The French Republic

Factions in French Government  The Mountain – Montagnards – Radicals/Extremest  Support came from the lower middle class and the poor  Most members were part of the Jacobin Club/Jacobins  Girondins – Moderates  Resisted extremes  Supported a Constitutional Monarchy  The Plain – Swing Voters  Support for the Girondins later switched to the Mountain

Radical Leaders  Jean-Paul Marat  Wanted violence  Leader of the sans culottes  Georges-Jacques Danton  Very popular with public  Opposed what he saw as excess actions  Maximilien Robespierre  Intensely dedicated  Led the National Convention during its most blood thirsty time

King Louis XVI  National Convention placed King Louis XVI on trail  Girondins wanted to avoid trail  Montagnards wanted to try and execute the king to prevent the monarchy from returning  January 21, 1793 – King Louis XVI was executed  Executed by guillotine – a device that dropped a sharp, heavy blade through the victims neck  News quickly spread – Europeans reacted with horror

Changes in Society  Committee of Public Safety  Drafted all abled bodied, unmarried men, ages 18-45, to protect France’s boarders  Revolutionary Tribunal  A court to eliminate all who threaten the Revolution from within  Erase connections to old way of life  Clergy members lost positions  Churches were closed  Roman Catholicism was replaced with Cult of the Supreme Being  Metric system and new calendar were introduced