The Thermidorians ( French : Thermidoriens , named after the month of Thermidor ) were a political group during the First French Republic . They formed in 1794 and dominated the last year of the National Convention , which during this phase became known as the Thermidorian Convention ( French : Convention thermidorienne) , and the Directory government until the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte to power in 1799.
95-593: The group was named for the Thermidorian Reaction in 1794, when its members—led by Paul Barras , Jean-Lambert Tallien and Joseph Fouché — ousted Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just , who were executed with their supporters on 27 July 1794. The deputies that supported the Reaction were the following: Over the following days, the Thermidorians took over the majority in
190-514: A constitutional monarchy roughly similar to that of England. On 28 May, Robespierre proposed all Frenchmen should be declared active citizens and eligible to vote. On 30 May, he delivered a speech on abolishing the death penalty without success. The following day, Robespierre attacked Abbé Raynal , who sent an address criticising the work of the Assembly and demanding the restoration of the royal prerogative . On 10 June, Robespierre delivered
285-727: A day. On 28 January Robespierre discussed in the Assembly the organisation of the National Guard , for three years a hot topic in French newspapers. In early March, provincial militias were abolished and the Paris département was placed above the Commune in all matters of general order and security. On 27 and 28 April, Robespierre opposed plans to reorganise the National Guard and restrict its membership to active citizens , which
380-513: A decisive ultimatum. Brissot urged the preservation of the constitution, advocating against both the dethronement of the king and the election of a new assembly. On 7 August, Pétion proposed that Robespierre assist in facilitating the departure of Fédérés to pacify the capital, suggesting their more effective service at the front lines. Simultaneously, the Council of Ministers recommended the arrest of Danton, Marat and Robespierre should they attend
475-437: A meticulously groomed appearance with powdered, curled, and perfumed wig tied in a queue according to the old-fashioned style of the 18th century . Some accounts described him as "nervous, timid, and suspicious". Madame de Staël portrayed Robespierre as someone "very exaggerated in his democratic principles" and "maintained the most absurd propositions with a coolness that had the air of conviction". In October, he assumed
570-573: A monarch. She is therefore neither a monarchy nor a republic. She is both." On 17 July, Bailly and Lafayette declared a ban on gathering followed by martial law . After the Champ de Mars massacre , the authorities ordered numerous arrests. Robespierre, who attended the Jacobin club, did not go back to the Rue Saintonge where he lodged, and asked Laurent Lecointre if he knew a patriot near
665-514: A speech on how to save the State and Liberty and did not use the word "war". He began by assuring his audience that everything he intended to propose was strictly constitutional. He then went on to advocate specific measures to strengthen, not so much the national defenses as the forces that could be relied on to defend the revolution. Robespierre promoted a people's army, continuously under arms and able to impose its will on Feuillants and Girondins in
760-476: A speech on the state of the police and proposed to dismiss officers. On 11 June 1791 he was elected or nominated as (substitute) accuser. Robespierre accepted the function of " public accuser " in the criminal tribunal preparing indictments and ensuring the defence. Two days later, L'Ami du Roi [ fr ] , a royalist pamphlet, described Robespierre as a "lawyer for bandits, rebels and murderers". On 15 June, Pétion de Villeneuve became president of
855-419: A speech on the urgent topic of the National Guard. "To be armed for personal defence is the right of every man, to be armed to defend freedom and the existence of the common fatherland is the right of every citizen". Robespierre coined the famous motto " Liberté, égalité, fraternité " by adding the word fraternity on the flags of the National Guard. In 1791, Robespierre gave 328 speeches, almost one
950-406: A stillborn son at age 29. The death of his mother is, thanks to Charlotte's memoirs, believed to have had a major effect on the young Robespierre. Around 1767, for unknown reasons, his father left the children. His two daughters were raised by their paternal (maiden) aunts, and his two sons by their maternal grandparents. Demonstrating literacy at an early age, Maximilien commenced his education at
1045-677: A trial. The Commune forces at the Hôtel de Ville deserted. The Convention troops under Barras approached the Hôtel around 2 a.m. on 28 July. Robespierre, his jaw broken by a possibly self-inflicted shot, was taken with most of his supporters. On that very day, Robespierre was executed with twenty-one of his closest associates, including François Hanriot , ex-commander of the Parisian National Guard; Jean-Baptiste Fleuriot-Lescot , mayor of Paris; Georges Couthon , Louis Antoine de Saint-Just and René-François Dumas , ex-president of
