Robespierre

A detailed Summary of Robespierre

Maximillian Robespierre is a name that many associate with the terrible events that occurred in France during the revolution. According to historian J.M. Thompson, "He was led, not by cruel ambition but by common hopes and fears, into the bloodshed of the Reign of Terror" . He brought himself up, through political criticism, from a poor orphan to a leader of a revolution. Robespierre himself was the architect of his own rise and of his own demise.

The era in which Robespierre was born was a time of the enlightenment, but also in a time of chaos. Everyone was striving to achieve success through reason and logic.

The situation of France was chaotic. It was clear that King Louis XVI was incompetent to fulfill his duties as a king.

Some aspects of the situation would have been so familiar as to be taken for granted: the decline of the Monarchy during Louis XV's long reign; the weakening of the position of the Church; the transference of wealth and social consequence from the nobility and gentry to the commercial and professional middle class; or the continual rise in prices which prevented the workers from profiting by the increasing prosperity of the country.

The people of France were ready for a change t

When people started realizing that Robespierre was actually a tyrant who declared war on his own colleagues, his days were numbered. In July of 1794 he fell victim to the machine that he had made so popular. The events of the convention on July 27 led to Robespierre having more enemies than he could control. Robespierre was arrested and after a failed attempt to escape, he was put to death by the guillotine. The citizens of France convicted him of going against article seventeen of the constitution that he created. Robespierre's final counter-accusation led to his arrest. Hardman reports that, "His words were: so and so conspires against me; I am the friend par excellence of the Republic; therefore he conspires against the Republic. This logic is new."

the Reign of Terror proceeded. The idea was to kill anyone who was an enemy of the state. However during this process, Robespierre began to fear anyone who stood in his way and everyone who was against the government he was trying to establish. He had over forty thousand French people executed, many of whom were his personal enemies.

"Robespierre was elected a deputy of the Estates-General that convened in May 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution and subsequently served on the National assembly." He was an influential member of the Assembly. Robespierre exposed the hypocrisy of equality in France and made citizens distrust the King. His speeches concerning his hatred in the monarchy and his desire for a democracy made him very popular in the eyes of the people.

hat would allow them to make money. The classes that had been repressed for many years were now ready to use their studies and knowledge towards furthering themselves in their lives. The parlement had just been recalled from

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Approximate Word count = 1194
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History