Reign of Terror SS9

Committee of Public Safety

The leaders under Robespierre who organized the defenses of France, conducted foreign policy, and centralized authority during the period 1792-1795.

Directory

weak but dictatorial and corrupt group of men who held power from 1795-1799

Olympe de Gouges

French journalist who demanded equal rights for women

"La Marseillaise"

French national anthem

suffrage

the right to vote

nationalism

aggressive feelings of pride in and devotion to one's country

Maximilien Robespierre

leader of the Committee of Public Safety and architect of the Reign of Terror

Reign of Terror

the historic period (1793-94) during the French Revolution when approximately 40,000 people were executed

Girondists

moderates who did not support the execution of Louis XVI

emigre

someone who leaves one country to settle in another

decree

a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge)

egalitarian

favoring social equality

royalist

an advocate of the principles of monarchy

counter-revolutionary

marked by opposition or antipathy to revolution

Committee for Public Safety

Led by Maximilien Robespierre, its chief task was to protect the revolution from its enemies. Under Robespierre's rule, the committee often tried enemies in the morning and killed them in the afternoon.

sans culottes

in the French Revolution, a radical group made up of Parisian wage-earners, and small shopkeepers who wanted a greater voice in government, lower prices, and an end of food shortages

Guillotine

A machine for beheading people, used as a means of execution during the French Revolution.

Political Clubs

Organization to which members are attracted primarily by nonmaterial, associational incentives in order to influence the outcome of elections, the leadership of political parties, or the conduct of public affairs. Was very big in the French Revolution, examples are the Jacobins and Girondins, the first one was the Breton Club.

Directory

Established after the Reign of Terror / National Convention; a five man group as the executive branch of the country; incompetent and corrupt, only lasted for 4 years.

moderate

someone who may support political change, but does not hold extreme or radical opinions

radical

someone who wants major change quickly and is willing to take extreme measures to get it