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#17327648363291140-406: Is a citizen. " During the continuing debate on suffrage, Robespierre ended his speech of 25 January 1790 with a blunt assertion that "all Frenchmen must be admissible to all public positions without any other distinction than that of virtues and talents". On 31 March 1790 Robespierre was elected as their president. On 28 April Robespierre proposed to allow an equal number of officers and soldiers in
1235-565: Is as yet unexperienced; unaware of when to cease, but possesses an eloquence that sets him apart from the rest." By 13 June, Robespierre aligned with deputies, who later proclaimed themselves the National Assembly , asserting representation for 96% of the nation. On 9 July, the Assembly relocated to Paris and began deliberating a new constitution and taxation system. On 13 July, the National Assembly proposed reinstating
1330-853: Is punished with death." His speech acted as a call for direct action among the citizens, as well as a strike against the external enemy. Not long after, the September Massacres began. Robespierre and Manuel , the public prosecutor , responsible for the police administration, visited the Temple prison to check on the security of the royal family. In Paris, suspected Girondin and royalist candidates were boycotted; Robespierre contributed to Brissot (and his fellow Brissotins Pétion and Condorcet's) inability to be elected in Paris. According to Charlotte Robespierre , her brother stopped talking to his former friend, mayor Pétion de Villeneuve . Pétion
1425-402: Is replaced by a more conservative regime, sometimes to the point where the political pendulum may swing back towards something resembling a pre-revolutionary state. Leon Trotsky in his book The Revolution Betrayed , alleged that the rise of Joseph Stalin to power was a Soviet Thermidor for 'not restoring capitalism', yet still being a 'counterrevolutionary regression' within the regime of
1520-521: Is to believe that it is enough for a people to invade a foreign country to make it adopt its laws and their constitution. No one loves armed missionaries... The Declaration of the Rights of Man... is not a lightning bolt that strikes every throne at the same time... I am far from claiming that our Revolution will not eventually influence the fate of the world... But I say that it will not be today (2 January 1792). This opposition from expected allies irritated
1615-594: The Logographe [ fr ] , Carnot promoted the use of pikes and provided to every citizen. On 29 July Robespierre called for the deposition of the King and the election of a Convention. In late July the Brunswick Manifesto began sweeping through Paris. It was frequently described as unlawful and offensive to national sovereignty . The authorship was frequently in doubt. On 1 August,
1710-539: The Committee of Public Safety , came together on 9 Thermidor (27 July) 1794. Jean-Lambert Tallien, a member of and previously President of the National Convention, impugned Saint-Just and then went on to denounce the tyranny of Robespierre. The attack was taken up by Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne . Cries went up of "Down with the tyrant! Arrest him!" Robespierre then made his appeal to the deputies of
1805-515: The Constitution of the Year III was drawn up on 22 August 1795, which eased back some of the democratic elements of the constitution of 1793 , establishing an electoral college for the election of officials, a bicameral legislature and other provisions designed to protect the current holders of power. On 5 October ( 13 Vendémiaire ), a revolt led by Royalists challenged the convention. It
1900-583: The Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly. The Jacobins decided to study his speech before deciding whether it should be printed. On 15 February, Robespierre failed to get elected in the city council ( Conseil général ); on the same day the installation of the criminal trial court of the department of Paris took place. For Robespierre it was an ungrateful position as "public accuser"; it meant he
1995-588: The National Convention . In 1795 a new constitution was introduced, with the National Convention disestablished and the Directory becoming the new government. Like the constitution, the Thermidorians emphasised bourgeois values: conservative on social themes and liberal on economic themes . After the election of 1795 , the Thermidorians obtained the majority in the Council of Five Hundred ,
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#17327648363292090-670: The September Massacres were repeated; however this time the victims were imprisoned officials of the Terror. In Paris, Royalist sentiments were openly tolerated. Meanwhile, French armies overran the Netherlands and established the Batavian Republic , occupied the left bank of the Rhine and forced Spain , Prussia and several German States to sue for peace, enhancing the prestige of the convention. A new constitution called
2185-519: The collège of Arras when he was only eight. In October 1769, recommended by the bishop Louis-Hilaire de Conzié [ fr ] , he secured a scholarship at the prestigious Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Among his peers were Camille Desmoulins and Stanislas Fréron . During his schooling, he developed a profound admiration for the Roman Republic and the rhetoric skills of Cicero , Cato and Lucius Junius Brutus . In 1776 he earned
