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Maxam Wogoman
Professor Rono
World History
23 January 2023
Reign of Terror or Reign of Justice
The reign of the terrier, is there a time in history that everyone knows about? However,
this time in history is portrayed as being horrendous acts of terrible Injustice and massacre.
However, what people don't often know is the backstory of the reign of terror and why these
events occurred in the way they did, and how the events unfolded, not just the way they're
portrayed. How they happened. To fully understand the events that led up to the beginning of the
Reign of terror you have to know a little bit about Francis's history. France was A government
ruled by one person, that person being King Louis XVI. However, the people of France did not
agree with the direction that the King was taking them in, and due to this, the people of France
started a revolution to make the king share his power. This was the start of the French
Revolution. However, some people disagreed with this revolution, for instance, Austria and
Prussia, two neighboring countries that opposed the revolution. due to Austria and Prussia’s
aligned ideals, they created an alliance in hopes to stop this revolution in France. Ultimately this
led France to Launch counter strikes against Austria and Prussia starting Wars between the three
countries. As tensions rise between the three countries the people of France become more
invested in the revolution because they can see what it could be, and what they were fighting for.
The French see this revolution as something to gain. For the Prussians and Austrians, they see it
as a way to stop advancing a government that has different ideals than its own. However, this is
not what makes up the reign of terror, this is just the events that lead up to such a skewed time in
history, one that everyone says they know so much about until they know nothing about it.
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Everyone views the reign of terror as being a horrendous act between the French Austrians and
Prussians however there's so much more to the story than what immediately presents itself. The
reign of Terror is given such a bad reputation, It's right there in the name Terror. a word that
describes so much but has even more of a hidden meaning.
So what was the reign of terror? The reign of terror was a change in leadership in
France's government which led to the imprisoning and eventually execution of King Louis XVI.
The death of King Louis transforms France's constitutional monarchy into a Republican
government. This only ignites a war between France's neighboring countries Austria and Prussia
giving King Louis the perfect timing to escape and flee with his family. However, King Lewis
doesn't make it very far eventually he is recaptured and executed utilizing a guillotine. A
guillotine is a device used as a means to execute someone, in this case King Louis XVI but this
device has been used countless times in history on many different people. The guillotine
becomes the revolution's main execution device. However, this system of execution has checks
and balances that make it so successful. For instance, it has the Tribunal of Public Safety which
was created to try the so-called enemies of the revolution. However, the people that made up the
tribunal were not elected; they were appointed by the National Convention. The tribunal's main
job was to find enemies of the Revolution by any means necessary. This meant setting up watch
committees in neighborhoods and by some rather unusual sorts of methods as well. including
setting up a network of informants whose sole purpose was to report any acts they deemed
against the revolution. These informants were called spies, now these spies could be anyone,
they could be your neighbor or they could be your son you never knew because their main
priority besides finding enemies of the Revolution was to remain secret. As the revolution
intensified and Wars were increasing in Austria and Prussia these spies and methods became
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increasingly more volatile. you could get arrested and executed just for complaining about the
price of bread. There was even talk of some spies that turned in their own family members. Due
to Growing concerns about the Revolution and its methods, there were increasing amounts of
revolts against the revolution which only intensified the tribunal's aggression toward people that
were against the revolution. However, the people that revolted against the Revolution were
people that you would rarely expect high-up government officials, people in the military, and of
course your everyday common Folk. The people that rejected the revolution fled to neighboring
countries needless to say this had a huge effect on France losing high-end government officials
and military personnel as a whole. however, losing military personnel at this time did not impose
as big of a drawback as France originally expected in fact they realized that the military
personnel that they were losing were those of the older generations that Focus solely on methods
that were derived by Nobles these methods being outdated and practically worthless in the
coming Wars the French government turns to the next generation. which as it happens has some
very crafty skills and is one of the biggest reasons why France wins the revolution.
The effects of the Revolution were great: people were executed causing a decline in
France's population and people were also made to fight by Francis's government imposing drafts.
However, France's government didn't even really need to impose a draft because France's people
for the most part agreed with the direction that Francis was heading in. They were willing to
fight for the freedom that this new Revolution had given them; they were willing to fight for the
new rights that they were being given. Do these drafts help in the fights between The Austrian's
Prussians? They also helped in fighting the revolts that occurred inside Francis's borders as well.
However, this means that the revolution you can't argue with the results that occurred. By the
time these wars with Austria and Prussia were finished and the revolts inside Francis border
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itself. France had not only won both Wars and ended all revolts inside its borders but had
increased its territory and acquired new technologies and artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone. and
pieces that can now be seen inside one of France's most treasured museums, the Louvre. So
while the everyday lives of citizens inside of Francis borders might have been affected during the
reign of terror, so is everyone's life when war is Raging on and their country is directly involved
in it. Therefore, the methods of the reign of terror were completely Justified everyone's lives
changed throughout the war. The biggest result is how the war ends. In this case, the war ends,
and France gains territory and betters the lives of its citizens. You can't argue with results like
that, not only does it better the lives of Citizens it paves the way for Francis's economic and
governmental growth in their economy. France can expand and become better for it.
While, Francis's economic growth and stability through the means of the Revolution were
very great; it has also been said that roughly 40,000 people were killed utilizing the guillotine. So
was the revolution worth it, was 40,000 people's lives worth the growth and success of France?
While you can never replace 40,000 people, it would be easier to replace them than an entire
government that affects hundreds of thousands of people. With the needs of the many
outweighing the needs of the few, this saying applies here because the needs of the country
outweigh the needs of the few people that were executed in France. Since the revolution opened
up to new ways of government which inspired many other countries to do the same and brought
all of Europe into a new way of governing it affected millions of lifes. Change does not come
without a price however 40,000 people's lives for all of Europe's life and success. Europe goes
on to be at a forefront in science and technology as well as many other Industries. They are a key
factor in economic growth and stability in many other countries including China and America
and our Global Partners and some of the biggest companies in the world. if the reign of terror
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never happened then those lives would be completely different today then if the reign of terror
had happened. Europe would still be divided and a lot of scientific and technological
advancements would not have been made affecting not only Europe itself but also China, and
America. It would have a global effect on billions of people's lives. It's hard to make such a
devastating call but in this case, 40,000 people's lives for all of Humanity's future Generations it
seems like a trade that decides for itself. The answer is the reign of terror and its effects on
Europe and the globe was justified.
To finalize the rain of terror was a Justified response to growing concerns involving
Prussia and Austria and revolts inside of Francis' own territory. The results speak for themselves.
Terror is a word with a lot of hidden meanings. terror is an emotion dealt with by organisms
throughout a wide variety of ecosystems. It's a stimulus response that forms in the amygdala.
And the truth of the matter is it wasn't even Terror that the people were scared of. change is a
scary thing but it's something that can affect all of history, because of people being scared of the
changes being made in France. The reign of terror is now seen as a bad time in history when it
was one of great governmental advancement. People are so scared of the reign terror but it was
just a series of changes that took place and had a tremendous impactful effect that shaped the
course of the modern world in Europe.
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Works Cited
Document A
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Document E
Document B