Events
September 22, 1792 France is declared a republic
January 21, 1793 Louis XVI is executed
April 6 National Convention creates Committee of Public Safety
June 24 Constitution of 1793 is
established
September 5 Reign of Terror begins; lasts more than ten months
September 29 Robespierre’s Maximum implements ceiling on prices
October 16 Marie-Antoinette is executed
July 27, 1794 Robespierre is overthrown
December 24 Maximum is repealed; prices skyrocket
Key People
Louis XVI - French
king; executed by new republican government in January 1793
Maximilien Robespierre - Jacobin leader who seized control of National Convention
and Committee of Public Safety; later instituted Reign of Terror, targeting
those whose philosophies differed from his own
Lazare Carnot - Military
strategist who helped reorganize the French war effort and successfully
defended the country against foreign invaders
Georges Danton - Longtime
Jacobin and close associate of Robespierre who was executed after
he began questioning the extremes to which Robespierre was going
in the Reign of Terror
The National Convention and the French Republic
In the autumn of 1792,
the revolutionary government, having written off the idea of a constitutional
monarchy, set about electing a National Convention of
delegates to oversee the country. In late September, therefore,
the first election took place under the rules of the Constitution
of 1791.
As it turned out, only a third of the newly elected convention members
had sat on a previous assembly, and a great number of new faces
belonged to either the Jacobins or the Girondins.
The first action of the convention, on September 21, 1792,
was to abolish the monarchy. The next day, the Republic
of France was founded.
The Execution of Louis XVI
As a sign of the republic’s newfound resolve and contempt
for the monarchy, the next proposal before the National Convention
was the execution of Louis XVI. Once again, the moderates
objected and eventually forced a trial, but the effort was in vain.
Louis XVI was ultimately found guilty of treason and, on January 21, 1793,
executed at the guillotine. Months later, on October 16, 1793,
his wife, Marie-Antoinette, met the same
fate.
Symbolically speaking, the declaration of sovereignty
and the beheading of the monarch were powerful motivators within
France. Unfortunately, the moment of bliss was brief, as the governmental powers
quickly realized that all of their achievements were being threatened
by internal and external fighting.
The Committee of Public Safety
In the weeks after the execution of the king, the internal
and external wars in France continued to grow. Prussian and Austrian
forces pushed into the French countryside, and one noted French
general even defected to the opposition. Unable to assemble an army
out of the disgruntled and protesting peasants, the Girondin-led
National Convention started to panic. In an effort to restore peace
and order, the convention created the Committee of Public
Safety on April 6, 1793,
to maintain order within France and protect the country from external
threats.
The Jacobins’ Coup
The Committee of Public Safety followed a moderate course
after its creation but proved weak and ineffective. After a few
fruitless months under the committee, the sans-culottes finally
reached their boiling point. They stormed the National Convention
and accused the Girondins of representing the aristocracy. Seeing
an opportunity, Maximilien Robespierre, the leader
of the Jacobins, harnessed the fury of the sans-culottes to take
control of the convention, banish the Girondins, and install the
Jacobins in power.
Once again, the sans-culottes proved to be a formidable
force in effecting change during the Revolution. Already upset about
the composition of the National Convention—which remained dominated
by middle- and upper-class bourgeoisie and was influenced by big
thinkers of the time—they became even more angry upon learning that
many of the Girondin leaders expected them to bolster the failing
war effort. Sieyès had originally rallied the Third Estate by reminding
them that they numbered many and that their numbers gave them strength.
This message clearly stuck with the sans-culottes throughout the
Revolution, and they took advantage of their strength at every possible
opportunity.