2280-497: The court martial . Robespierre supported the cooperation of all the National Guards in a general federation on 11 May. On 19 June he was elected secretary of the National Assembly. In July Robespierre demanded "fraternal equality" in salaries. Before the end of the year, he was seen as one of the leaders of the small body of the extreme left. Robespierre was one of "the thirty voices". On 5 December Robespierre delivered
2375-540: The historiography of the French Revolution , the Thermidorian Reaction ( French : Réaction thermidorienne or Convention thermidorienne , "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespierre on 9 Thermidor II, or 27 July 1794, and the inauguration of the French Directory on 2 November 1795. The "Thermidorian Reaction" was named after
2470-417: The interim minister of Interior Roland and Guadet tried to suppress the influence of the Commune because the sections had exhausted the searches. The Assembly, tired of the pressures, declared the Commune illegal and suggested the organisation of communal elections. Robespierre was no longer willing to cooperate with Brissot and Roland . On Sunday morning 2 September the members of the Commune, gathering in
2565-622: The voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard . Additionally, he advocated the right to petition , the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade . He was a radical Jacobin leader who came to prominence as a member of the Committee of Public Safety , an administrative body of the First French Republic . His legacy has been heavily influenced by his actual or perceived participation in repression of
2660-471: The "Thermidor" of the Russian Revolution '. Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre ( French: [maksimiljɛ̃ ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ] ; 6 May 1758 – 10 Thermidor, Year II 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognized as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution . Robespierre fervently campaigned for
2755-528: The "bourgeois militia" in Paris to quell the unrest. The following day, the populace demanded weapons and stormed both the Hôtel des Invalides and the Bastille . The local militia transitioned into the National Guard , a move that distanced the most impoverished citizens from active involvement. During the discussions and an altercation with Lally-Tollendal who advocated law and order , Robespierre reminded
2850-464: The "tribunal criminel provisoire", after Duport refused to work with Robespierre. After Louis XVI's failed flight to Varennes , the Assembly suspended the king from his duties on 25 June. Between 13 and 15 July, the Assembly debated the restoration of the king and his constitutional rights. Robespierre declared in the Jacobin Club on 13 July: "The current French constitution is a republic with
2945-414: The Assembly voted on Carnot's proposal, enforcing the distribution of pikes to all citizens, excluding vagabonds. By 3 August, the mayor and 47 sections demanded the removal of the king. On 5 August Robespierre disclosed the discovery of a plan for the king to escape to Château de Gaillon . Aligning with Robespierre's stance, almost all sections in Paris rallied for the dethronement of the king and issued
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3040-541: The Assembly, Robespierre championed the ideals encapsulated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) and advocated constitutional provisions outlined in the Constitution of 1791 . However, according to Malcolm Crook , his views rarely garnered majority support among fellow deputies. Despite his commitment to democratic principles, Robespierre persistently donned a knee-breeches and retained
3135-474: The Constituent Assembly deliberated on male census suffrage on 22 October, Robespierre and a select few deputies opposed the property prerequisites for voting and holding office. Through December and January Robespierre notably drew attention from marginalized groups, particularly Protestants , Jews , individuals of African descent , domestic servants, and actors. As a frequent orator in
3230-586: The Convention turned against him, and accusations piled up on 9 Thermidor . Robespierre was arrested and taken to a prison. Approximately 90 individuals, including Robespierre, were executed without trial in the following days, marking the onset of the Thermidorian Reaction . A figure deeply divisive during his lifetime, Robespierre's views and policies continue to evoke controversy. Academic and popular discourse persistently engage in debates surrounding his legacy and reputation. Maximilien de Robespierre
3325-594: The Countryside in 1789, targeting local authorities and garnering the support of rural electors. This move solidified his position among the country's electors. On 26 April 1789, Robespierre secured his place as one of 16 deputies representing French Flanders in the Estates-General. On 6 June, Robespierre delivered his maiden speech, targeting the hierarchical structure of the church. His impassioned oratory prompted observers to comment, "This young man
3420-490: The French Revolutionary calendar. The Thermidorian regime excluded the remaining Montagnards from power, even those who had joined in conspiring against Robespierre and Saint-Just. The White Terror of 1795 resulted in numerous imprisonments and several hundred executions, almost exclusively of people on the political left. These numbers, while significant, were considerably smaller than those associated with
