Robespierre

Maximilien Francois Marie Isidore de Robespierre, French lawyer and political leader, who became one of the leading figures of the French Revolution. He was a man who manipulated great influence and power over the course of events of the French Revolution between 1792 and 1994. (Kreis, "The History Guide") His name became symbolic for the period of the Revolution known as the Reign of Terror. ("Maximilien Maries Isidore Robespierre") Known as the Incorruptible because his unswerving honesty and rigid stands, Robespierre believed in ideas rather than in men. (The French Revolution, 124) Throughout history, people have had differing opinions of Robespierre and his power, but most agree that, for a time, he was the most important man in the Revolution because after his downfall and execution caused the end of the Terror and brought about a new course for the Revolution itself. ("Maximilien Marie Isidore Robespierre")

Maximilien Robespierre was born on May 6, 1758, in the city of Arras, located in the northernmost tip of France. Born of a poor family, Robespierre's mother died while he was nine. His father, devastated by the loss, abandoned Robespierre and his three younger siblings to be brought up by various relatives. Through a scholarship, Robespierre was educated in Paris at the College of Louis-le-Grand and at the College of Law where he became an avid supporter of the social theories of the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. ("Maximilien Maries Isidore Robespierre") He was later elected a deputy of the Estates General, by the people of Arras that assembled at the Palace of Versailles, on May 5, 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution. "Soon after, Robespierre served in the National Constituent Assembly, where his earnest and skillful oratory soon commanded attention." (Hayes, Maximilien Robespierre Biography) There, he became the spokesman for the lower middle classes and artisans. At first, Robespierre favored a democratic monarchy, but after the king, King Louis XVI, proved untrustworthy, he advocated a democratic republic. "In April 1790, Robespierre was elected president of the Jacobin Club and became an increasingly popular enemy of the monarchy, as well as an advocate of democratic reforms." (Hayes, Maximilien Robespierre Biography) The Jacobin Club was the most radical political society to rule during the French Revolution. "Robespierre opposed the more moderate Girondists, the dominant faction in the newly formed Legislative Assembly." (Hayes, Maximilien Robespierre Biography)

In June 1791, King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette attempted to flee from France in order to relinquish themselves from the chaos of the revolution. Despite their attempt, they were recognized and arrested at Varennes. In August 1792, after the downfall of the monarchy, the people of Paris expressed their confidence in Robespierre by electing him to the powerful Paris Commune and also to the new National Convention. In the convention, Robespierre urged the execution of King Louis XVI and led the Jacobin attack on the Girondists, moderate republicans who were in control. Robespierre helped force them to vote for the execution of the king, and charged them with misconduct. Aided by Paris extremists, Robespierre's Jacobins overthrew the Girondists from power in 1793. In addition, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were executed under the same fate, the guillotine. The guillotine is a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. The guillotine quickly became a symbol of tyranny during the French Revolution and Robespierre's major death tool. The following month, Robespierre was elected by the convention to the powerful 12-man Committee of Public Safety. As a member of the committee, Robespierre's power and prestige grew rapidly, and he began gaining control of the government. ("Maximilien Marie Isidore Robespierre") The Committee of Public Safety was established to watch over France's internal security. These men, all Jacobins, in the absence of any opposition rapidly gained control of the government. Continuing to gain control, Robespierre and the committee began to eliminate everyone the considered to be enemies of the Revolution, including both extremists and moderates. This policy led to the Reign of Terror and the execution of many revolutionary leaders. (Hayes, Maximilien Robespierre Biography) In May 1794, Robespierre, backed by the Commune of Paris, created national religion based on Rousseau's theory of Deism called the cult of Supreme Being, and by June 1794, Robespierre was elected president of the National Convention. It is said that the death of King Louis XVI in 1793, marked the beginning of the Reign of Terror. (Brainard, "History Wiz")

The ferocity of the Terror increased in June and July, 1794. As a result of Robespierre's increasingly aggressive speeches, many members of the National Convention and of the Jacobin Club began to fear for their own safety. Robespierre's fellow Jacobins organized a plot against him. Only July 26, Robespierre called for an end of the Terror, before the convention, and the following