular for his attacks on the monarchy and his support of democratic reforms. After the downfall of the monarchy in August 1792, Robespierre was elected first deputy for Paris to the National Convention. The convention abolished the monarchy, declared France a republic and put the king on trial for treason, all measures strongly supported by Robespierre. The king was executed in January 1793. The intensification of the 'Reign of Terror' and Robespierre's autocracy made him increasingly unpopular. French military successes served to undermine the justification for such ruthlessness and a conspiracy was formed to overthrow Robespierre. On 27 July 1794, he was arrested and the following day executed at the guillotine.
ReplyDelete~Georges Danton (October 26, 1759 – April 5, 1794) was a leading figure and orator in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been described as "the chief force in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the First French Republic". A moderating influence on the Jacobins, he was guillotined by the advocates of revolutionary terror after accusations of venality and leniency to the enemies of the Revolution.
~Jean-Paul Marat (May 24, 1743 – July 13, 1793) was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution. His journalism was known for its fiery character and uncompromising stance toward "enemies of the revolution" and basic reforms for the poorest members of society. Marat was one of the more extreme voices of the French Revolution, broadcasting his views through impassioned public speaking, essay writing, and newspaper journalism. Marat's criticisms of counter-revolutionaries supported much of the violence that occurred during the wartime phases of the French Revolution. His constant persecution of "enemies of the people" brought him the trust of the populace and made him their unofficial link to the Jacobin group that came to power in June 1793. He was murdered in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a Girondist sympathizer.
~I believe that Jean-Paul Marat was at fault the most for “the terror” because he was the one who actually printed out his radical opinions knowing that they would be taken seriously. Because he printed it out, it spread to a much larger audience than those of the others. Despite all the violence he was causing, he continued the persecution of “enemies of the people.” I also think he was at fault the most because he was the only one who got murdered by a civilian, and that says something. Marat must have really been impacting The Terror if a citizen (specifically a woman) felt the need to sacrifice her life to kill this man.
Bibliography:
~"Jean-Paul Marat." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
~"Georges Danton." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
~"What Did Robespierre Discover/contribute to the French Revolution?" - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
~"Maximilien De Robespierre." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. .
Georges Danton:
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton was a lawyer and a politician. He was the first president of the Committee of public safety. He was the main voice of the national convention which was known for establishing their authority during the French revolution. He was a participant for the creation of the revolutionary court in March 1793. He was accused of being too greedy and ended up being fired from his position as the president of the committee of public safety. Later on Robespierre took his position and lead the group. He joined a group called the Herbert, a group who supported revolutionary ideas. After the Herbert group was executed Danton was arrested and accused of being against the Republic. He was then executed by the guillotine on April 5th, 1794. His last words were “Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing.”
Maximilien Robespierre:
Maximilien Robespierre just like Georges Danton was a french lawyer and politician. He was an iconic figure in the french revolution. He became the president of the committee of public safety. His main goal in life was to defend the people’s rights. He became a representative of the third estate. Robespierre demanded that everyone should be allowed to vote, and he helped create the Declaration of Rights of Man. He at first during the early stages of the revolution was against the death penalty but then later grew fond of the idea once the reign if terror began. Robespierre was later accused of “dictatorship and tyranny” and was then removed from the National Convention. The members of the Convention voted for his death and Robespierre was beheaded by the guillotine. The death of Robespierre was a symbol of the Reign of Terror ending.
Jean Paul Marat:
At age 16 Marat went to study medicine in France and England. When the general estate opened up Marat took the opportunity to express his views on the political events occurring in France. Marat then became a journalists and later started his own newspaper, where he expressed his views about the enemies of France. His newspaper was called friends of the people. Marat would list the names of people whom he thought were enemies of France. Marat had very extreme ideas, he wanted five to six hundred heads chopped off of the people who were near or far related to the king. He thought that this would help create a new regime. Later he renamed his newspaper The journal of the french republic, and became a member of the national convention. Charlotte Corday was the woman who killed Marat. She killed him thinking that once he is dead all of the violence and terror that he has caused would end along with him.
I believe that Jean Paul Marat out of the three men had the most influence on the revolution. He was the at first the voice of the people and his newspaper was easy to access. He had the freedom to write whatever he wanted in his paper and he did, he published names of whom he thought were enemies of France. He had the power to send anyone to the be beheaded. Many people took his words to heart including Robespierre. Robespierre continued to follow Marats words even after Marat’s death.