3515-508: The Girondins, and the war became a major point of contention between the factions. In his third speech on the war, Robespierre countered on 25 January 1792 in the Jacobin club, "A revolutionary war must be waged to free subjects and slaves from unjust tyranny, not for the traditional reasons of defending dynasties and expanding frontiers..." Robespierre argued such a war could only favour the forces of counter-revolution, since it would play into
3610-545: The Jacobin club, where he met with a triumphant reception. Collot d'Herbois gave his chair to Robespierre, who presided that evening. On 5 December he gave a speech on the organization of the Garde National , which he saw as a unique institution born from the ideals of the French Revolution. On 11 December, Robespierre was finally installed as " accusateur public ". In January 1791 Robespierre promoted
3705-575: The Jacobin club. On 9 August, the commissionaires from several sections assembled in the town hall. Notably absent were Marat, Robespierre and Tallien. The dissolution of the municipal council of the city occurred at midnight. Sulpice Huguenin [ fr ] , a prominent figure among the sans-culottes of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine , was appointed provisional president of the Insurrectionary Commune. In
3800-446: The Paris armed sections were integrated into 48 battalions of the National Guard under Santerre's command. The Assembly decreed that all the non-juring priests must leave Paris within a week and leave the country within two weeks. On 28 August, the assembly ordered a curfew for the next two days. The city gates were closed; all communication with the country was stopped. At the behest of Justice Minister Danton, thirty commissioners from
3895-557: The Revolution's opponents, but is notable for his progressive views for the time. As one of the prominent members of the Paris Commune , Robespierre was elected as a deputy to the National Convention in early September 1792. He joined the radical Montagnards , a left-wing faction . However, he faced criticism for purportedly trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship . In April 1793, Robespierre advocated
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3990-683: The Revolutionary Tribunal. The events of 9 Thermidor proved a watershed in the revolutionary process. The Thermidorian regime that followed proved to be an unpopular one, facing many rebellions after its execution of Robespierre and his allies, along with seventy members of the Paris Commune, the largest mass execution to have ever taken place in Paris. This led to a very fragile situation in France. The hostility toward Robespierre did not just vanish with his execution. Instead,
4085-499: The Right, yet failed. An order was made to arrest Robespierre and his followers. Troops from the Paris Commune , who were loyal to Robespierre, arrived to liberate him and the other prisoners. The Convention responded by ordering troops of its own under Paul Barras to counteract. The Robespierrists barricaded at the Hôtel de Ville . The Convention declared them to be outlaws, meaning that they could be executed within 24 hours without
4180-653: The Tuileries who could put him up for the night. Lecointre suggested Duplay's house and took him there. Maurice Duplay , a cabinetmaker and ardent admirer, lived at 398 Rue Saint-Honoré near the Tuileries . After a few days, Robespierre decided to move in permanently. Madame Roland named Pétion de Villeneuve, François Buzot and Robespierre as the three incorruptible patriots in an attempt to honour their purity of principles, their modest ways of living, and their refusal of bribes. His steadfast adherence and defence of
4275-621: The USSR, as Thermidor did not itself restore a monarchy, etc. Uttaldo Buttafava, a self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist stated that the end of Stalin's rule Nikita Khruschev 's rise to power in Russia, and the economic policies of the time were a kind of Thermidor within the Soviet Union. A CIA document considered Khruschev's " On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences " may have 'marked
4370-698: The bar , he was appointed as one of the five judges in the local criminal court in March 1782. However, Robespierre soon resigned, due to his ethical discomfort in adjudicating capital cases, stemming from his opposition to the death penalty . Robespierre was elected to the literary Academy of Arras in November 1783. The following year, the Academy of Metz honored him with a medal for his essay pondering collective punishment , thus establishing him as literary figure . ( Pierre Louis de Lacretelle and Robespierre shared
4465-418: The beginning. By 13 August, Robespierre openly opposed the reinforcement of the départements . Subsequently, Danton invited him to join the Council of Justice. Robespierre published the twelfth and final edition of Le Défenseur de la Constitution , serving as an account and political testament. On 16 August, Robespierre submitted a petition to the Legislative Assembly, endorsed by the Paris Commune urging
