By Chris Anderson
Randolph-Henry High School
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1792: the revolutionary leaders of France have to deal
with the consequences of their declared war on Austria
and Prussia
Prussian forces had taken over Verdun (a French fort)
 capturing Verdun opened up the road to Paris for the
Prussians
one French man--Georges-Jacques Danton-- issues a cry
for help
thousands of French come to the aid of the revolution
1 week after Danton’s plea, the French win a major
victory at Valmy
this victory increased the morale of the French
revolutionaries--the French were again a military power
Georges Jacques Danton
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While fighting was
occurring in Valmy, the
National Assembly was
meeting in Paris
members were trying to
form a new government
for France
the National Assembly got
rid of the monarchy and
established a republic in
France
from 1792 to 1795, the
National Assembly will
meet
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Only males were
allowed to be members
of the National
Convention
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lawyers, doctors, middleclass males
the National Convention
wrote France’s 1st
democratic constitution
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this work put political
power in the hands of
single legislature
all men could vote under
this new constitution
 The
metric system was adopted as the official
system of weights and measures in France
 a new calendar was adopted by the National
Convention
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this calendar marked September 22, 1792 as the
creation date of the French republic
After disposing of the
monarchy, the N. C. had
to find out what to do
with the king--Louis XVI
 Louis’ fate was sealed
when a box filled with
his secret letters to
foreign monarchs was
found (November 1792)
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political radicals used
these letters as evidence,
discrediting the royal
family
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Dec. 1792: Louis XVI
was tried and sentenced
to die--he was called an
enemy of the people
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he was decapitated by the
guillotine
the French people were
happy to see their king die
with the death of the
king, the French
Republic was sure to
last
Execution of Louis XVI
The people of Paris felt
that they were almost
invincible after the
execution of Louis XVI
 the rich people of Paris
began acting differently
after the execution of
the king
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they rejected the fancy
clothes and powder wigs
men began wearing full
length pants instead of
knee-pants
women began wearing long
dress
The wealthy were trying
to break away from the
monarchy by dressing
differently
 the members of the
Convention began
arguing over the future
of the French Republic
 different political
parties developed from
these arguments
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Mountains
Girondists
Plain
 Radicals
 Rich
Paris Citizens
 Extreme Radicals (Jacobians)
 Saw themselves as the defenders of the people
 Leaders:
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Maximillien Robespierre
Georges-Jacques Danton
 Jean-Paul Marat
Robspierre
Jean-Paul Marat
 Moderates
 Most
were from the Southwest of France
 Felt the Revolution had gone far enough
 Wanted to protect the rich middle-class from
radical attacks
 Sat
between the Mountains and Girondists
 Consisted of members who did not want to
choose sides
 the Plain made up the majority in the
Convention
 1793: they will give support to the Mountains
 the Plain will help the Mountains become even
more radical, open to extreme, and violent
change
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Other European monarchies
were watching the events
in France and were
terrified
these monarchs feared the
revolution would spread
into their own nation
January 1793: Great
Britain, Spain, Netherlands,
and Sardinia joined Austria
and Prussia in an alliance
against France
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The Convention leaders in
France wanted to end
royal power everywhere in
Europe
Convention leaders
ordered French troops to
go out into Europe and
free the rest of Europe
from royal power
French volunteers poured
out of France into Europe
in an attempt to free
Europe from royal control
The French volunteers
were poorly trained;
however, they won many
battles against the other
European nations by
using the element of
surprise
 nevertheless, the other
European nations had
well trained
(professional) forces that
issued many defeats to
the French volunteer
force
 the French will
eventually surrender
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After the surrender,
French troops started
retreating back into
France
 the National Convention
wanted to ensure that
they could keep the
foreign nations from
invading France
 as a way of directing
the war effort, the
National Convention
created the Committee
of Public Safety
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 1793:
