French Revolution- Reign of Terror

Anarchy within, invasion from without. A country cracking from outside pressure, disintegrating from internal strain. Revolution is at its height. War. Inflation. Hunger. Fear. Hate. Sabotage. Fanaticism. Hopes. Boundless idealism . . . and the dread that all the gains of the Revolution would be lost. And the faith that if they won, they would bring Liberty, Equality, Fraternity to the world.—R. R. Palmer, Twelve Who RuledThe French Revolution is a term used to describe the political and social upheaval that occurred in France between 1789 and 1799. These political and social changes were accompanied by periods of violence and many turbulent overthrows of ruling bodies. The most notable periods of violence and oppression arises during the period known as the Reign of Terror.

The Reign of Terror, or simply the Terror, began on the 5th of September, 1793 and ended on the 28th of July, 1794, when key leader of the Reign of Terror were executed. The Reign of Terror is usually associated with the figures of Robespierre and Georges Danton and has been many times represented as a paradigm of revolutionary violence. In barely ten months, between 18,500 to 40,000 people (number varies due to difference in statistics and historical records) lost their lives as a result of the Terror.

The National Convention was established on the 20th of September 1792, and on the second day of its rule it abolished the constitutional monarchy. The Jacobins (political group of the French Revolution led by Robespierre) pressed for the trial of the monarch who was then condemned as a traitor and was executed on the 21st of January 1793.

The National Convention set up three important commities to carry out its work. The most important and notorious of these commities was the Commitee of Public Safety which was given...