4560-470: The case for universal manhood suffrage . On 15 May, the Constituent Assembly declared full and equal citizenship for all free people of color . In the debate Robespierre said: "I feel that I am here to defend the rights of men; I cannot consent to any amendment and I ask that the principle be adopted in its entirety." He descended from the rostrum in the middle of the repeated applause of
4655-471: The citizens of their "recent defense of liberty", which paradoxically restricted their access to it. In October, alongside Louvet , Robespierre supported Maillard following the Women's March on Versailles . Initially, the group of female protesters conveyed a relatively conciliatory message, yet their ranks were soon reinforced by more militarized and seasoned male factions upon reaching Versailles. While
4750-521: The city, "liberty" (the revolution), maintain order and educate the members in democratic and republican principles, an idea he borrowed from Jean-Jacques Rousseau . According to Jean Jaures , he considered this even more important than the right to strike . On 29 May 1792, the Assembly dissolved the Constitutional Guard , suspecting it of royalist and counter-revolutionary sympathies. In early June 1792, Robespierre proposed an end to
4845-678: The date according to the French Republican Calendar when Maximilien Robespierre and other radical revolutionaries came under concerted attack in the National Convention . Thermidorian Reaction refers to the remaining period until the National Convention was superseded by the Directory ; this is also sometimes called the era of the Thermidorian Convention. Prominent figures of Thermidor include Paul Barras , Jean-Lambert Tallien , and Joseph Fouché . Conspiracies against Robespierre , who had dominated
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#17327648363294940-521: The dictator of France, arbitrator of the state." On 2 July, the Assembly authorised the National Guard to go to the Festival of Federation on 14 July, circumventing a royal veto. On 11 July, the Jacobins won an emergency vote in the wavering Assembly, declaring the nation in danger and drafting all Parisians with pikes into the National Guard. On 15 July, Billaud-Varenne in the Jacobin club outlined
5035-474: The early hours of ( Friday, 10 August ) 30,000 Fédérés (volunteers hailing from the countryside) and sans-culottes (militant citizens from the Paris) orchestrated a successful assault upon the Tuileries. Robespierre considered it a triumph for the "passive" (non-voting) citizens. The Assembly, rattled by the events, suspended the king and sanctioned the election of a National Convention to supplant its authority. On
5130-406: The end of December, Guadet , the chairman of the Assembly, suggested that a war would be a benefit to the nation and boost the economy. He urged that France should declare war against Austria . Marat and Robespierre opposed him, arguing that victory would create a dictatorship, while defeat would restore the king to his former powers. The most extravagant idea that can arise in a politician's head
5225-425: The establishment of a provisional Revolutionary Tribunal specifically tasked with dealing with perceived "traitors" and " enemies of the people ". The following day, he was appointed as one of eight judges for this tribunal. However, citing a lack of impartiality, Robespierre declined to preside over it. This decision drew criticism. The Prussian army breached the French frontier on 19 August. To fortify defense,
5320-527: The first issue of his weekly periodical Le Défenseur de la Constitution ( The Defender of the Constitution ). In this publication, he criticized Brissot and expressed his skepticism over the war movement. The periodical, printed by his neighbor Nicolas, served multiple purposes: to print his speeches, to counter the influence of the royal court in public policy, and to defend him from the accusations of Girondist leaders; for Albert Soboul its purpose
5415-580: The first prize for rhetoric . His appreciation for the classics inspired him to aspire to Roman virtues, particularly the embodiment of Rousseau's citizen-soldier. Robespierre was drawn to the concepts of the influential philosophe regarding political reforms expounded in his work, Contrat Social . Aligning with Rousseau, he considered the general will of the people as the foundation of political legitimacy . Robespierre's vision of revolutionary virtue and his strategy for establishing political authority through direct democracy can be traced back to
5510-415: The hands of those who opposed the sovereignty of the people . The risks of Caesarism were clear: "in troubled periods of history, generals often became the arbiters of the fate of their countries." Already, Robespierre knew that he had lost, as he failed to gather a majority. His speech was nevertheless published and sent to all clubs and Jacobin societies of France. On 10 February 1792, Robespierre gave
5605-435: The idea not only the National Guard but also the people had to be armed. The Jacobins decided his speech would not be printed. The Declaration of Pillnitz (27 August 1791) from Austria and Prussia warned the people of France not to harm Louis XVI or these nations would "militarily intervene". Brissot rallied the support of the Legislative Assembly. As Jean-Paul Marat , Georges Danton and Robespierre were not elected in