Sites:
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Robespierre-Biography
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Danton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Danton#Danton_and_the_Reign_of_Terror
http://bastille-day.com/biography/Marat-Biography
Maximilien Robespierre was originally part of the Estates General, a general assembly of the three estates in France. Robespierre was an extremely liberal representative for the third estate with the intent to solve the financial crisis King Louis XVI had caused. Robespierre eventually became an idol to the French people because of his influence on the revolution. He was also an outstanding orator and had strong leadership qualities. After the Monarchy was brought down, Robespierre became one among the men in charge of France. Maximilien Robespierre created the Commission of Public safety to ensure there was no opposition to the new government, which turned out to be a bloodbath. He was later executed for the chaos he created.
ReplyDeleteLike Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Danton was a brilliant scholar and speaker, as well as a lawyer. He was a member of the Jacobin Club, a radical left-wing political party, and a minister of justice for the National Assembly. Danton also held a dominant position in the Committee of Public Safety. However, he was not a fan of the Reign of Terror, and when he was elected for a second term in the Committee, he refused, which insulted the government. For this, Danton was arrested and guillotined.
Jean-Paul Marat was a politician and journalist during the French revolution. During the time of the revolution, he published his radical opinions in the newspaper in favor of uprising against the government. He became an idol to the french people, especially the third estate. H then became elected to the Jacobin club. He was responsible for publishing the names of people he thought should be executed during the Reign of Terror. This behavior resulted in his death.
I think Jean-Paul Marat was the most influential person to the Reign of Terror. Instead of being figuratively influential and behind the scenes like the other men, Jean-Paul first handedly listed the names of people he thought needed to be killed. The killing of these people changed the nature of the French people and the course of the Reign of Terror.
Works Cited
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Jean-Paul_Marat.html
http://www.archontology.org/nations/france/convention_1792_95/danton.php
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/robespierre.html
Charlie Dederich
ReplyDelete10-11-12
History
Danton- George Jacques Danton was born in Arcis-sur-Aube in the year 1759. He was most well known for being a leader of the French Revolution that tried to overthrow the King and Queen during the 1780’s and early 1790’s. He started as a lawyer in Paris but once the revolution began to set sail, he soon became a leader of the Cordeliers Club. The Cordeliers Club was a group of people who were opposed to Louis 16th’s dictatorship. Being one of the leaders of the Club, Danton had a lot of say in what direction the club aspired to go in. Another significant member included Jean-Paul Marat. Danton could be held accountable for the countless executions of the clergy. His biggest achievement occurred in August of 1792 when the King was finally overthrown and sentenced to death. He was given recognition for being one of the rebels that finally rid France of the King. His radical nature soon got him and his followers in deep trouble. In the early 1790’s, the Girondins took control and confronted the Cordeliers Club. The Girondins thought Danton was a danger to their reign. Thankfully, Danton and his followers were safe once more when the Girondins lost power in 1793. Danton brought a voice to the third estate in hopes of obtaining equal rights for all. His life came to an end in 1794 when he finally was executed due to his radical approach to things.
Robespierre- Robespierre was born in Arras in the year of 1758. He came from a fairly wealthy family. He studied with notable orators in his hometown of Arras. This part of his life helped him become a world-famous orator during the French Revolution. His use of rhetoric allowed him to be one of the top students in Arras. His studies were associated with enlightenment ideas. His studies shaped his ideals and opinions. He soon became recognized as a significant figure socially. In the late 1780’s/early 1790’s, he relocated to Paris to be recognized as a true activist for the third estate. After he moved to the “heart” of the French Revolution, he joined the Jacobin Club. The club tried to make a voice for the poor/under-privileged third estate. In 1790, Maximilian Robespierre became the leader of this club. His way with words quickly got him recognized by the public. After the King was overthrown, Robespierre died several years after in 1794. He was able to bring the enlightenment ideas to life.
Marat- Like Danton, Marat was also a radical revolutionary. Marat was born in 1743 and studied medicine in his early life. In 1776, he moved to Paris aspiring to be a physician. When the French Revolution began, he quickly became a supporter of the cause of radical democratic reform. Over the next couple years, he published several books dedicated to helping the 3rd estate revolt against the power hungry first and second estate. Due to Marat’s fearless and one-sided approach on how to fix the French Revolution, he had enemies. In 1793, a woman named Charlotte Corday assassinated him because of his radical beliefs. After his death he became a martyr for the cause.
I think Robespierre was the most significant person out of the three because he had the most control and power to make a difference for the people of the third estate. His voice was heard and feared more than Marat or Danton. He had the most followers out of the three leaders and started the biggest movement towards his cause.
