The French Revolution From The French Revolution From Monarchy to Republic

The National Convention The legislative Assembly felt it had lost control and needed to be reformed, so it became the National Convention The legislative Assembly felt it had lost control and needed to be reformed, so it became the National Convention Was divided into three parties Was divided into three parties The conservatives – who sat on the right side of the assembly room, supported a constitutional monarchy (Girondins) The conservatives – who sat on the right side of the assembly room, supported a constitutional monarchy (Girondins) The swing voters – who sat in the middle of the assembly room (Plains) The swing voters – who sat in the middle of the assembly room (Plains) The Radicals – who sat on the left side of the Assembly room, supported a republic (Jacobins) The Radicals – who sat on the left side of the Assembly room, supported a republic (Jacobins) The parties were not really organized and specific individuals had a lot of power The parties were not really organized and specific individuals had a lot of power

The Jacobin Leaders Jean-Paul Marat –leader of the extreme radicals, wrote a very revolutionary newspaper –called for hundreds of enemies of the revolution to be killed, many were Georges-Jacques Danton –Initially an agitator in the early days of revolution –Became a moderate voice in the Jacobin party because he was willing to compromise

Maximillien Robespierre Initially a fairly moderate Jacobin, Robespierre became more radical over time Initially a fairly moderate Jacobin, Robespierre became more radical over time Became the main leader of the National Convention Became the main leader of the National Convention He an other Jacobins put the King on Trial for treason He an other Jacobins put the King on Trial for treason

The Trial of King Louis XVI Girondins wanted to avoid a trial Jacobins wanted to try and execute the king to ensure the monarchy would never return King was put on trial for treason He was found guilty executed the following day by Guillotine

The Committee of Public Safety Set up by National Convention to protect the republic during the Revolution Set up by National Convention to protect the republic during the Revolution Had control of the military, implemented the draft for unmarried men b/w 18 and 45 Had control of the military, implemented the draft for unmarried men b/w 18 and 45 Created the Revolutionary Tribunal Created the Revolutionary Tribunal Set up to try and convict people who were against the Revolution People who were convicted were executed People who were convicted were executed

Transforming Society Leaders of the new government wanted to erase all connections to the old way of doing things Leaders of the new government wanted to erase all connections to the old way of doing things Catholic churches were closed and Robespierre introduced a new religion : the cult of the Supreme Being Catholic churches were closed and Robespierre introduced a new religion : the cult of the Supreme Being A new measurement system and calendar were introduced A new measurement system and calendar were introduced Weeks were now 10 days long and there were 3 weeks per month – all months were renamed

The Reign of Terror More and more French people began to criticize the Revolution, and a group of countries began planning how they could attack France The revolution’s leaders feared a counterrevolution (revolution against the new govt.) would break out They planned a series of trials and executions to put an end to the criticism

Accusations and Trials The Jacobins used the Revolutionary Tribunal to get rid of dissenters First they targeted the Girondins because they once favored having a constitutional monarchy Then they targeted anyone who criticized the revolution, over 300,000 were arrested The accused had few rights and were forbidden from defending themselves

Death by Guillotine Most common sentence by the tribunal Public executions became commonplace, averaging one killing every 20 minutes for one solid year Victims included Marie Antoinette, Danton, and eventually Robespierre himself Between 20,000 and 40,000 died by the guillotine

The Directory After the Terror, France needed a new government The National Convention wrote another constitution and created a governing board with five members called the Directory They passed some reforms, but the Directory was weak It eventually fell apart and left France with a huge power vacuum