The Reign of Terror was Not Justified

1. Maximilien Robespierre, leader and “mastermind” of the Reign of Terror, altered his views and plans for leading France drastically from when he was gaining power to when he actually took control of France

1.1. Robespierre’s speech at the Constitutional Assembly ("On the Death Penalty" - June 21, 1791). He openly opposes death penalties by referring to them as “cowardly executions” and any government that supports them “weakens the moral sentiment among the people he governs.” This gained Robespierre’s favor among the citizens of France

1.2. By 11 months after Robespierre’s election as the president of the Committee of Public Safety (June 27, 1793), estimates show that 17,000 people had been publicly executed and another 10,000 had died in prison

1.3. Robespierre stated that any who are seen as enemies of the Revolution may be tried and, if convicted, executed ("Decree for Proclaiming Liberty and Sovereignty of the Peoples" - December 15, 1792). This completely contrasted his initial views on executions that he used to gain popularity in the first place

1.4. COUNTER - Maximilien Robespierre could have been right to execute many of those that probably were the cause of political imbalance within the French social system. After all, the Reign of Terror did help lead to a later reform in government that allowed for more balanced representation among all of the social classes

2. Robespierre was morally corrupt in the way that he justified the terror that he used to silence the citizens of France

2.1. Robespierre believed that the only way for a government to be virtuous and serving of its people is to instill terror in its practices. “Virtue without which terror is fatal, terror without which virtue is impotent. The terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is thus an emanation of virtue” (Speech at the National Convention - February 5, 1794) To Robespierre, terror was simply a tool that could be manipulated to contain all opposition and differing views

2.2. Robespierre was a great supporter of the philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with the enlightenment thinker’s teachings heavily impacting Robespierre’s philosophical outlook. “Divine man! It was you who taught me to know myself. When I was young you brought me to appreciate the true dignity of my nature and to reflect on the great principles which govern the social order” (Direct Quote from Robespierre). Rousseau stood out from many philosophers during the Enlightenment Era due to his profound views on the inner wickedness that all humans possess. Robespierre followed this belief in his style of governing. “Our will is always for our own good, but we do not always see what that is; the people is never corrupted, but it is often deceived..." ("The Social Contract" - by Rousseau)

2.3. COUNTER - Although establishing control over a people through fear and executions is immoral, it did suppress the people to abide by Robespierre’s authority for around 2 years. He was right that terror is a very profound and demanding way of governing

3. The executions within the Reign of Terror served little to no purpose and actually targeted the social classes that supported a French Revolution in the first place

3.1. Only 12% of the nobility and clergy that had so heavily opposed a change or French Revolution were executed. The other 88% were of the peasants, working class, and middle class, all contained within the Third Estate of the French social structure. This proves that the executions were not focused very well at all. Rather than primarily target those who had caused or supported the imbalance and injustice in taxation and freedoms, the executions spread to every social class

3.2. Around one third of the 17,000 total executions were of the working class of France. The working class was the social and economic level at which the Jacobins, the largest and initial proponents of the Revolution, resided. These statistics clearly show that the Reign of Terror backfired and lost all direction from its original goal. Even those who supported the motives for a revolution were now being killed by the thousands

3.3. Even Georges Danton, one of the nine original members of the Committee of Public Safety when it assumed executive power over France (April 6, 1793), was executed (April 5, 1794). Danton, along with many of his personal associates, was denied the right to defend himself due to a decree by the National Convention, which directly violated the French constitution. He was accused of taking multiple bribes and embezzling small portions of money in national exchanges. None of these accusations were backed by confirming evidence, yet he was convicted regardless

3.4. COUNTER - The executions during the Reign of Terror were necessary because they did temporarily silence the citizens of France and inhibited the possibility of a revolution for a short while