Rise of Radicalism during the French Revolution Document E Jean-Baptiste Henry, aged 18, journeyman tailor, convicted of having cut down a tree of liberty, executed in September, Marie Plaisant, seamstress, convicted of having exclaimed that she was an aristocrat and that she did not care for the nation, condemned to death and executed the same day. Jean Julien, wagoner, though in his head ‘long live the king’, condemned to death. Francois Bertrand, aged 37, bartender, convicted of having provided the leaders of the country with sour wine, condemned and executed the same day. Louis Catore, aged 60, retired soldier, convicted as an enemy of the Republic for looking at Jacobin leaders the wrong way. Executed by guillotine in January 1794 Document C The guillotine, the new instrument of justice, was put to work. Public executions were considered educational. Women were encouraged to sit and knit during trials and executions. The Committee of Public Safety ordered the execution of 2,400 people in Paris by July Across France 40,000 people lost their lives, most of whom were peasants… The Terror was designed to fight the enemies of the revolution, to prevent counter-revolution from gaining ground. Most of the people rounded up were not aristocrats, but ordinary people… Robespierre was the mastermind of the Reign of Terror. He was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety… Document B “His blood flows; cries of joy from 80,000 armed men rend the air. His blood flows and there are people who dip a fingertip or a scrap of paper in it. One tastes it: ‘It is vilely salt!’ An executioner at the scaffold side sells small bundles of his hair; people buy the ribbon that tied it. Everyone carries off a small bundle of his clothing or some other bloodstained remnant. The whole population go by, arm in arm, laughing and talking as if from some festivity. The taverns on the bloody square had their wine bottles emptied as usual. They sold cakes and patties around the beheaded body, which was treated like a common criminal” Document A “Louis XVI lost his life on Monday at half past ten in the morning, and to the very last he maintained the greatest possible courage. He was able to speak only these words: ‘I forgive my enemies; I trust that my death will be for the happiness of my people, but I grieve for France and I fear that she may suffer the anger of the Lord.’ The King took off his coat himself at the foot of the scaffold, and when someone sought to help him he said cheerfully, ‘I do not need any help.’” Document D The Jacobins controlled the Committee of Public safety. The leading figure in the Committee was Maximilien Robespierre The Committee allowed for people to be convicted without hearing evidence. Later, the CPS passed a law called the Law of Suspects. People could now be put in prison without trial. There were many incidents of horror during the Terror. In Lyons, a Jacobin ordered 300 people to be executed by cannon fire as the guillotine was ‘too slow’. At Nantes, barges containing 2000 people were towed into the middle of the River Loire and sunk. Everyone drowned. Birds hovered above the water, eating dead flesh. The river water was so contaminated that fishing was banned.

Rise of Radicalism during the French Revolution Directions: Use the sources on the other side of this sheet to answer the following questions. Name __________________ 1.Describe how King Louis acted moments before his execution in one sentence or more. 2. Using Document B, describe how the people responded and explain why they responded this way. 3.Using Document C, why did the Jacobins want women to sit it on executions and why did they seem them as educational? 4.In Document C, who are most of the people being killed? How is this surprising given what you know about the purpose of the French Revolution? 5.What things in Document D that were carried out by the CP S contradict Enlightenment ideas? Explain. 6.Choose three reasons why people were executed to list below from Document E. 7.Why do you think people were being executed for ridiculous reasons? 8.Using sources C and D, explain the purpose of the Reign of Terror. 9.Using your notes we took today and these sources, explain why the Revolution became radical and its effects. (3 sentences or more)