3. Another mass enlistment made the French army so massive (over 1 million men) that it outnumbered all their opponents put together and saved the revolution from external threats.
4. The Law of Maximum controlled rising prices for food and other goods. Harsh punishments (excluding execution) were used on those found to be overcharging citizens.
DID YOU KNOW?
Marie Tussaud was employed by the Committee of Public Safety to make wax copies of the heads of those executed during the Terror. After the Revolution, she opened a museum of waxworks in London: Madame Tussaud’s.
Victims of the Reign of Terror
The fall of Robespierre
By June of 1794, the immediate danger to the revolution seemed to have passed and the military situation had improved considerably. People expected the Terror to come to an end – but instead Robespierre intensifi ed it, targeting members of the National Convention. Many began to fear that Robespierre had too much power. The sans-culottes turned against him and he was attacked in speeches in the Convention. He was jeered with shouts of ‘Down with the tyrant!’ in the streets. His fellow Committee members feared they would be next – so they acted fi rst. On 27 July 1794, Robespierre was arrested (along with his supporters) and executed just a few hours later. The Convention elected a fi ve-member Directory to run a more moderate government. This is considered to mark the end of the French Revolution.
Robespierre’s arrest CHECKPOINT!
1. Why was Robespierre known as ‘the incorruptible’? Based on his life, did he deserve this title? 2. Who were the Jacobins? 3. Why was the Committee of Public Safety formed? 4. Name two challenges the Committee faced and explain how it dealt with them. 5. What led to Robespierre’s fall from power?
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I understand the role played by Maximilien Robespierre in French history.
