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Thank you for your understanding. Have a nice day! Alpha History staff. Levée en Masse. When faced, in 1793, with the prospect of defeat, the National Convention issued an appeal for a levée en masse, which, theoretically, placed the entire population at the disposal of France's war machine. Thus was born the modern idea of the nation in arms. This concept has proved to have an enduring legacy, and has been adapted to suit a wide variety of contexts and time periods. This article explores the birth, development and transmission of the levée en masse.
It seeks to understand why the concept survived beyond the 1790s and how it remained a compelling instrument of mass mobilisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Creation of the Levée en Masse From this moment and until all enemies are driven from the territory of the Republic all French persons are placed in permanent requisition for the service of the armies. The levée en masse was the culmination of this long-standing call for the creation of a new military culture. The Decline of the Levée? Ambrogio A. Sources. Interpreting the French Revolution - François Furet. Books.google.co.uk - The French Revolution is an historical event unlike any other. It is more than just a topic of intellectual interest: it has become part of a moral and political heritage. But after two centuries, this central event in French history has usually been thought of in much the same terms as it was by its... the French Revolution Page 12 Today the Gulag is leading to a rethinking of the Terror precisely because the two undertakings are seen as identical.
Page 41 I continue this immense labor to the end, and when I come to add up all these particular demands I realise with a kind of terror that what is called for is the simultaneous and systematic abolition of all laws and all customs governing the country; ... Page 57 Page 60 Robespierre's relation to the Terror is not psychological. Page 61 Page 62 Page 68 Page 69 ... Page 70 Page 71. Quotations - the Reign of Terror. Readings from the French Revolution. INTRODUCTIONReadings from the French Revolution While the American Revolution remained a remote affair in the lives of most Europeans, the French Revolution of 1789 exercised a profound influence on the society and politics of the following centuries. It gave rise to modern conceptions of nationhood and citizenship and, equally important, it served as the model and archetype for a revolutionary tradition that has marked Europe to the present day.
To grasp the nature of the revolution it is necessary to comprehend the basic social structure of pre-Revolutionary France. The French ancien regime was formally divided into three legal orders or "estates. " The immediate causes of the revolution lay in the financial crisis of the monarchy, due in large part to the vast sums it sunk into military projects, including France's support for the American Revolution.
[p. 126] [p. 127] [p. 129] C H A P T E R 1 2The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789 I. [p. 130] II. III. IV. V. VI. X. Reign of Terror | French history. Justification of the Terror and Rights of Man - mrhartlosal. Maximilien Robespierre (1758 1794) was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety elected by the National Convention, and which effectively governed France at the height of the radical phase of the revolution. He had been considered one of the most respected thinkers and straightforward liberal thinkers of the Revolution - reputedly he slept with a copy of Rousseau's Social Contract at his side.
He was called “The Incorruptible”. The Committee of Public Safety was among the most creative executive bodies ever seen - and rapidly put into effect policies which stabilized the French economy and began the formation of the very successful French army. It also directed it energies against counter-revolutionary uprisings, especially in the south and west of France. In doing so it unleashed the reign of terror. Here Robespierre, in his speech of February 5, 1794, from which excerpts are given here, discussed this issue. 1) What is the goal of the Revolution? 8) This is Robespierre’s thesis. Zizek Robespierre. Why Robespierre Chose Terror | City Journal. The American attitude toward the French Revolution has been generally favorable—naturally enough for a nation itself born in revolution. But as revolutions go, the French one in 1789 was among the worst. True, in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity, it overthrew a corrupt regime. Yet what these fine ideals led to was, first, the Terror and mass murder in France, and then Napoleon and his wars, which took hundreds of thousands of lives in Europe and Russia.
After this pointless slaughter came the restoration of the same corrupt regime that the Revolution overthrew. Leading the betrayal of the Revolution’s initial ideals and its transformation into a murderous ideological tyranny was Maximilien Robespierre, a monster who set up a system expressly aimed at killing thousands of innocents. Historians distinguish three phases of the French Revolution. Robespierre’s constituency outside the Convention was the mob, roaming the streets of Paris, the center of the Revolution. Terror: Dreadful but Necessary. This image shows the guillotine surrounded by the heads it has been responsible for removing.
Although the print is sinister, its caption states that the Terror is dreadful, but necessary. This was a commonly held belief in 1793-1794 when the guillotine was a means of purging France of those who were deemed a threat to national security. For more information on the guillotine click here. Reign of Terror lasted from September 1793 until the fall of Robespierre in 1794. Its purpose was to purge France of enemies of the Revolution and protect the country from foreign invaders. During this time there was a shift in power within the committee from Danton to Robespierre. In 1794, the armies of France were very successful against their enemies, which meant that the Terror was no longer necessary. For more information on the Terror and Les Miserables click here. Maximilien Robespierre, Master of the Terror. Maximilien Robespierre, Master of the Terror by Scott McLetchie The paper was selected by the History Department as the Outstanding Paper for the 1983-1984 Academic Year Maximilien Robespierre, known to his contemporaries as "the Incorruptible," is one of the most controversial and perhaps misunderstood figures of the French Revolution.
His name has become symbolic for that period of the Revolution known as the Reign of Terror; certainly he was a man who wielded great influence and power over the course of events of the French Republic between 1792 and 1794; yet different people in different eras had differing opinions of the man and his power. Some, especially his English and Austrian contemporaries, saw him as the Devil incarnate, while others have hailed him as the champion of liberty and the protector of democracy. Some see in him the origins of twentieth century dictatorship along the lines of Stalin or Hitler. Robespierre came slowly forward. . . . Divine man! Appendix Notes 8 R. Maximilien Robespierre | Biography, Facts, & Execution. Living the Revolutionary Melodrama: Robespierre's Sensibility and the Construction of Political Commitment in the French Revolution on JSTOR.
Robespierre on JSTOR. Robespierre: Critic of Rousseau on JSTOR. The Psychology of the Terror on JSTOR. The Political Ideas of Maximilien Robespierre during the Period of the Convention on JSTOR. Robespierre and the Popular Movement of 1793-4 on JSTOR. Interpretations of the Reign of Terror on JSTOR. Robespierre, Danton, and the Levée en masse on JSTOR. Misgivings About Revolution: Robespierre, Carnot, Saint-Just on JSTOR. Robespierre's Rules for Radicals: How to Save Your Revolution Without Losing Your Head on JSTOR.