Bibliography
"Infobase Learning - Login." Infobase Learning - Login. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .
Maximilien Robespierre was a well educated lawyer in France in the late 18th century. He served as a voice for the third estate in the estates-general. His critique of the monarchy and government system led to his election as president of the Jacobin club (add info on this). He was a deputy of the National Convention, a convention that commenced as the monarchy fell. Robespierre strongly backed the National Convention's fight against the monarchy which led to the execution of the king and France becoming a republic. Following the abolition of the monarchy, he instituted the Committee of Public Safety, an organization designed to protect the Republic from its enemies. This group was responsible for over 40,000 executions during a bloody time known as the Reign of Terror. At the head of these actions was Robespierre, striving to keep France from reverting to the Old Regime. Anyone who didn't outwardly support the revolution was arrested and executed, often without a trial. Robespierre's colleagues grew weary of this bloodletting and began to fear for their own safety. Their dissatisfaction with Robespierre culminated when he created a new national religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being. Finally, on July 27th, 1794, Robespierre was arrested. He attempted suicide with a bullet to his jaw. The next day, Robespierre was executed at the guillotine, signifying an end to the Reign of Terror.
ReplyDeleteGeorges Danton was a lawyer in Paris during the time of the revolution. He helped found the Cordeliers Club, which he became a leader of, and soon was recognized as a radical orator. He was elected to the National Convention in 1792. A moderate faction called the Girondins challenged him, along with Marat and Robespierre, seeing his radical views as dangerous. As the Girondins fell from power in 1793, Robespierre was gaining power as the leader of the Committee of Public Safety, which Danton was now a member of. As Danton began to sympathize with the ‘Indulgents’ who thought the violence had to be stopped, he was charged with treason and corruption. Danton’s opposition to the Reign of Terror gained him followers in the National Convention. As Danton’s difference of opinion from Robespierre increased, the more uneasy Robespierre became. Finally, in 1794, Danton and his followers were executed at the guillotine.
Jean-Paul Marat was a Swiss man who came to Paris in 1776. He was educated in sciences, but when the revolution broke out, he quickly became a supporter of the cause. He believed that the monarchy needed to fall and he approved of the violence that was making that happen. He helped to free the press and became an editor of a newspaper called L’ami du Peuple, which reflected his radical and progressive views. During the Reign of Terror, he called for thousands of heads to roll, saying that the bloodshed was the only way to ensure the safety and security of the Republic. His paper was a Revolutionary fuel that kept the spirit of the Republic burning. He was elected to the National Convention in 1792 and helped push the Girondin group out of power. On July 13, 1793, a young woman named Charlotte Cordeil killed him in his bathtub. She regarded him as responsible for the bloodshed that plagued France and thought that by killing him, the violence might lessen and stop. However, Marat’s murder only made him a martyr in the eyes of the radicals, and the Reign of Terror continued on.
ReplyDeleteAll three of these men has immense impacts on France during the 18th century, but Maximilien Robespierre had the most influence. His oratory skills helped him gain many followers at the start of the Revolution. As the revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy, Robespierre rose to the head of the cause. The Reign of Terror was the time period where Robespierre had the most influence. His Committee of Public Safety was responsible for the deaths of thousands of citizens. If it weren’t for this bloodshed, it is possible that the Revolution would’ve died out and France would have been returned to a monarchy.
Works Cited
BBC. "Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.
Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. “Marat, Jean-Paul.” Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. 15 October 2012.
Roberts, William J. “Danton, Georges Jacques.” France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. 15 October 2012.
Maximilien Robespierre
ReplyDeleteMaximilien Robespierre was a well educated lawyer who spoke on behalf of the third estate in France. Ironically, Maximilien read a poem to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as a teenager, but they did not pay attention to him. After Louis XVI was removed from power, Robespierre became one of the main revolutionaries in the National Convention. Maximilien and his associates believed that anyone who was not eagerly supporting the revolution should not be a part of France. Along with other revolutionaries, Robespierre led and controlled France. He did this by founding the Committee of Public Safety with some of his colleagues, using fear to establish order throughout France. The Committee of Public Safety was scared that if they were not careful, France would go back to the old regime, which was not an option for Maximilien. They saw the invading countries as possible threats to the revolution, and tried to rid France of those who did not support the revolution. Robespierre manipulated caused fear in France by beheading anyone who was suspicious of supporting the old regime. Sadly, Maximilien took this act too far. Although Robespierre had originally good intentions, he went overboard by terrorizing the French. France realized how many people were being killed because of Robespierre, and decided to execute him. Maximilien Robespierre was then guillotined on July 28, 1794, ending his manipulation in France.