5700-572: The ideologies of Montesquieu and Mably . While some claim Robespierre coincidentally met Rousseau before the latter's passing, others argue that this account was apocryphal . During his three-year study of law at the Sorbonne , Robespierre distinguished himself academically, culminating in his graduation in July 1780, where he received a special prize of 600 livres for his exceptional academic achievements and exemplary conduct. Admitted to
5795-679: The leadership. Others such as Billaud-Varenne , Collot d’Herbois , Barère and Vadier were sentenced to exile in South America, though the latter two managed to evade arrest. Many Jacobin clubs were closed. Freedom of worship was extended first to the Vendée and later to all France. On 24 December 1794, the Maximum (controls on prices and wages) was abolished. The government exacerbated this inflationary move by issuing more assignats . In April and May 1795, protests and riots in support of
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#17327648363295890-479: The left and of all the tribunes. On 16–18 May when the elections began, Robespierre proposed and carried the motion that no deputy who sat in the Constituent assembly could sit in the succeeding Legislative assembly . A tactical purpose of this self-denying ordinance was to block the ambitions of the old leaders of the Jacobins, Antoine Barnave , Adrien Duport , and Alexandre de Lameth , aspiring to create
5985-653: The members of the convention, disillusioned and frightened of the centralized government of the Terror, preferred a more stable political order that would have the approval of the plurality. The Reaction saw the Left suppressed by brutal force , including massacres, as well as the disbanding of the Jacobin Club , the dispersal of the sans-culottes , and the renunciation of the Montagnard ideology. The name Thermidorian originated with 9 Thermidor Year II (27 July 1794),
6080-499: The mobilization of a sans-culotte army aiming at enforcing revolutionary laws and eliminating any counter-revolutionary elements. This call led to the armed Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 . On 27 July, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Public Safety . Robespierre faced growing disillusionment among others due in part to the politically-motivated violence advocated by the Montagnards . Increasingly, members of
6175-402: The monarchy and the subordination of the Assembly to the general will . The monarchy faced an abortive demonstration of 20 June . Because French forces suffered disastrous defeats and a series of defections at the onset of the war, Robespierre and Marat feared the possibility of a military coup d'état . One was led by Lafayette, head of the National Guard, who at the end of June advocated
6270-575: The month in which the coup took place and was the latter part of the National Convention 's rule of France. It was marked by the end of the Reign of Terror , decentralization of executive powers from the Committee of Public Safety and a turn from the radical Jacobin policies of the Montagnard Convention to more moderate positions. Economic and general populism, dechristianization , and harsh wartime measures were largely abandoned, as
6365-730: The new Society of the Friends of the Constitution , commonly known as the Jacobin Club. Originally, this organisation (the Club Breton ) comprised only deputies from Brittany, but after the National Assembly had moved to Paris, the group admitted non-deputies. Among these 1,200 men, Robespierre found a sympathetic audience. Equality before the law was the keystone of the Jacobin ideology. Beginning in October and continuing through January he made several speeches in response to proposals for property qualifications for voting and officeholding under
6460-504: The new lower house . In Paris , the group created a headquarters in the Hôtel de Noailles and Paul Barras became its leader. The Directory lasted until 1799, when the coup of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power; the Directory was replaced with a Consulate with Bonaparte as First Consul . After the coup, the various parliamentary forces including the Thermidorians were disestablished. Thermidorian Reaction In
6555-632: The new legislature, thanks to the Self-Denying Ordinance, oppositional politics often took place outside the Assembly. On 18 December 1791, Robespierre gave a second speech at the Jacobin club against the declaration of war. Robespierre warned against the threat of dictatorship stemming from war: If they are Caesars , Catilines or Cromwells , they seize power for themselves. If they are spineless courtiers, uninterested in doing good yet dangerous when they seek to do harm, they go back to lay their power at their master's feet and help him to resume arbitrary power on condition they become his chief servants. At
6650-428: The next nine months they gradually eliminated their opponents and gained control of the Convention. On 21 September, Pétion was elected as president of the Convention. The Montagnard Jacobins and Cordeliers took the high benches at the back of the former Salle du Manège , giving them the label the Montagnards ("the Mountain"); below them were the " Manège " of the Girondists, the moderate Republicans. The majority
