The Great French Revolution, 1789-1793

Chapter 69 : Conclusion
When one sees that terrible and powerful Convention wrecking itself in 1794-1795, that proud and strong Republic disappearing, and France, after the demoralizing régime of the Directory, falling under the military yoke of a Bonaparte, one is impelled to ask: "What was the good of the Revolution if the nation had to fall back again under despotism?" In the course of the nineteenth century, this question has been constantly put, and the timid and conservative have worn it threadbare as an argument against revolutions in general. The preceding pages supply the answer. Those who have seen in the Revolution only a change in the Government, those who are ignorant of its economic as well as its educational work, those alone could put such a question. The France we see during the last days of the eighteenth century, at the moment of the coup d'etat on the 18th Brumaire, is not the France that existed before 1789. Would it have been possible fo... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

Chapter 68 : The 9th Thermidor--Triumph of Reaction
Causes of overthrow of Robespierre -- Evils of transfer of land--Republican successes abroad -- Terror continues -- Dantonists, Girondins and "Marsh" unite to overthrow Robespierre -- Unpopularity of Committee of Public Welfare -- Robespierre attacks Barère and Fouché -- His speech in Convention -- Effect of speech -- 9th Thermidor -- Arrest of Robespierre and his associates -- Efforts of Commune -- Capture of Hôtel de Ville -- Execution of Robespierre and Terrorists -- End of Revolution -- Reactionaries continue executions -- Attempted rising of workers -- Execution of last of Montagnards -- Triumph of middle classes -- Royalist manifestations -- Massacres of revolutionists -- Reaction succeeded by Directory -- Final effort of revolutionists -- Napoleon proclaims himself Emperor If Robespierre had many admirers, who adored him, he had also quite as many enemies, who utterly detested him and lost no opportunity of... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

Chapter 67 : The Terror
Steps taken by committees to increase their power -- War with England--Condition of provinces -- Burning of Bedouin -- Special commission formed to deal with arrested citizens -- Robespierre's law of 22nd Prairial -- Effect of law -- Aim of Robespierre -- Attempts on his life -- Arrests and executions -- Terror -- Hatred of Jacobin government After the downfall of their enemies of the Left and of the Right, the committees continued to concentrate more and more power in their own hands. Up to that time there had been six Government departments, which were indirectly subordinate to the Committee of Public Welfare through the intermediary of the Executive Committee composed of six ministers. On the 12th Germinal (April 1) the State departments were suppressed and their place taken by twelve Executive Commissions, each of them under the supervision of a section of the committee.1 Furthermore, the Committee of Public Welfare obta... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

Chapter 66 : Robespierre and his Group
Position and influence of Robespierre -- Causes of his power -- His incorruptibility -- His fanaticism -- His accusation against Fabre -- His character and policy Robespierre has been often mentioned as a dictator; his enemies in the Convention called him "the tyrant," and it is true that as the Revolution drew to a close Robespierre acquired so much influence that he came to be regarded both in France and abroad as the most important person in the Republic. It would, however, be incorrect to represent Robespierre as a dictator, though certainly many of his admirers desired a dictatorship for him.1 We know, indeed, that Cambon exercised considerable authority within his special domain, the Committee of Finance, and that Carnot wielded extensive powers in matters concerning the war, despite the ill-will borne him by Robespierre and Saint-Just. But the Committee of Public Safety was too jealous of its controll... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

Chapter 65 : Fall of the Hebertists--Danton Executed
Struggle between revolutionists and counter-revolutionists continues -- Robespierre and commissioners of Convention -- Triumph of Hébertists -- Great speech of Saint-Just -- He advocates Terrorism -- His attack on Dantonists -- Action of Cordeliers -- Arrest of Hébertist leaders -- Further arrests of Chaumette, Pache, Clootz and Leclerc -- Success of the Government -- Execution of Hébertists and others -- Royalist rejoicing -- End of struggle between committees and Commune -- Committees arrest Danton, Desmoulins, Phélippeaux and Lacroix -- They are executed -- Effect of executions on Paris -- End of Revolution in sight The winter thus passed in veiled struggles between the revolutionists and the counter-revolutionists, who every day lifted their heads higher and more boldly. In the beginning of February, Robespierre made himself the mouthpiece of a movement against certain commissioners, of the C... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

Social Demands--State of Feeling in Paris--Lyons
Effect of execution of King -- Changed aspect of Revolution -- Rise of counter-revolution -- Paris Commune tries to keep down price of bread -- Varlet -- Jacques Roux -- Movement against owners of large fortunes -- Petition to Convention -- Marat tries to stop agitation -- Effect of riot -- Necessity of crushing "Gironde" becomes evident Notwithstanding the violence that the Parliamentary struggle between the "Mountain" and the "Gironde" displayed at times, it would have dragged on had it been strictly confined to the Convention. But since the execution of Louis XVI events were moving faster, and the gulf between the revolutionists and the counter-revolutionists was becoming so wide that there was no longer any possibility of a vague, indet... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

The Struggle Against Famine--The Maximum--Paper-Money
Difficulty of feeding large towns -- Activity of speculators -- Situation at Lyons -- Demand for maximum -- Convention fixes price of wheat and food-stuffs -- Danger of fixing retail prices -- Maximum abolished by reactionaries -- Fall in value of paper currency -- Bankruptcy threatens State -- Necker tries to raise money -- Manufacture of false assignats One of the great difficulties in every Revolution is the feeding of the large towns. The large towns of modern times are centers of various industries that are developed chiefly for the sake of the rich or for export trade; these two branches fail whenever any crisis occurs, and the question then arises of how these great urban agglomerations are to be fed. France had entered upon this pha... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

August 4 and Its Consequences
Night of August 4 -- Aristocracy pretends to relinquish feudal rights -- Assembly begs King to take action -- D'Aiguillon and de Noailles take up cause of peasants -- Their great speeches -- Le Guen de Kérangall-Scene in Assembly -- Extent of actual concessions -- Effect of news in provinces -- Middle classes take up arms against peasants The night of August 4 is one of the great dates of the Revolution. Like July 14 and October 15, 1789, June 21, 1791, August 10, 1792, and May 31, 1793, it marked one of the great stages in the revolutionary movement, and it determined the character of the period which follows it. The historic legend is lovingly used to embellish this night, and the majority of historians, copying the story as it has... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

Schemes for the Socialisation of Land, Industries, Means of Substance and Exchange
Communist movement and land -- Economic importance of land -- Agrarian proposals -- View of Dolivier -- Industrial demands -- Proposals of L'Ange -- Problem of means of subsistence -- Question of exchange of produce -- Summary of situation -- Evils of repression The dominating idea of the communist movement of 1793 was, that the land should be considered as the common inheritance of the whole nation, that every citizen should have a right to the land, and that the means of existence should be guaranteed to each, so that no one could be forced to sell his or her work under the threat of starvation. "Actual equality" (l'égalité de fait), which had been much spoken of during the eighteenth century, was now interpreted as the affi... (From : Anarchy Archives.)

The Popular Risings
Necessity of popular risings outside Paris -- Effect of taking of Bastille over-estimated -- Difference between French and English Peasant risings -- Importance of peasant insurrection Paris, by frustrating the plans of the Court had struck a mortal blow at royal authority. Besides this, the appearance in the streets of people in rags, as an active force in the Revolution, was giving a new character, a new tendency of equality to the whole movement. The rich and powerful understood perfectly the meaning of what had been going on in Paris during those days, and the emigration, first of the princes, then of the favorites and the monopolists, accentuated the victory. The Court was already seeking the aid of the foreigner against revolutionary ... (From : Anarchy Archives.)