FRANCE IN BETWEEN OF WAR (THE JACOBIN TERROR) FINAL PART

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The three institutional foundations of Robespierre's revolutionary tyranny were the Jacobin Club, the Commune, and the Convention Committees. However, this does not fully explain his strange power unless one also considers the wider elements of revolutionary fervor and patriotic enthusiasm, the restless insecurity and anxiety that pervaded the atmosphere, and the constant blackmailing power of the ferocious and excited Paris mob that forced every political leader to outbid his colleagues in denouncing treachery and providing evidence of his own unsullied purpose. The overthrow of all known established institutions of governance, coupled with the dual threat of domestic counterrevolution and foreign invasion, allowed for the Reign of Terror. That it spread so widely and persisted for so long was caused by a number of factors, chief among them the influence of bras-nits, canaille, and enrages, or, to put it another way, proletarian violence and criminal fanaticism that took advantage of the fervor and savagery of the urban mob. The mass of French men and women who were unlucky enough to become entangled in the whirlwind of political turmoil were the target audience of The Tenor, rather than only the bourgeoisie or the resistant aristocracy and clergy. A lot of people were criticized because the main concern was to defend yourself by criticizing others. Seventy percent of the victims of the Terror were members of the laboring and peasant classes, most of whom were in rebellion against the government; yet, it was not a tool of class warfare. 2,639 persons were sentenced to death by the Paris Revolutionary Tribunal; approximately 17,000 people were found guilty by revolutionary courts overall. The other forty thousand victims of the Terror were mainly put to death in summary mass executions in areas where there was open resistance against the Convention, including Lyon and the Vendee. Even while the Terror was horrible, it was not as terrible as other contemporary dictatorships in terms of discrimination.

Both the social incidence of emigration and the social incidence of terror were equal. During the entire 1789–1799 decade, there were roughly twice as many bourgeois, peasant, and working-class emigrants as noble and clerical ones. During the Reign of Terror in 1793, a large portion of the underprivileged population left the country, and eventually this group came to symbolize the entire country. The Revolution was eating its own young, and it was alienating a growing number of people from both execution and exile. The ongoing conflict was what gave it this horrifying destructive force. The final justification for the Terror was the association between opponents of the Republic and enemies of the nation, a relationship that was reinforced by both internal uprisings and emigration. Revolutionary war was the foundation of the revolutionary regime.

Europe was invaded by the Revolution.

These colloquial terms denoted, in that order, "wild men" or republican fanatics; "common people" or impoverished; "those with bear arms" or working class; and "the rabble" or mob. Which attacked the Revolution is a question that is nearly impossible to answer and most definitely not profitable. As has already been mentioned, there was an unstoppable conflict between the two, and if war broke out, it was certain to continue until one side or the other burned out on the battlefield. The war had a profound effect on France's internal reconstruction. The opposite was also true. Modern warfare was transformed by the Committee of Public Safety's introduction of the levee end masse, or universal conscription for military service, in August 1793, on the recommendation of Lazare Carnot. It did not immediately imply the mobilization of all citizens, which would have only served to destabilize the nation. Initially, those between the ages of 18 and 25 who were single and had no children were the only ones called up. However, the actions created a new and far-reaching principle: the state's right to order the services of all of its inhabitants in an emergency. It made it possible for France to deploy formidable forces in the field of combat, led by the brilliant Carnot, which proved to be superior to the more established professional royal army. The system established by the Directory1 in its September 1798 Law of Conscription established a solid basis for Napoleon's military rule.

Due to the system's necessity, other nations gradually adopted it. It also contributed to the transformation of war from an army-on-army fight into a confrontation involving whole nations. When combined with the democratic tenets that were popular in 1793, it also resulted in an internal reform program that had important long-term implications. Property can be conscripted along with people and services, and since everyone must make sacrifices, the state has an obligation to look after the needs and well-being of those whose services it requires. The relationship that developed between the state and society, as well as between the government and the governed, was far more intimate and mutual than it had ever been under absolutist regimes. In addition to controlling salaries and prices, the revolutionary dictatorship also managed trade and currency, planned supply-side distribution, promoted agricultural advancements, improved technical education, helped the underprivileged, and eventually outlawed slavery in the French colonies. The majority of these actions had also been taken by paternalistic monarchies, but now they were carried out in the name of democracy, by a gathering of the country's democratically chosen officials, and with a fervent desire for the welfare of the populace. This relationship between the advancement of prosperity and the requirements of war would not change over the course of later European history.

The principal rationale behind the Terror in August 1793 was that five enemy armies were occupying French territory and Paris needed to be set up like a besieged stronghold. The tide was turning by the spring of 1794. The French regained control over all of Belgium in June after the Ardennes and western Flanders were reoccupied in May, the Vendee uprising was put down, the British were driven from the country at sea, and Prussian and Austrian forces were forced to retreat from Alsace and cross the Rhine. These victories served as a gauge of the extent to which the Terror had achieved its objective, which could be justified on a national level. The fundamental cause of the Terror's persistence and significant intensification during the summer, leading to Robespierre's death, was the fanatics' incapacity to relinquish their personal power when doing so would have put them in danger. 1,285 people were killed by the guillotine in June and July. The appalling economic realities of the nation continued to provide some justification for an oppressive and cruel regime. The war on the rich (particularly the new rich of profiteers and speculators) could go on forever for the benefit of the poor; Robespierre's declared redistribution of property through taxation and confiscation was undoubtedly not finished; and the laws of the Maximum, which sought to control inflation by setting maximum prices were undoubtedly widely evaded. However, France could not sustain Terrorism for these purposes alone. Its usefulness had expired. Approximately 80,000 inmates were released right away upon Robespierre's execution on July 28, 1794, and all arrests made prior to his fall were shortly revoked. The Commune lost about ninety members in the same way as Robespierre.

The end.