By Chris Anderson Randolph-Henry High School

 1792: the revolutionary leaders of France have to deal with the consequences of their declared war on Austria and Prussia  Prussian forces had taken over Verdun (a French fort)  capturing Verdun opened up the road to Paris for the Prussians Georges-Jacques Danton  one French man--Georges-Jacques Danton-- issues a cry for help  thousands of French come to the aid of the revolution  1 week after Danton’s plea, the French win a major victory at Valmy  this victory increased the morale of the French revolutionaries--the French were again a military power

Georges Jacques Danton

 While fighting was occurring in Valmy, the National Assembly was meeting in Paris  members were trying to form a new government for France  the National Assembly got rid of the monarchy and established a republic in France  from 1792 to 1795, the National Assembly will meet  Only males were allowed to be members of the National Convention  lawyers, doctors, middle- class males  the National Convention wrote France’s 1st democratic constitution  this work put political power in the hands of single legislature  all men could vote under this new constitution

 The metric system was adopted as the official system of weights and measures in France  a new calendar was adopted by the National Convention September 22, 1792  this calendar marked September 22, 1792 as the creation date of the French republic

 After disposing of the monarchy, the N. C. had to find out what to do with the king--Louis XVI  Louis’ fate was sealed when a box filled with his secret letters to foreign monarchs was found (November 1792)  political radicals used these letters as evidence, discrediting the royal family  Dec. 1792: Louis XVI was tried and sentenced to die--he was called an enemy of the people  he was decapitated by the guillotine  the French people were happy to see their king die  with the death of the king, the French Republic was sure to last

Execution of Louis XVI

 The people of Paris felt that they were almost invincible after the execution of Louis XVI  the rich people of Paris began acting differently after the execution of the king  they rejected the fancy clothes and powder wigs  men began wearing full length pants instead of knee-pants  women began wearing long dress  The wealthy were trying to break away from the monarchy by dressing differently  the members of the Convention began arguing over the future of the French Republic  different political parties developed from these arguments  Mountains  Girondists  Plain

 Radicals  Rich Paris Citizens  Extreme Radicals (Jacobians)  Saw themselves as the defenders of the people  Leaders:  Maximillien Robespierre  Georges-Jacques Danton  Jean-Paul Marat

RobspierreJean-Paul Marat

 Moderates  Most were from the Southwest of France  Felt the Revolution had gone far enough  Wanted to protect the rich middle-class from radical attacks

 Sat between the Mountains and Girondists  Consisted of members who did not want to choose sides  the Plain made up the majority in the Convention  1793: they will give support to the Mountains  the Plain will help the Mountains become even more radical, open to extreme, and violent change

 Other European monarchies were watching the events in France and were terrified  these monarchs feared the revolution would spread into their own nation  January 1793: Great Britain, Spain, Netherlands, and Sardinia joined Austria and Prussia in an alliance against France  The Convention leaders in France wanted to end royal power everywhere in Europe  Convention leaders ordered French troops to go out into Europe and free the rest of Europe from royal power  French volunteers poured out of France into Europe in an attempt to free Europe from royal control

 The French volunteers were poorly trained; however, they won many battles against the other European nations by using the element of surprise  nevertheless, the other European nations had well trained (professional) forces that issued many defeats to the French volunteer force  the French will eventually surrender  After the surrender, French troops started retreating back into France  the National Convention wanted to ensure that they could keep the foreign nations from invading France Committee of Public Safety  as a way of directing the war effort, the National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety

 1793: the committee saw the need for more French troops to help aid the war  the committee instituted conscription (draft)  all men between 18 and 45 were called into the military  the committee also wanted the help of all the French--men and women--to produce needed goods for the war effort

 While France was spreading the revolution to the rest of Europe, the revolutionary leaders were facing more problems in France  in Western France, a civil war was occurring  peasants supporting the monarchy were fighting against the French revolutionaries  these peasants were very angry that their sons were drafted to go fight a war that they opposed  Other parts of France were in economic trouble and, financially, could not support the revolution  food prices in France were and the amount of food was  people in the cities began riots as a way of protesting the high prices and low supply of food

 Problems were also occurring within the French government  the Mountain party will win control over the National Convention  once in control, they will arrest the Girondist members who did not agree with the Mountain’s policies and ideas  members supporting the Girondists will rebel against the Mountains Charlotte Corday  one Girondist supporter--Charlotte Corday--killed a Mountain leader  shortly after, Charlotte was executed by the guillotine  other Girondist supporters would also be executed for not following the Mountains

Charlotte Corday

 The Mountains had collected enemies at home and in the rest of Europe Reign of Terror  these Mountains--lead by the Jacobins--set out to crush all opposition in France--Reign of Terror  this Reign of Terror lasted exactly 1 year--from July 1793 until July 1794  Neighborhood watch programs were set up to catch suspected traitors  the suspects were handed over to the courts where the suspect would receive a very quick (usually unfair) trial  the courts usually handed down very strict and harsh sentences  many innocent people were wrongly accused

 Marie Antoinette, the king’s wife, was a victim of the Reign of Terror  in all, 17,000 people were executed during this 1 year Reign of Terror  Spring 1794: the leader of the Jocobins (Danton) decided to end the Reign of Terror  a fellow party member (Robespierre) disagreed  Robespierre will have Danton and his followers executed  Robespierre then decided to continue the Reign of Terror for 4 more months  many of Robespierre’s followers were afraid for their own lives  they had Robespierre arrested and guillotined

 After Robespierre’s execution, the Convention handled the government of France  1795: a new constitution was drafted  only men who owned land could vote--this ended universal male suffrage  all control was given to the wealthy middle-class  a council of 5 men called directors was created Directory  this new Directory would rule and share power with a 2 house legislature

 Many people did not like the Directory  many royalists threatened to take over the government  many people were upset because of the increasing prices and food shortages  the Directory had to use the French military to put down numerous uprisings  under the Directory, the gap between the rich and poor steadily grew $  the Directory could not slow the growth because of its own lack of $--the Directory was on the verge of bankruptcy  as the Directory seemed less powerful, the French people looked to the army to keep France from falling into ruin

 As problems raged on in France, the French military was able to win some victories against the other European monarchies Napoleon Bonaparte  one military leader was becoming very popular-- Napoleon Bonaparte  Napoleon quickly rose to the rank of general  1795: Napoleon was able to put down an uprising against the Directory

Napoleon

 1796: Napoleon will marry--Josephine de Beauharnais  this marriage will help Napoleon win command of the French army that was fighting in Italy  in Italy, Napoleon illustrated his great strategic mind by defeating the Austrians in Italy and forcing them to sign a peace treaty  This victory over Austria made Napoleon the leading general in France  Napoleon had been fighting in Egypt against Great Britain and faced many setbacks  1799: he hears of the problems occurring in France and leaves his army in Egypt and heads for France  the people of Paris welcomed Napoleon with open arms

Josephine de Beauharnais

 Napoleon will quickly realize that the French are tired and frustrated with the revolution and war  He will join in a coup de’etat and take power away from the Directory  the stage will be set for Napoleon’s future empire