Georges Danton
Georges Danton was a lawyer, like Robespierre, in Paris. Also like Maximilien, Danton was a very good orator, allowing for Georges Danton’s popularity to rise among the French. Danton was a supporter of the revolution and participated in the tearing down of the Bastille prison. Georges Danton became one of the three presidents of the “Cordeliers” club, which strived to radically change France since the old regime had been overthrown. In 1792, Danton joined the National Convention with Robespierre, who Georges Danton began to see as a rival. Danton believed that Louis XVI’s execution was a valid punishment for what Louis XVI had done to France. Georges Danton was not consider harsh enough, and Robespierre happily took Danton’s position in the Committee of Public Safety. All of Georges Danton’s power left his life, leaving him with no close allies, and a few followers. Danton was guillotined on April 5th, 1794, and his last words were, "Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing." Georges Danton’s last words show that he believed that he had made a difference in France and that he was important enough to show his head to the French.
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ReplyDeleteJean-Paul Marat
ReplyDeleteJean-Paul Marat was a physician who greatly supported the revolution and ended up writing some pro-revolution pamphlets. This led to his creation of a French newspaper called “L’ami du peuple,” or “Friend of the people.” The name that Marat uses suggests that the newspaper is alongside the people, fighting for what the citizens of France want. Marat became the editor of this newspaper which backed the revolution and called for extreme changes in the country. After the revolution, when the new constitution was put in place, “L’ami du peuple”received free speech. This free speech allowed for Jean-Paul Marat to write about how terrible the old regime was and how great the new France was. These are just opinions which most of France shared, but then Jean-Paul Marat started calling for people to be guillotined. Robespierre had encouraged the French to turn in anyone who was a supporter of the old regime, or was not even enthusiastic about the new changes, and Marat supported this using his newspaper. Jean-Paul started to list people who might not be supporters of the revolution in his newspaper, leading to the deaths of thousands. Charlotte Corday blamed Marat for the French who were being guillotined and decided to kill him. She stabbed Jean-Paul Marat while he was taking a bath on July 13, 1793. Marat’s death made him a martyr instead of stopping the Reign of Terror as Charlotte Corday wished.
Which of these three most furthered the Reign of Terror?
Personally, I believe that Robespierre was the most influential person during the Reign of Terror. Maximilien was one of the few that ran France while the Reign of Terror was occurring, giving him power and most importantly influence upon the French of that time. Robespierre was such a great speaker and was able to gain followers because of his speaking skills. After Louis XVI and the nobility were removed from power, Maximilien became one of the main leaders in France. Robespierre was able to say who should be guillotined and why they should be executed. In the end, Maximilien had the most influence over the French during the revolution.
Works Cited
Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. "Robespierre, Maximilien." Facts on File. Infobase Learning, 2004. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Roberts, William J. "Danton, Georges Jacques." Facts on File. Infobase Learning, 2004. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Wilson, Ellen Judy, and Peter Hanns Reill. "Marat, Jean-Paul." Facts on File. Infobase Learning, 2004. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
"Danton Biography." Bastille Day and the French Revolution (1789). N.p., 1 July 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Maxmille Robespierre was born as the son of a lawyer on May 6, 1758. Robespierre went to school in Paris and became a lawyer like his father. In 1789 he was elected the deputy of the state’s general, which represented the third estate. Later in 1792 Robespierre became the first elected deputy to the national assembly. When Robespierre and the deputies representing the third estate estate went to the organized national assembly they were turned away by the King. The King thought that they were animals and that they not smart enough to be part of the meeting. This infuriated the deputies of the third estate. They decided to meet at the tennis court for their own meeting. Robespierre became one of the men who expressed out loud how monarchy was not the right way to rule and that the French people deserved freedom. He was elected president of the Jacobin club. This club was a powerful party that was running against the current system of government. When the third estate invaded the palace Robespierre became one of the leaders of the trail that decided what to do with the king. After the King was executed, his party was the one leading the revolution. His strong voice in the reforming the government from the start gave him a seat in the committee of public safety. They were the ones that made all the decisions for the French people. As Robespierre became an important leader in the committee of public safety he demanded those who had any signs of being with the nobility to be executed. This lead to the Reign of Terror. Thousands people who were caught and were executed without going through any trails. After years of blood shed the public safety committee decided that Robespierre should be arrested. They thought that his ideas were becoming too radical as he continually wanted to kill more people. On July, 28 1794 he was executed in front of thousands of Parisians. Robespierre’s change of ideas during the Revolution shows how one can become corrupt with power.
