The
The French Revolution
andRepublic
Napoleon
Section 2
Main Idea
An extreme government changed French society and tried through
harsh means to eliminate its critics within France.
Content Statement 8/Learning Goal:
Describe how Enlightenment ideas influenced the American Revolution,
French Revolution and Latin American wars for independence.
Ch and
6-2 Vocabulary
The French Revolution
Napoleon
Section 2
Maximilien Robespierre: Leading figure of the French
Revolution; he was known for his intense dedication to the
revolution. He became increasingly radical and led the National
Convention during its most bloodthirsty time.
Guillotine: a device used during the French Revolution for
beheading people.
Counterrevolution: a revolution established against a
government established by a revolution
Reign of Terror: a period during the French Revolution in which
the Robespierre-led government executed thousands of political
figures and ordinary citizens.
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section 2
Page 208
A Radical
Government/The
National Section
Convention
The
French Revolution
and Napoleon
2
In 1792, the radical representatives were in charge of the National Convention.
The constitutional monarchy came to a violent end, and France became a
republic.
1)Factions
• 1.Mountain/Montagnards/ Jacobins
• Middle class and poor
• Most radical
• 2.Girondins
• Moderates
• Support Constitutional Monarchy
• 3.The Plain (swing voters) 1st supported Girondins but switch to
Mountain.
• Personal rivalries
• 2) How were Jacobins and Girondins different?
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section 2
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Reign of Terror
Section 2
Radical
Leaders
The French Revolution
and Napoleon
Section 2
3)Leaders (eventually all killed during Revolution)
• Jean-Paul Marat
–advocate of violence
• Georges-Jacques Danton
–Compromiser
–Came to oppose excess of revolution
• Robespierre
–Dedicated radical
–Led National Convention during most blood thirsty
time
• No group had program or plan of action
4)Executions
The French Revolution
and Napoleon
Section 2
• National Convention puts King on Trial
• Montagnards were eager to try and execute the king
• Wanted to prevent a return of monarchy
• King was condemned quickly
• Crash course video: sentenced to death by one
vote.
• 1/21/1793- King put to death by guillotine
• When the deed was done a young guard held up
the dripping head for all to see
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section 2
5)View ofand
Death
of the King
The French Revolution
Napoleon
Section 2
• Europeans reacted with horror
• Lost European support
– Revolution savagery condemned
– “Every heart burns with indignation in this kingdom,
against the ferocious savages of Paris. . . A Republic
founded on the blood of an innocent victim must
have but a short duration” London Times, January
25, 1793
• America’s response?
6)National
Convention
takes
The French
Revolution
and Control
Napoleon
Section 2
• Committee of Public Safety set up to manage military defense
• Drafted all able-bodied men between 18 and 45 for service
• Established the Revolutionary Tribunal to protect the
Revolution by rooting out people who threatened it
7)Transforming Society
• Leaders tried to end connections to old ways of life, including
religion
• Clergy members lost positions; churches closed in Paris
• Robespierre created cult of Supreme Being to replace
Catholicism
• Metric system, new calendar with 3/10 week months were
introduced
The Reign
of Terror
The French Revolution
and Napoleon
Section 2
8.Course of Revolution
• Many French criticized the Revolution as well as the countries of Great
Britain, Holland, Spain, Austria and Prussia
• Revolutionary leaders feared counterrevolution
• Took drastic actions to keep power accusations, trials, and executions.
• This period was known as the Reign of Terror (300,000 arrested; 17,000
executed over 10 months).
9.An Outbreak of Civil War
• Peasants only wanted an end to feudal dues. Peasants in Vendee begin civil war.
• Catholics and monarchy supporters who opposed the Revolution start a civil war
• The government put down the counterrevolution to regain control.
10.Mountain leads Accusations and Trials
•
•
•
•
Robespierre used the Revolutionary Tribunal to rid the country of dissenters
9/10 Who went on trial before Revolutionary Tribunal were found guilty and executed
Started trials with the Girondins
Anyone who had ever criticized the Revolution was in danger.
10.Death
Guillotine
The French Revolution
and by
Napoleon
Section 2
• Most common sentence - death by guillotine
• Condemned paraded through Paris in open carts to awaiting stages
• Mobs watched at scaffold; executions took less than one minute
10.The Terror’s Victims
• No one was spared
• Peasants /laborers largest victims
• Danton sent to guillotine by
Robespierre for suggesting relaxing
rule of terror.
• Robespierre eventually arrested and
later executed too.
• 17,000 executed in 10 months
• “Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed
in your name!”
• Reign of Terror ends after death of
Robespierre
11.After the Terror
• France started over with new
constitution in 1795
• The Directory established (1795)
• Voting limited to property owners
• High prices, bankruptcy, and
citizens’ unrest continued
• Power vacuum developed-No one
in control
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section 2
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section 2
Four Phases (Periods) of the French Revolution
National Assembly (1789-1791)
Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)
Convention (1792-1795)
Directory (1795-1799)
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Section 2
Page 208
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Reign of Terror
Section 2
Response
on 6-1/6-2 Quiz
The FrenchShort
Revolution
and Napoleon
Section 2
• How did Enlightenment ideas play a role in the
French Revolution? Use specific information
and explain in detail. At least two paragraphs.