6745-429: The night of 11 August. Robespierre secured a position in the Paris Commune, representing the Section de Piques , his residential district. The governing committee advocated for the convening of a Convention, selected via universal male suffrage , tasked with establishing a new government and restructering France. Despite Camille Desmoulins' belief that the turmoil had concluded, Robespierre asserted that it marked merely
6840-494: The officer and engineer Lazare Carnot and the teacher Joseph Fouché , all of whom would hold significance in his later endeavors. His role as the secretary of the Academy of Arras connected him with François-Noël Babeuf , a revolutionary land surveyor in the region. In August 1788, King Louis XVI declared new elections for all provinces and summoned the Estates-General to convene on 1 May 1789, aiming to address France's grave financial and taxation woes. Engaging in discussions on
6935-618: The officer class and the king. On 23 April Robespierre demanded that Marquis de Lafayette , the head of the Army of the Centre , step down. While arguing for the welfare of common soldiers, Robespierre urged new promotions to mitigate the domination of the officer class by the aristocratic and royalist École Militaire and the conservative National Guard. Along with other Jacobins, he urged the creation of an " armée révolutionnaire " in Paris, consisting of at least 20,000–23,000 men, to defend
7030-546: The people decided to blame those who were involved with Robespierre in any way, namely the many members of the Jacobin Club, their supporters, and individuals suspected of being past revolutionaries. The massacre of these groups became known as the White Terror , and was partially carried out by the Muscadin , a group of dandyish street fighters organized by the new government. Often, members of these targeted groups were
7125-443: The previous Reign of Terror, which killed over 40,000. Many executions took place without a trial. On July 29 the victors of the 9th Thermidor condemned seventy members of the Paris Commune to death; thereafter the Commune was subject to the convention. As part of the reorganization of French politics, practitioners of the terror were called to defend their records; some such as Tallien , Barras , Fouché and Fréron rejoined
7220-405: The prize.) In 1786 Robespierre passionately addressed inequality before the law , criticizing the indignities faced by illegitimate or natural children , and later denouncing practices like lettres de cachet (imprisonment without a trial) and the marginalization of women in academic circles. Robespierre's social circle expanded to include influential figures such as the lawyer Martial Herman ,
7315-521: The program for the next insurrection: the deportation of the Bourbons and "enemies of the people", the cleansing of the National Guard, the election of a Convention, the "transfer of the Royal veto to the people", and exemption of the poorest from taxation. On 24 July a "Central Office of Co-ordination" was formed and the sections received the right to be in a "permanent" session. On 25 July, according to
7410-451: The proposed constitution. This was a position he vigorously opposed, arguing in a speech on 22 October the position that he derived from Rousseau : "sovereignty resides in the people, in all the individuals of the people. Each individual therefore has the right to participate in making the law which governs him and in the administration of the public good which is his own. If not, it is not true that all men are equal in rights, that every man
7505-480: The radicals broke out culminating in an invasion of the convention by an insurrectionist mob on 20 May. On 22 May the Convention struck back, having troops under Pichegru surround the Faubourg St-Antoine and force the capitulation of the armed rebels. In May and June 1795, a " White Terror " raged in which Jacobins were victims and the judges were bourgeois "Moderates". Throughout France the events of
7600-565: The role of a judge at the Versailles tribunal. Following the 5 October Women's March on Versailles and the forcible relocation of the King and National Constituent Assembly from Versailles to Paris, Robespierre lived at 30 Rue de Saintonge in Le Marais , a district with relatively wealthy inhabitants. He shared an apartment on the third floor with Pierre Villiers who was his secretary for several months. Robespierre associated with
7695-478: The sections were ordered to search in every suspect house for weapons, munitions, swords, carriages, and horses. "As a result of this inquisition, more than 1,000 "suspects" were added to the immense body of political prisoners already confined in the jails and convents of the city". Marat and Robespierre both disliked Condorcet who proposed that the " enemies of the people " belonged to the whole nation and should be judged constitutionally in its name. On 30 August
7790-519: The selection of the French provincial government, Robespierre advocated in his Address to the Nation of Artois that reverting to the former mode of election by the members of the provincial estates would fail to adequately represent the people of France in the new Estates-General . In his electoral district , Robespierre began to assert his influence in politics through his Notice to the Residents of