ReplyDeleteDaton was born in 1759. He ended up studying law in Paris. Daton played a great role in the revolution. He was part of the huge crowd that stormed the Bastille. In 1790 he became the president of the Cordeliers club, which believed in a radical change of government. Datons ability to speak well made him become well known in the streets of Paris. After being part of the department of Paris he became the Minister of Justice. This was right after the King was caught in his failed attempt of escaping the country. Soon after that he became part of the Convention. This is where he met the powerful Robespierre. During the Reign of Terror Daton was elected to be the president of the court and voted to execute the King. Quickly after being president of the court he became part of the committee of public safety, which was the most powerful branch of government at that time. Daton’s more moderate ideas in the committee of public safety is what caused him to be fired. His seat was replaced by Robespierre. Eventually Daton lost all his supporters. He ended up being arrested as Robespierre thought he was an enemy of the Republic. In addition Robespierre did this so he would not be challenged to much while he was in the public safety committee. On April 5, 1794 Daton was executed. His last words were "Do not forget to show my head to the people, it is well worth seeing".
Jean Paul Marat was born in Boudry, Switzerland on May 24, 1743. He moved to France at the age of sixteen to study to become a scientist. His work was criticized a lot by the academy of sciences. As the political events started to unfold Jean Paul Marat decided that he wanted to express the hate he had towards the way the current system of government was run. In September 1789 he started his own newspaper called “L’ami du pople”(friend of the people). The articles in the newspaper were very extreme. After the storming of the Bastille he declared that five to six hundred people should be executed in his newspaper. Marat believed that if the people of the old regime were killed, France would be able to have a peaceful revolution because no one would be trying to go back to the old ways of the nobility. As the terror started Marat would have a list of people on his newspaper of who should be killed. Marat ended up being one of the people who influenced the public safety committee supporters execute the Girondins. The Girondin party did not like the idea of having hundreds of people executed because they believed that the stabilization of government was key for the new government to succeed. Suddenly in the middle of the Terror Marat was murdered July 13th, 1793. The person who murdered him was a supporter of the Girondin party named Charlotte Corday. This sudden death of one strongest voices in the revolution for freedom made Marat have a great national honor from the French people. His newspaper will be known for creating much blood shed on the street of Paris. Marat’s voice in his newspaper made many people believe in his ideas and there for leading to people like Robespierre to follow Marat’s ideas. In the end Marat’s newspaper is responsible for killing hundreds of people who he thought were somehow related to the old government.
ReplyDeleteToday the media has a great influence in people on current events all over the world. An example would be in Iran when media continually said that there were weapons of mass destruction. The media never challenged the fact that there might not be weapons in Iran. This caused most people in America to support the U.S to go to war against Iraq. This ended up to be a very bad decision as the U.S never found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In the French revolution it was the same case too. When people turned against the government they looked for advice from the media, which were the revolutionary papers. Marat influenced the French people in the French revolution by having his own newspaper. The idea of one voice being expressed on the paper to tens of thousands of people was very powerful in a revolution where people didn’t really know what was the next step after killing the King. This Newspaper persuaded the people of Paris to continue supporting to kill anyone who were suspected to be with the nobility. The list Marat had of people who were enemies of the republic was so strong that many times those people would be arrested by the police and executed. He continually said that if you kill just a few(hundreds) more people the revolution would be successful and there would be peace again in France. Marat strong voice made many people be persuaded that Robespierre was a good leader for the revolution. Marat is the reason why the Jacobin’s club succeeded and the Girondin club was prevented from holding any power.
Works Cited
"The French Revolution." French Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .
"Georges Danton (French Revolutionary Leader)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .
"Jean Paul Marat." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .
"Maximilien Robespierre." Maximilien Robespierre. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .
James Lovberg
ReplyDeleteRobespierre initially started out as the son of a lawyer and was a member of the third estate. He rose up against King Louis and became the leader of the Commission of Public Safety in order to defend France from intruders and those sympathetic to the Old Regime. He became obsessed with trying to rid France of any possible threats and had all of the “threats” killed. He died by the guillotine as the national convention wanted to end the revolutionary fervor.
