MWH CH 17.4

• The National Convention

  • Universal manhood suffrage - ALL man can vote
  • Starts September 1793 
  • Lasts 3 years
  • Had to deal with disorder, revolts at home, foreign invaders, another constitution, create a republic, 1st Get rid of the monarch - tries Louis - found Guilty of treason -  guillotine - his neck was so big that his neck didn't go thru the guillotine
  • Us and Europe gets shocked with the execution
• France had a hard time against the austria and prussia
• France got cocky and invaded Austria
• First Coalition


  • Great Britain
  • Kingdom of Sardinas
  • Spain
  • Austria
  • Persia
  • Netherlands
• Committee of Public Safety

  Leader was Robespierre, job was to crush foreign invaders and sniff out spies in the county
• Revolutionary Tribunal


  Court to try "enemies of the state", got corrupt
• Conscription


  • Draft for war, unmarried men, able bodied, 18-25, all classes served, good because if man proved themselves in the military they moved up in the ranks
• Area that was counterrevolutionary was Vende southwest france, they built up their own army, they were catholic and wanted the old regime back
• France has a civil war and foreign invader
• • First Coalition - Great Britain, kingdom of sardinas, spain, austria, persia, and Netherlands
• • Create the committee of public safety - leader Robespierre - job was to crush foreign invaders and sniff out spies in the county
• • Created the Revolutionary Tribunal - court to try “enemies of the state” - gets corrupt 
• • Conscription = draft for war  - unmarried men - able bodied - 18-25 ALL classes served - good because if man proved themselves in the military they moved up in the ranks -
• Area that was counterrevolutionary - Vende southwest france - built up their own army - catholic - wanted the old regime back
• • France has a civil war and foreign invader
• Girodists

  • From Goude - southwest of france
  • Republican but not Radicals
  • Middles class\
  • Feared a paris dominated france
• Jacobins

  • Radicals and republicans
  • Favored a paris dominated France
  • All members of society - sans-culottes
  • Leaders - Gorges Danton Maximilien Robespierre  and John-Paul Marat newspaper the friend of the ppl - always in his bathtub because he lived in sewage gets a disease - is associated by charlotte c. stabs him - guillotine
• Jacobins

  • End up controlling the N.C
  • The reign of terror ends with robespierre -July 28 1794 is when robespierre is executed
  • Charlotte corday killed marat because sympathetic to the Girondists she was influenced by goridist propaganda - she gets in by saying she has info on spies July 15
• • Marie Antoinette , charlotte corday, olympe de gouge, - victims of Revolutionary tribunal
  • Twice as many upper class
• • Danton will try in the spring to stop the reign of terror but robespierre will guillotined him
  • July - b4 hes arrested he know hes gonna be arrest and tries to commit suicide - shoo t himes in the head- but he lives and cant speak (bullet in jaw) - no last words
• N.C good thing 

  • Public education
  • Abolished slavery
  • Adopted the metric system’
  • Adopted calendar - 10 day week - didn’t last
  • Citizen army 
• • Citizen army 
  • First coalitions breaks up
  • Seize territory on the rhine river - spirit and pride
• Directory

  • 1795 new constitution
  • Executive branch of 5 dictators
  • N.C- Directory
  • Bad constitution takes away universal manhood suffrage
  • Wealthy controlled gov
  • Only ruled for 4 years
  • Didn’t please the radical not the conservatives
  • So bad that it's like the old regimes - derby and prices skyrocket- gov = selfish and corrupt - no bread
  • Becomes as unpopular as the old regimes
• Charlotte corday killed marat because sympathetic to the girondists she was influenced by goridist propaganda - she gets in by saying she has info on spies July 15 ?
• • 1795 new constitution
• Suffrage

  Right to vote
• National Convention

  Held its first meeting in September 1793
• Delegates of the National Convention

  • Girondists
  • Jacobins
  • Delegates with no definite views
• Girondists


  • Republicans who represented the middle class and feared the domination of France by Paris
  • Many of them came from Gironde in southwestern France
• Jacobins

  • Republicans who favored domination by Paris
  • Powerful Jacobins were Georges-Jacques Danton & Maximilien Robespierre
• Delegates with no definite views

  • Didn't agree with both sides completely
  • Later came to favor the Jacobins who were extreme radicals and wanted reforms that would benefit all classes in society including the san-culottes
• Jean-Paul Marat

  A doctor from Paris who led the radicals
• The National Convention governed France for 3 years
• Things the National Convention had to do

  1. Draw up a new constitution

  2. Suppress disorder and revolt at home

  3. Fight a war against foreign invaders
• The National Convention tried Louis XVI on charges of plotting against the nation's security
• Louis XVI was found guilty, sentenced to death, and beheaded by guillotine on January 21, 1793
• The execution of a monarch was the first in a long time and shocked the rest of Europe, even the United States
• Many were disturbed by the increasing radicalism of the French government
• Exporting the Revolution

  1. The French army had defeated the Austrian and Prussian forces and stopped the invasion

  2. Followed up their military victories by invading the Austrian Netherlands

  3. Decided to export the ideas of the French Revolution by force
• The enemies of France succeeded in driving the troops out from the Austrian Netherlands and invaded France again