7885-422: The suppression of the Jacobin Club. Robespierre publicly attacked him in scathing terms: "General, while from the midst of your camp you declared war upon me, which you had thus far spared for the enemies of our state, while you denounced me as an enemy of liberty to the army, National Guard and Nation in letters published by your purchased papers, I had thought myself only disputing with a general... but not yet
7980-549: The town hall to proceed the election of deputies to the National Convention, decided to maintain their seats and have Roland and Brissot arrested. On 2 September, the 1792 French National Convention election began. Paris was organising its defence, but it was confronted with lack of arms for the thousands of volunteers. Danton delivered a speech in the assembly and possibly referring to the Swiss inmates: "We ask that anyone who refuses to serve in person, or surrender their weapons,
8075-456: The victims of prison massacres or put on trial without due process, which were overall similar conditions to those provided to the counter-revolutionaries during the Reign of Terror. At the same time, its economic policies paved the way for rampant inflation. Ultimately, power devolved to the hands of the Directory, an executive of five men who assumed power in France in November 1795, in year III of
8170-470: The views he expressed earned him the nickname l'Incorruptible . According to his friend, the surgeon Joseph Souberbielle , Joachim Vilate , and Duplay's daughter Élisabeth, Robespierre became engaged to Duplay's eldest daughter Éléonore , but his sister Charlotte vigorously denied this; his brother Augustin refused to marry her. On 3 September, the French Constitution of 1791
8265-434: The war, Robespierre was also accused of acting as a secret agent for the " Austrian Committee ". The Girondins planned strategies to out-maneuver Robespierre's influence among the Jacobins. On 27 April, as part of his speech responding to the accusations by Brissot and Guadet against him, he threatened to leave the Jacobins, claiming he preferred to continue his mission as an ordinary citizen. On 17 May, Robespierre released
8360-564: The writings having to be subject to censorship or inspection prior to their publication..." Pétion and Robespierre were brought back in triumph to their homes. On 16 October, Robespierre held a speech in Arras; one week later in Béthune , a small town he wished to settle. He went to a meeting of the Society of Friends of the Constitution , which was held on Sundays. On 28 November, he was back in
8455-443: Was accepted, ten days later by the King also. On 30 September, the day of the dissolution of the Assembly, Robespierre opposed Jean Le Chapelier , who wanted to proclaim an end to the revolution and restrict freedom of expression . He succeeded in getting any requirement for inspection out of the constitution's guarantee of freedom of expression: "The freedom of every man to speak, to write, to print and publish his thoughts, without
8550-525: Was accused of conspicuous consumption by Desmoulins, and finally rallied to Brissot. On 5 September, Robespierre was elected deputy to the National Convention but Danton and Collot d'Herbois received more votes than Robespierre. Madame Roland wrote to a friend: "We are under the knife of Robespierre and Marat, those who would agitate the people." The election was not the triumph for the Montagnard Jacobins that they had anticipated, but during
8645-595: Was baptised on 6 May 1758 in Arras , Artois . His father, François Maximilien Barthélémy de Robespierre, a lawyer, married Jacqueline Marguerite Carrault, the daughter of a brewer, in January 1758. Maximilien, the eldest of four children, was born four months later. His siblings were Charlotte Robespierre , Henriette Robespierre, and Augustin Robespierre . Robespierre's mother died on 16 July 1764, after delivering
8740-408: Was not allowed to the bar before the jury had spoken their verdict . Robespierre was responsible for the coordination of the local and the federal police in the department and the sections. On 26 March, Guadet accused Robespierre of superstition, relying on divine providence . Shortly after Robespierre was accused by Brissot and Guadet of "trying to become the idol of the people". Being against
8835-404: Was put down by troops led by general Napoleon Bonaparte with "a whiff of grapeshot". On 25 October the Convention declared itself dissolved and was replaced by the Directory on 2 November 1795. For historians of revolutionary movements, the term Thermidor has come to mean the phase in some revolutions when power slips from the hands of the original revolutionary leadership and a radical regime
8930-410: Was regarded as too aristocratic. He demanded the reconstitution of the National Guard on a democratic basis, to abolish the use of decorations and to allow an equal number of officers and soldiers in the court martial . He felt that the National Guard had to become the instrument of defending liberty and no longer be a threat to it. In the same month Robespierre published a pamphlet in which he argued
9025-399: Was to give voice to the economic and democratic interests of the broader masses in Paris and defend their rights. When the Legislative Assembly declared war against Austria on 20 April 1792, Robespierre stated that the French people must arm themselves, whether to fight abroad or to prevent despotism at home. An isolated Robespierre responded by working to reduce the political influence of
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