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The Reign of Terror

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The Reign of Terror was a chapter in time that lasted from, September 1793 – July 1794; it had many ramifications in political and social changes in France. It was a massive turning point of the horror of the French Revolution. As viewers watched with entertained eyes, the people of France were put to death while the streets were lined in blood. Early in the Revolution countless people still supported the monarchy, which brought on accusations of treason in opposition to the new republic. The Reign of Terror was a portion of time in the French Revolution characterized by murderous suppression and executions intended to demolish counter revolutionaries and conspirators. An innovative stable government was required to end the chaos, and the Committee of Public Safety was created with 12 members in the Committee and overseen by Maximilien Robespierre. His goal was to create a “republic of virtue” in which the government would compel the people to be converted into virtuous republicans through an immense reeducation program. “Terror is nothing else than swift, severe, indomitable justice; it flows, then, from virtue”-Maximilien Robespierre. It resulted in the deaths of around 20 000 to 40 000 people and was viewed by Robespierre as an unavoidable period to stabilize France. It was a time of violence and murder with a direct correlation to the French Revolution with its goal to aid in the survival of the revolution. Even though, the rationale of the reign was to institute a new diplomatic government, though eliminating all those in opposition to the revolution and the new government, they believed the most valuable way that of violence. The purpose of the Reign of Terror was to eliminate the opposition and to intimidate citizens into defiance. However, the Reign of Terror manifested to be a distortion of the original ideas of the Revolution because in its

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