The French RevolutionPart D

Sans-CulottesNote the Red Liberty Caps and Cockades

1. For much of 1793-1794, what body essentially controlled France?

• The Committee of Public Safety

2. What was the basic mission of the Committee of Public Safety?• To defend France (and the Revolution) against

both foreign and domestic enemies

3. The Committee of Public Safety set in motion what event?• The Reign of Terror, an effort to purge France of

people and movements considered to be enemies of the Revolution

4. To prosecute and eliminate these perceived internal enemies, the Committee of Public Safety set up what?• Revolutionary courts

The Reign of TerrorThe Guillotine (The National Razor)

5. About how many people were killed during the Reign of Terror?• About 40,000

6. About how many of these 40,000 were executed with the guillotine?• About 16, 000

7. During the Reign of Terror, what other member of the royal family was beheaded by a guillotine?• Marie Antoinette

8. What was the role of the Sans-Culottes during the Reign of Terror?• In many way, they were the greatest supporters

of the Terror, and they helped carry it out

9. What rebellious French city (in eastern France) was punished severely by the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror?• Lyon• About 1,800 Lyon citizens were executed,

some by guillotine, some by cannon-fired grape shot (basically giant shotguns).

10. In western France, French Revolutionary armies succeeded in defeating what?• French Rebel armies

11. In Nantes, a city in western France, some victims of The Terror were killed how?• By being sunk in barges in the Loire River

12. During the Reign of Terror, about what percent of the victims came from the First Estates and Second Estates (Clergy and Nobles)?• About 15%

13. Thus, during the Reign of Terror, about 85% of the victims came from what Estate?• The Third Estate• Bourgeoisie and Peasants, that is

14. The Committee of Public Safety justified the killing of thousands of French Citizens (they were now Citizens and no longer royal subjects of the king) on the grounds that enemies of the Revolution must be eliminated, and that what kind of society must be created?• A Republic of Virtue

Maximilien Robespierre1758-1794

15. What did Maximilien Robespierre mean when he called for a Republic of Virtue?• He wanted a nation of citizens devoted to the

Revolution

16. What was an initial slogan of the French Revolution?• Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

17. Despite the mixed messages and inconsistencies of the Reign of Terror, the radicals of the French Revolution claimed to be creating what kind of society?• A Democratic Society

18. During this period, Revolutionary France abolished what, in its colonies?• Slavery

19. What was Dechristianization during the radical phase of the French Revolution?• Many of the leaders of the Radical Revolution

rejected Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church, as unenlightened and oppressive

• As such, Dechristianization was a systematic effort to wrench French society from its Christian foundations, moorings, and culture

20. What were some examples of Dechristianization?• Streets with the name “Saint” were re-named with

secular (non-religious) titles• Churches were closed, and even pillaged• The Christian-oriented calendar was replaced with a

secular calendar in which years were counted from 1792 onward, and each month was made up of three 10-day weeks, thus eliminating the Christian-oriented Sunday

• Notre Dame Cathedral was re-dedicated as a “Temple of Reason”

21. What kind of holidays were eliminated under Dechristianization?• Christian holidays

22. In addition to the internal threats to the French Revolution, France also faced faced threats from whom?• Foreign nations sympathetic to royalty

23. On August 23, 1793, the Committee of Public Safety issued the “Levee en masse” in which essentially the entire nation (all males) was mobilized into service (military and military support), thus making France a what?• A Nation in Arms

Levee en MasseAugust 1793

A Nation in Arms

24. By September 1794, France had an army of about how many men?• I million

25. In the wake of the Levee en Masse, France was able to conquer what territories?• The Austrian Netherlands• France also conquered territories in Germanic

areas across the Rhine River

26. The Levee en Masse was an important step in the creation of what modern phenomenon?• Nationalism, an intense loyalty and devotion to

one’s nation, and the fortunes of one’s nation

27. The new French Army was what kind of army?• A People’s army• And to some extent, Revolutionary France was

ruled by something of a people’s government

28. By the summer of 1794, France had largely defeated whom?• Its foreign enemies…for the time being

29. As such, what movement began to lose its steam, so to speak?• The Reign of Terror• The Terror now seemed less justifiable

30. On July 28, 1794, what French Revolutionary radical lost favor, and was executed by the guillotine?• Maximilien Robespierre

31. With the execution of Robespierre, what rather quickly came to an end?• The Reign of Terror

The Execution of RobespierreJuly 28, 1794

The End of the Reign of Terror