the committee saw the need for more
French troops to help aid the war
 the committee instituted conscription (draft)
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all men between 18 and 45 were called into the
military
 the
committee also wanted the help of all the
French--men and women--to produce needed
goods for the war effort
While France was
spreading the revolution
to the rest of Europe,
the revolutionary
leaders were facing
more problems in
France
 in Western France, a
civil war was occurring
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peasants supporting the
monarchy were fighting
against the French
revolutionaries
these peasants were very
angry that their sons were
drafted to go fight a war
that they opposed
Other parts of France
were in economic
trouble and, financially,
could not support the
revolution
 food prices in France
were
and the
amount of food was
 people in the cities
began riots as a way of
protesting the high
prices and low supply of
food
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Problems were also occurring within the French
government
 the Mountain party will win control over the National
Convention
 once in control, they will arrest the Girondist
members who did not agree with the Mountain’s
policies and ideas
 members supporting the Girondists will rebel against
the Mountains
 one Girondist supporter--Charlotte Corday--killed a
Mountain leader
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shortly after, Charlotte was executed by the guillotine
other Girondist supporters would also be executed
for not following the Mountains
Charlotte Corday
The Mountains had
collected enemies at
home and in the rest of
Europe
 these Mountains--lead
by the Jacobins--set out
to crush all opposition
in France--Reign of
Terror
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this Reign of Terror lasted
exactly 1 year--from July
1793 until July 1794
Neighborhood watch
programs were set up to
catch suspected traitors
 the suspects were
handed over to the
courts where the suspect
would receive a very
quick (usually unfair)
trial
 the courts usually
handed down very strict
and harsh sentences
 many innocent people
were wrongly accused
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Marie Antoinette, the
king’s wife, was a
victim of the Reign of
Terror
 in all, 17,000 people
were executed during
this 1 year Reign of
Terror
 Spring 1794: the leader
of the Jocobins
(Danton) decided to end
the Reign of Terror
 a fellow party member
(Robespierre) disagreed
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Robespierre will have
Danton and his
followers executed
 Robespierre then
decided to continue the
Reign of Terror for 4
more months
 many of Robespierre’s
followers were afraid
for their own lives
 they had Robespierre
arrested and guillotined
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 After
Robespierre’s execution, the
Convention handled the government of
France
 1795: a new constitution was drafted
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only men who owned land could vote--this ended
universal male suffrage
all control was given to the wealthy middle-class
a council of 5 men called directors was created
 this
new Directory would rule and share
power with a 2 house legislature
Many people did not like the Directory
 many royalists threatened to take over the
government
 many people were upset because of the increasing
prices and food shortages
 the Directory had to use the French military to put
down numerous uprisings
 under the Directory, the gap between the rich and
poor steadily grew
 the Directory could not slow the growth because of
its own lack of $--the Directory was on the verge of
bankruptcy
 as the Directory seemed less powerful, the French
people looked to the army to keep France from
falling into ruin
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 As
problems raged on in France, the French
military was able to win some victories against
the other European monarchies
 one military leader was becoming very popular-Napoleon Bonaparte
 Napoleon quickly rose to the rank of general
 1795: Napoleon was able to put down an
uprising against the Directory
Napoleon
 1796:
Napoleon will
marry--Josephine de
Beauharnais
 this marriage will help
Napoleon win
command of the
French army that was
fighting in Italy
 in Italy, Napoleon
illustrated his great
strategic mind by
defeating the Austrians
in Italy and forcing
them to sign a peace
treaty
This victory over Austria
made Napoleon the
leading general in France
 Napoleon had been
fighting in Egypt against
Great Britain and faced
many setbacks
 1799: he hears of the
problems occurring in
France and leaves his
army in Egypt and heads
for France
 the people of Paris
welcomed Napoleon with
open arms
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Josephine de Beauharnais
 Napoleon
will quickly realize that the French are
tired and frustrated with the revolution and war
 He will join in a coup de’etat and take power
away from the Directory
 the stage will be set for Napoleon’s future
empire