Danton started his career as a lawyer in Paris and became the leader of the Cordeliers Club, which he helped found as the Revolution began. He served as the ministry of justice and had a great deal to do with the September massacres. He was attacked because he was a dangerous radical. He was caught in the factional conflicts of 1794 and was accused of treason and corruption. Danton tried to end the Terror after this and opposed Robespierre. Later he was found guilty by the Revolutionary Tribunal and executed.
Marat wrote a number of philosophical essays that attacked tyranny, denounced the corruption of the royal court, and aligned himself with freemasonry. He founded a radical newspaper called “Voice of the People” that called for progressive reforms and believed the French monarchy had to be destroyed for radical change to occur and violence was the solution to ending the revolution. Charlotte Corday assassinated him.
I think that Robespierre was most influential at furthering the aims of “the terror” because he was the leader of the National Convention, which was the organization that had 40000 people killed. He started off wanting to revolt, but took it too far and never backed off, leading to many deaths. Since he was the leader, he had the power the whole time to pull the plug on the Terror, but became obsessed with his power and this made him the most influential at furthering “the terror”.
Wilson, Ellen Judy., and Peter Hanns. Reill. Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. New York: Facts On File, 2004. Web.
Roberts, William J. France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts On File, 2004. Web.
Colton Bancroft
ReplyDeleteOct 11 2012
Robespierre had an interesting life. He was sixteen or seventeen when he recited a poem to the king during the time he was in law school. Ironically he was actually part of the reason that the king was killed. Robespierre, in addition, was also a very important man during the time of the revolution. He was a main voice of the national assembly and played a main role in the tennis court oath. He was part of the reason why the new constitution was formed. Unfortunately, once the king and queen were killed, Robespierre became obsessed with his new ideas and went blood crazy. He was killing many citizens a day for any discussion about the old regime. He even had spies to listen in on others conversations. Eventually it became evident that Robespierre was causing to many deaths and too much anxiety; as a result he was sentenced to death.
Georges Danton was another man that was important to the revolution. He was the president of the National Assembly in the early times of the revolution and also took part in Louis the XVI’s death. In addition, Danton played a major role in the “Reign of Terror”. Danton had actually been one of the nine original members of the Committee of Public Safety. He also wanted to make sure that people fell away from the old Regime, though over time Danton did become suspicious as to the direction the “Terror” was going. Danton began to gain more power during the “Terror,” But Robespierre did not like the idea of Danton having more control than himself. As a result, Danton was arrested March 30, 1794 and eventually sentenced to death.
Yet another man that played a significant role in the revolution was Jean Paul Marat. During the revolution Marat was writing a paper that was a main voice during the revolution. In addition he was part of the National convention. Due to his writing stile he was the main reason for the spread of knowledge throughout France. He wrote on topics such as the king and queen, prices of bread, and even used names in is paper that lead to death. What I mean by this was that during the “Terror,” Marat would basically call specific citizens out on their thoughts or actions, leading to their execution. He was the cause of much of the violence during this time. In fact, his writing style of “enemies of the revolution” and “enemies of the people” is what eventually got him killed. A woman named Charlotte Corday was the one who silenced the voice of Jean Paul Marat. She had had enough of his voice for it was killing many people and finished his life with a knife to the chest. After his death she said, “I killed one man to save 100,000.”
In the end I feel that Robespierre had the greatest influence on the “Terror” altogether, due to his devotion and blood hungry personality that he developed over the coarse of the revolution. Robespierre played a main role in the creation of the constitution, the National Assembly, Committee of Public safety, and also played a huge role in the Reign of Terror. Due to his involvement of overthrowing the government and the creation of the constitution; I feel that Robespierre had a special need to make sure that things continued to go his way. He had taken part in the development of a new way of living, and wanted to make sure that everyone began to live in this new manner. He eventually became crazy with this idea and killed anyone who even mentioned something of the Old Regime. Yes Danton was a main part of the revolution, and yes Marat was a main voice during the revolution, but Robespierre played a bigger part in the creation of the constitution and gave Marat something more to write about. Marat did get people killed because of his writing, but Robespierre was the reason they were able to be killed. Even Danton was beginning to think that Robespierre was going a little overboard when he voted yes to his death.
“Georges Danton.” Wikipedia,n.d. Web 18 oct. 2012.
Edwin, Thomas. “Who Was Georges Danton.” eHow,n.d. Web 18 oct. 2012.
“Jean-Paul Marat.” Wikipedia,n.d. Web oct. 2012
My post was too long so the blog didn't accept it. I e-mailed it to you with Microsoft Word.
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